The time is now, 2023! No longer are we in the age where door-to-door sales are the norm. There has been a recent rise in remote (virtual) jobs. Control your way of life. No longer are we chained to a desk; we are in a thriving, more immersive environment where you can work and play simultaneously. Want to learn more? Read on and learn how to achieve your sales career goals from the comfort of your home.
What is Sales?
Sales is involved in every aspect of life, whether you actually sell something or you are selling yourself. You either have a product like Coca-cola that you are trying to sell, or you are selling your skills to gain that next pay-grade jump.
Sales is a term used to describe the activities that lead to selling goods or services. Businesses have sales organizations that are broken up into different teams. And these sales teams are often determined based on the region they're selling to, the product or service they're selling, and the target customer. (Hubspot)
Regardless, in both, it involves the same structure and even a similar approach. You don’t need years of experience; you just need the knowledge of what you are selling and your target audience.
Where to begin?
Have a clear understanding of what you’re looking for before you begin your search.
Ask yourself, What do I want to sell? Do I want to work with a specific company or brand? How much money do I need to make each month? Do I want to sell directly to customers or to businesses? Do I want to reach out directly to potential customers or sell to customers already interested? Do I want to set up trade shows and demonstrations or do I want to sell completely virtual?
You must want to like what you are selling or at least tolerate it. From experience, I can tell you the frustration and burnout associated with selling something mundane. Not even that base salary (which isn’t much, to begin with) will push you through in the long run. For this reason, target your keywords in the search bar on the CO.CAREERS’ Good Jobs Board.
Skills you'll need
If you’re looking to get into sales, a remote job is an excellent way to get your foot in the door. More or less, you will be looking for a remote inside sales role; this could function as selling to consumers or businesses and could be a mix of inbound and outbound activities. Inbound is when a customer inquires about the company’s product. Outbound is when the representative (you) would reach out to prospective customers to find their needs and present the value of what you’re offering.
That is a good starting point if your experience includes communication, tenacity, and honesty. Other skills to develop are becoming a fast learner, thinking on your toes, being able to answer any customer curveball questions, persistence to follow up when necessary, and self-motivation to do the job well. The aim is to get yourself out of bed every day ready to hunt your commission check. With these tools in your toolkit, there should be plenty of opportunities available within remote jobs to be successful in sales.
How much do salespeople make?
Salespeople are an essential part of every organization, no matter the industry. Depending on your experience level and location, you could be making $40,000 - $70,000 as an entry-level sales executive with many opportunities for career growth down the line.
To give you insight into a sales career path, here are some of the good jobs in sales that are available now:
- Sales Development Representative (Remote) - B2B Virtual Inside Sales: begins at $40,000 + commission
- Sales Manager: competitive base salary + benefits + 401k
- Sales Specialist: begins at $56,600 per year and goes to $112,000 per year depending on experience.
- Sales Specialist: The freedom to do your best work with the best talent, encouraged to continually grow and develop your expertise.
Opportunity is knocking
If sales sounds like a career for you, there are many opportunities for you to seize in this ever-growing industry. According to a recent study, McKinsey found that 70 to 80 percent of business-to-business (B2B) decision-makers now prefer remote sales. A stat thoroughly debunks the prevailing belief that a return to face-to-face selling would be the only way for companies to make headway on a going-forward basis. If that sounds like something you’d be willing to be a part of–you’ll need to work on building your resume and honing your communication skills to break into the industry. A stand-out resume can be attained through freelance projects, internships, and skills-based volunteer projects through Upwork or freelancer.com where you can freelance your time for different sales projects.
But of course, the best practice you can get would be by starting with yourself. Think of your personal mission and vision and create your unique brand that reflects that. There are many ways to market yourself with different social media platforms. LinkedIn is an excellent tool for networking with recruiters and colleagues to establish a presence and generate new opportunities and awareness of yourself as a sales professional. In this business, you must begin with learning how to sell yourself. You can view yourself as a brand and develop what you want to look like and represent.
Launching your career is never easy; first and foremost, create a resume that reflects your experiences and skills. Then go to CO.CAREERS, create an account, and upload your resume. Alternatively, you can simply just fill out your talent profile on CO.CAREERS and choose to export as a PDF to serve as your resume. Then, search for relevant sales positions and availability and click apply! You’ve taken the first few steps to starting a career in sales.
Sales is an excellent field if you’re looking for remote work opportunities.
The biggest challenge many aspiring salespeople face is finding their first job, but after that initial hurdle has been cleared, the sky is the limit.
Are you ready to take the next step? Use CO.CAREERS’ Good Jobs Board now to find a job that feels like more than a boring 9-5. Discover a career that excites you with benefits that appreciate your value!
Mustafa Younus is a marketing and sales leader who is results-driven and focused. He has worked in all company sizes, from start-ups to large enterprises, and has a range of skills, including communication, collaboration, business storytelling, and problem-solving. Mustafa's work experience includes being an account manager for a medical alert company and a business administration degree from Thomas Jefferson University.