Why sales is a great job and a potential career accelerator.

I’ve been in the corporate world for more than 20 years. I started in sales. I am passionate and owe everything to it. As a C-level executive, I sometimes hear salespersons speaking about their job.

It’s always the same things.

I can’t believe it.

I think about sales as a large arc of skills.

Why sales is a great job and a potential career accelerator?

A proactive salesperson will learn and improve in communication, persuasion, psychology, one to one, one to many exchanges, speech, economy, organization, marketing, go to market, interview, empathy, etc. 

How could you be bored by learning them? It’s a non-ending game.

And this experience can bring you anywhere you want.

Adam Scott has popularized the idea of “Skills Stacking” in career growth.

The idea is to pile a few skills where you are good. The combination makes you unique in the market (see also my summary of Naval’s idea here on this topic). And it’s easier to be good at a few things than to be the best in one skill.

So let’s take the example of Sales (large sales as described above) as a base and combine it with other functions or skills :

• Sales + written communication skills => What are the experts in communication doing in a company? They help leaders to pass their message. They understand the audience and build/advise on the communication path.
• Sales + Finance => It’s rare to find a financial leader with a good understanding of the business. When you do have one, you try to keep it.
• Sales + Services => Operation & sales sometimes have two different mindsets. It’s like difficult for these two minds to understand each other. Combining the operations and sales skills helps you to push the business.
• Sales + Back office => You help your back office team to understand the needs of the customers. I worked once with a back-office operator who had the perfect mix of challenging the customers, his sales colleagues, and the organization. I discovered that he started his career as a salesperson. You clearly feel the difference.   
• Sales + marketing => Having been in the field, it’s a huge advantage. You had your skin in the game. And you can match the customers’ needs with the unique selling point of your company.     
• Sales + HR => Understanding, communicating, and negotiating are critical competencies needed in the HR department….

I’ve spent 5 years of my 20 years of corporate in direct sales functions. I started from the bottom of the ladder as a salesperson. Today, I’m in the executive committee of an international company with more than 5000 employees.

My sales experience, combined with an eagerness to learn, gives me a unique perspective on business.   

Sales is an exciting adventure. You can learn and earn so much in it. And if you want to make a career, there are no jobs that a sales learning mind can not reach.   

So, if you are already in sales, focus on the learning phase every day. You’ll increase your business and prepare yourself for many other opportunities.     

If you are not, consider it as an experience. It will enrich you.