Sales - The "Four Letter Word"

Proverbially. Don’t worry; we can count.

I spoke to a candidate again recently after having opened a can of worms in our previous conversation that many would prefer to keep closed based on misunderstandings and misperceptions: sales.

Fortunately, in this case, my appeal to them was supported by outside validation: a church acquaintance, whom they’d interacted with pretty routinely over the last few years, is in tech sales for IBM. But in passing conversation prior to this last, the acquaintance had never described it that way and the candidate thought he was in project management. Only this past weekend did they dig further and find out just how layered and complex what their friend does truly is.

Because, essentially, that’s what business to business (B2B) sales boils down to: project and relationship management. It requires hustle, but reputable companies aren’t looking for “hustlers” to represent their brand and product portfolios. Quite the opposite. It requires a competitive drive to meet your goals (and those of your customers), but you’re not going toe-to-toe in the hall against your competition. A superior product with superior representation will take care of that.

But where does all that start? With you. With your integrity. Your character, and honesty. Being a demonstrably good human being worth getting to know and to whom one should pay attention. From there? Dig in. Learn your customers’ businesses. Act as a guide and a consultant. Bring other resources to bear, subject matter experts in different areas. Be a coordinator. Be a leader. All of this sound familiar? You’ve done almost all of it before.

Sales opportunities abound in today’s market, and we typically have access to some of the higher caliber ones you’ll come across out there through various hiring conferences. Below are some brief descriptions of some we've seen recently (and may see again in the near future).

Tech Sales

Three different companies have needs in this area. It certainly helps to have a passion for technology at large but there are no prerequisites for technological background or capability. Those things can be taught. All three opportunities are remote, some requiring more significant travel than others. Mentorship from those more senior and with more experience is the standard to ensure you succeed. Healthy base salaries are the rule and high variable compensation payouts by years 2-3 are the expectation, one of them mandating $300,000 by year three or finding employment elsewhere. If you’ve got eyes for Google, Salesforce, Oracle and the like down the road, these are great places to start. Very likely worth staying, too.

Logistics Sales and Wholesaling

You may have heard that there are a few snags in global supply chain. One of our partners specializes in unique storage and distribution models and are hungry for client-facing problem solvers to help them evangelize the logistical solutions they can provide to a troubled world. We recently received an email from their Chief Revenue Officer boasting of the accomplishments of one of our recently placed (June hiring conference) candidates, only two months on the job at that point, who had been instrumental in closing a major client against competitive pressures. They did so naturally, without straying far from their comfort zone, and will gain a $25,000 commission for their efforts (on top of a healthy base salary). Again…two months in.

Another corporate partner is a phenomenal wholesaling company that traces its roots back to the 19th century. Highly polished and sets a high bar for its people. They routinely come to Alliance looking for future Profit Center Managers (PCMs). When they believe they’ve found one, the candidate goes through a very hands-on, iterative business education over the course of two to three years learning how to become one. It’s not exclusively a sales role but certainly requires some sales acumen as you’ll be, at times, dealing with larger clients in this role and will be responsible for training and managing your own sales team. As well as your own logistics team, warehousing team, marketing team, etc…you’ll lead a diverse group in diverse lines of operation. And be paid well for it. The average PCM made $266,000 in 2020.

Industrial Sales

Yet a third is a major materials production magnate that we enjoy a strong relationship with. They have multiple subsidiaries featuring accelerated District Sales Manager training programs for high-ceiling, type A’s who are ready to get after it. Several candidates placed in one of these programs mid-2020 had solid base salaries ($70,000) and generally earned anywhere between $2,500 - $10,000/month in commission. Another June 2021 conference candidate placed in a similar program with a different subsidiary is currently closing multi-million dollar deals with DoD.

Sales isn’t for everyone. But it’s a far better fit for far more people, especially those with junior officer experiences and credentials, than one might assume. If you’re intrigued by client-facing, problem-solving roles where you can apply some project management and general leadership principles while making great money doing so, you might reconsider your initial thoughts around sales. We've had some great sales opportunities in a variety of fields at our last few hiring conferences, and the trend doesn't appear to be subsiding soon.

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