A career in sales offers a dynamic path with opportunities for growth and financial reward. While the ability to connect with people and drive business forward is important, you don’t need years of direct experience to get started. Sales is a foundational element of any business, with a wide variety of roles to match different personalities and strengths.
Understand the World of Sales
Sales roles are categorized by the customer type and where the selling happens. The primary distinction is between Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) sales. In B2C sales, you sell products or services directly to individual consumers, while B2B sales involve selling to other companies. B2B sales cycles are often longer and involve multiple decision-makers.
Another distinction is between inside sales and outside sales. Inside sales professionals work remotely, using phones, emails, and other digital tools to connect with customers. In contrast, outside sales, or field sales, involves meeting clients in person, which requires travel. The choice between these depends on whether you prefer a structured office environment or the autonomy of being on the road.
Common entry points for those without experience are roles like Sales Development Representative (SDR) or Business Development Representative (BDR). These positions focus on generating and qualifying leads. SDRs often handle inbound leads from potential customers who have already shown interest, while BDRs typically focus on outbound prospecting. After a lead is qualified, it’s passed to an Account Executive (AE), who demonstrates the product, negotiates terms, and closes the deal.
Develop Core Sales Skills
Active Listening
Active listening means fully concentrating on what a customer is saying to understand their needs. This skill involves paying close attention, asking clarifying questions, and summarizing the customer’s points to confirm your understanding. This allows a salesperson to uncover a prospect’s challenges, build trust, and tailor solutions that resonate.
Resilience and Perseverance
The sales field involves frequent rejection, so handling it constructively is necessary. Resilience is the capacity to bounce back from setbacks, learn from them, and maintain a positive attitude. View rejection not as a failure, but as a learning opportunity to refine your approach.
Communication and Persuasion
Clear and confident communication is fundamental to sales, including both verbal and written interactions. Effective communicators can articulate a product’s value proposition concisely. Persuasion in sales is not manipulation; it is helping customers see how a solution meets their specific needs and solves their problems.
Problem-Solving
Every sale is an exercise in problem-solving. A salesperson’s job is to identify a customer’s pain points and present their product or service as the answer. This requires an analytical mindset to understand a client’s situation, diagnose the core problem, and position the offering as the ideal resolution.
Empathy
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. In a sales context, it means putting yourself in the customer’s shoes to grasp their motivations and concerns. This allows you to read emotional cues, manage potential conflicts, and adapt your approach to fit the customer’s emotional state, fostering a stronger connection.
Gain Relevant Experience and Education
A specific degree is not a formal requirement for most sales roles. While fields of study like business or marketing can be beneficial, employers prioritize demonstrated skills and potential. Highlighting transferable skills from non-sales jobs is an effective strategy, as experience in customer service or retail demonstrates your ability to communicate with customers and handle issues.
To bolster your credentials, consider pursuing sales-specific certifications or online courses. Platforms like HubSpot and Salesforce offer programs that cover fundamental sales techniques. Completing these courses shows initiative and adds credibility to your resume.
You can also gain practical experience through internships or volunteer roles. These opportunities provide a low-risk environment to learn from experienced professionals. Seeking opportunities within a current non-sales job, like pitching a process improvement to a manager, also helps you practice the sales process.
Build Your Professional Brand and Network
Your resume and LinkedIn profile are your primary tools for marketing yourself. When crafting your resume, move beyond listing job duties and focus on quantifiable achievements. For instance, instead of “assisted customers,” write “Increased customer satisfaction scores by 15%.” Use action verbs and metrics to showcase your impact.
Your LinkedIn profile is a platform to tell your professional story. Use a professional photo and write a compelling summary that outlines your skills and career aspirations. Regularly update your profile with new skills and certifications and actively participate in industry-related groups to increase your visibility.
Networking helps get you on the radar of hiring managers. Connect with sales professionals on LinkedIn and ask for informational interviews. These conversations are for learning from their experience and gaining industry insights, not for asking for a job. Attending industry events, including virtual ones, is another way to expand your network and discover unadvertised opportunities.
Find and Land Your First Sales Job
Start your search on job boards like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor, using “entry-level” filters to find opportunities. Company career pages and niche job boards focused on sales are also valuable resources. When you apply, tailor your resume and cover letter to each job, highlighting the transferable skills that align with the role’s requirements.
Thorough preparation is necessary for the interview. Research the company, its products, its target audience, and its competitors. This knowledge demonstrates genuine interest and helps you ask insightful questions. Be prepared to answer common sales interview questions, and use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answers.
Many sales interviews include a role-playing scenario where you will be asked to sell a product to the interviewer. This exercise assesses your ability to think on your feet, listen to customer needs, and handle objections. Practice these scenarios with a friend or mentor to build confidence. Prepare thoughtful questions to ask the interviewer about the team, the sales process, and the company culture.