Creating Your Sales Career Path

A sales career path is the accumulation of the various skills, pieces of training, and work experience you follow within the sales career cluster. A sales career path can be extremely varied and is rarely linear. Although most individuals begin with entry-level roles, a career in sales provides the opportunity for career growth, the chance for leadership roles based on job performance, and upward mobility. For people adept at helping others, a sales career path can prove rewarding professionally, personally, and financially.

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Sales professionals are often charismatic individuals who enjoy meeting new people from differing backgrounds, can easily transition from one discussion to another, and are skilled in both verbal and non-verbal communication skills. Although your individual sales career path will depend on your own interests and hard and soft skills, choosing the right route to take can help determine your overall happiness and professional success. Consider the following steps to help you develop and pursue the sales career path that fits you best:

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1. Determine your interest and industry: An initial step in determining your career trajectory will be to understand where your interests lie and in what industry you want to focus your sales efforts. This will help you find a job that fits your lifestyle. If you have a technological background, you can apply your skills in tech sales to help customers understand their needs and options. Conversely, if you are interested in fashion, you may begin your career in fashion retail as a sales representative for a specific designer or brand.
2. Consider your abilities: Some people may be good at attracting new clients, while others are best at upselling products. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses can focus your efforts and help you understand which roles will be a better fit for your background. If you strongly dislike cold-calling, a sales role where you work with existing clientele would better suit you.
3. Explore potential jobs and requirements: Conduct some background research on different sales positions to see which ones fit your unique skill set. Consider any special training you might have or will need to gain in order to fulfill the job requirements. Some sales positions will require you to have specialized knowledge or a degree, while others provide on-the-job training and are starting positions that may necessitate transferable skills you already have.
4. Review position for longevity: Consider how long you want to remain in the same role. If you are looking for a position that will allow for upward mobility, focus on sales roles that highlight your strengths and where your individual accomplishments are easily measured. If you seek more stability and want a position where you can grow, look for a long-range role that will still be required years from now.
5. Determine your needs and goals: If you are seeking a position where you want stability, a sales career that pays a salary may benefit you. However, some individuals enjoy the competitive nature that a sales position can sometimes offer and thrive on the opportunity to earn commissions based on the number of sales successfully completed. Although commission sales can be very unpredictable, payment based on commission can be very rewarding depending on your skills and persuasive abilities.
6. Know your personality: Determining your sales career path and how to get a sales job depends a lot on your personality. The role you take on will need to be one you are comfortable with to help ensure greater success. Individuals who are creative may do well in the realm of marketing, while those with strong communication skills and listening skills may fare well in a customer service role.
7. Consider whether you seek a leadership role: If your end goal is to have a leadership role in sales, you will want to consider how much upward mobility your position offers. Knowing if you will climb the career ladder in your industry from where you start or whether you will have to gain additional certificates or how often you will have to change jobs can offer insight into how your sales career path will unfold. Although you want to focus on the job you will immediately have, knowing your overall career goals can guide your decisions better and position you for the role you want in the future as well.
8. Be ready to adjust: Sales is a field that is in constant flux and no matter the industry, having a growth mindset with the skills necessary to adjust to unforeseen circumstances can help you succeed.

Learn more: How to Develop a Growth Mindset

There are many sales career paths you can take, and your individual circumstances will determine many of the choices you make at the time and opportunities that present themselves. No path is linear, and as in many other careers, sales has different sectors that often overlap. You may switch between different careers that meet your needs and use your skills to find your perfect sales job. Below are the four primary sales career paths with some example jobs to help determine your own sales career path:

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Business development is one of the first steps in the sales process, and it helps to determine the ability of a business to grow and thrive over a longer time. Business development identifies a need within the market and plans out ways to help meet those needs for the customer or client. Some jobs available in business development are:

• Business development representative: Often referred to as a BDR for short, a business development representative is tasked with bringing in new clients and attracting new business opportunities through cold calls, emails, and networking.
• Business development manager: A business development manager oversees the larger efforts on bringing in new revenue and develops novel opportunities for a company to grow.

Marketing, one of the principal components in determining the success of a company, focuses on the promotion of buying and selling goods and services. People often transition back and forth between sales and marketing, given how interrelated the roles are. Some job positions in marketing that connect to sales are:

• Marketing managers: Marketing managers attract more customers through their promotion and positioning of a brand and raise awareness of the brand by developing marketing campaigns with a team.
• Sales operations managers: Sales operations managers are quality control experts who ensure that sales teams are performing optimally. They verify that clear communications and expectations are set between the sales team representatives and clients.
• Sales development representative: Sales development representatives handle researching potential clients to inform them of services. Commonly referred to as SDRs, they maintain contact with prospective clients to help focus sales efforts.

Inside sales is the focus on selling a product or service remotely. It is the selling of goods or services offered by a company via telephone, email, or alternate online methods such as social networks. Some inside sales job positions are:

• Inside sales representative: Inside sales representatives ensure clear communications with customers by reaching out to potential clients via phone and use their skills to understand client needs. They can identify sales opportunities and communicate evolving client needs to other team members.
• Sales manager: Sales managers often develop a sales plan, set campaign objectives, manage recruiting, and monitor sales representatives to provide feedback on performance and maximize sales efforts.
• Chief revenue officers: A chief revenue officer, or CRO, manages a company’s revenue streams by working with sales and marketing to help company growth.

Sales operations are the processes implemented to help organizations run sales effectively to meet goals and overall business objectives. Sales operations relate to the computer operating systems a company uses, and the embedded supports within the organization that enable actual sales to happen. Some jobs in sales operations are:

• Sales operations specialist: A sales operations specialist focuses on collecting and analyzing sales data for a company to evaluate and establish processes for efficiency and improve customer services. They look for opportunities to minimize costs and share their findings across departments.
• Sales operations coordinator: Sales operations coordinators communicate with corporate representatives to support the sales team in meeting goals.
• Chief strategy officer: A chief strategy officer creates a company’s vision and the steps needed to support it. They communicate the results from market share analyses and support efforts in reaching initiatives.

Arm yourself with the information you need to determine the sales career path that is right for you. The tips and job descriptions within this article can provide a foundation of knowledge to guide your decision.

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