career in sales?

[sp@rk]

i just graduated last oct as a computer science student. i am thinking of not practicing my course as a programmer coz i believe its not the thing for me. i want to pursue a career in sales..

my problem is where field should i go into? do you think i should go in to the real estate business, as a medical representative or as a product specialist for an IT company?

What do you think is more saleable these days? What are pros and cons of these fields? Where do you think I can achieve a more stable financial life in the long run?

Your opinion in this matter will be greatly appreciated..

[Bourne Supreme]

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[rabbaddal]

One thing to consider when selling (assuming that you have made a firm and informed decision that sales is indeed your passion) is the size and flexibility of the market you're selling to. The challenge with selling expensive items such as IT hardware / software (IBM, HP, EMC, Oracle, etc.), office equipment (Xerox, Canon, etc.), heavy machinery, medical devices, etc. is that there has to be a healthy business spending climate (there are indicators for this), and this is generally very cyclical - either times are very good or times can get very bad. And the Philippines, unlike the US, Japan and other first-world countries, does not have a very reliable history of aggressive business spending, which hasn't significantly picked up since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Some alternatives to expensive product selling you might want to consider are:

1) High Tech (IT / Telco / ITC) Solution Selling - You have the flexibility to sell any combination of hardware, software and services without being tied down to any specific product or brand. That way you can adjust your sales strategy to the needs of the market instead of resorting to hard-sell or spin tactics which don't really work. This way, you can focus on relationship management and solving your clients' problems. Usually solution companies like Unisys, Headstrong, Soluziona - companies not tied to a particular tech vendor - would be a good place to start.

2) Wealth Management - There is a growing need to preserve and grow wealth, whether in good times or bad. This is espescially true among OFWs who are seeing their hard-earned savings being squandered on bad business ventures and un-necessary consumption.

3) Institutional Financial Services - Whether in good times or bad, corporate clients will always have the need for financing solutions (corporate banking, lease financing, treasury services, etc.). The nice thing about insitutional finance is that there is always a product / service / solution fit for any business climate, be it bullinsh or bearish. Corporate account officers have the flexibility to package any combination of financial offerings to meet a diverse set of client needs. Most commercial banks offer these kinds of career opportunities.

One more thing, keep a lookout for how the company you're applying to generates its leads. If they say it is you who will be generating the leads, or if they give you a garbled answer, then walk away and apply somewhere else. Any company that is serious about supporting its salesforce should invest in an effective lead generation system and not leave the burden of prospecting on its salespeople. As a sales professional, you want to spend your time productively managing relationships, closing deals and solving clients' problems. And yes, in some cases, even large big-name companies have this practice of letting salespeople do the prospecting so be on the lookout no matter with whom you interview.

[sp@rk]

Originally posted by rabbaddal
One thing to consider when selling (assuming that you have made a firm and informed decision that sales is indeed your passion) is the size and flexibility of the market you're selling to. The challenge with selling expensive items such as IT hardware / software (IBM, HP, EMC, Oracle, etc.), office equipment (Xerox, Canon, etc.), heavy machinery, medical devices, etc. is that there has to be a healthy business spending climate (there are indicators for this), and this is generally very cyclical - either times are very good or times can get very bad. And the Philippines, unlike the US, Japan and other first-world countries, does not have a very reliable history of aggressive business spending, which hasn't significantly picked up since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Some alternatives to expensive product selling you might want to consider are:

1) High Tech (IT / Telco / ITC) Solution Selling - You have the flexibility to sell any combination of hardware, software and services without being tied down to any specific product or brand. That way you can adjust your sales strategy to the needs of the market instead of resorting to hard-sell or spin tactics which don't really work. This way, you can focus on relationship management and solving your clients' problems. Usually solution companies like Unisys, Headstrong, Soluziona - companies not tied to a particular tech vendor - would be a good place to start.

2) Wealth Management - There is a growing need to preserve and grow wealth, whether in good times or bad. This is espescially true among OFWs who are seeing their hard-earned savings being squandered on bad business ventures and un-necessary consumption.

3) Institutional Financial Services - Whether in good times or bad, corporate clients will always have the need for financing solutions (corporate banking, lease financing, treasury services, etc.). The nice thing about insitutional finance is that there is always a product / service / solution fit for any business climate, be it bullinsh or bearish. Corporate account officers have the flexibility to package any combination of financial offerings to meet a diverse set of client needs. Most commercial banks offer these kinds of career opportunities.

One more thing, keep a lookout for how the company you're applying to generates its leads. If they say it is you who will be generating the leads, or if they give you a garbled answer, then walk away and apply somewhere else. Any company that is serious about supporting its salesforce should invest in an effective lead generation system and not leave the burden of prospecting on its salespeople. As a sales professional, you want to spend your time productively managing relationships, closing deals and solving clients' problems. And yes, in some cases, even large big-name companies have this practice of letting salespeople do the prospecting so be on the lookout no matter with whom you interview.

thanks for the interesting information :)