Why do you want to go into Sales?

I have a super day coming up for a sales role with a financial data provider.

I dont necessary want to go into sales, and would try to lateral into research or another division for a FT offer. How would you answer "Why do you want to go into sales"? I think a good way to answer the question might be something like working on the front line with products, preparing for a career within the company by understanding clients and client needs, etc.

I would like to hear how some of you might approach this questions having little interest in sales.

7 Comments
 
Best Response

Focus on being a people person and enjoying relationship building. Be sure to be personable, confident and bring a good amount of energy to the interviews. Demonstrating these traits will get you further than any specific answer will-it's often fairly easy to spot who will be good in sales.

I'd recommend some introspection to decide whether or not you want to spend time in sales. It's one of the most mentally exhausting fields no matter the product. You have to be very thick skinned, good at dealing with failure and not mind dealing with strong personalities (all similar things). If these are traits you have, then highlight them through your answers to various questions.

"I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
 

SB for you....solid advice.

My interview prep so far has all been geared towards AM roles, so I am going to spend some time reworking answers and examples more towards this position.

Does anyone have experience working in similar position?

"I must create a system or be enslaved by another man's." William Blake
 

Yeah, I have experience working in sales, and recently turned down an S&T (sales) offer for IB. Sales is great if you love it, and it might be the worst possible job you can do if you don't. Good days are great, bad days are horrible. I think a sales background is great to have no matter what, and it will prepare you well for almost anything you want to do after- but as someone above said, enter it with caution.

 

How did you find the transition from a sales position to getting interviews for IB roles?

I know this is very forward thinking, but my concern with this is if I accept a FT offer in sales I would have trouble breaking into other areas of finance. I come from a non-target, and think that this would be a good opportunity for me to work in NY and build a network that could lead to opportunities down the road, but obviously this background is very different than a 2 year analyst stint at a BB.

"I must create a system or be enslaved by another man's." William Blake
 

I think you'll have real trouble breaking into IB from sales- the skills at the analyst level just aren't the same. I was able to get IB because I had other, relevant, ER experience, not because of my sales experience. Only go into sales (especially FT) if you think you'll enjoy it/want to do it- if not, it will be miserable, especially if you're just trying to move to IB and finding it very difficult.

 

The problem i'm facing at the moment is that (assuming I get an offer here) the deadline will be well before any of my other interviews. I have had a SA PE interview with a small firm which I will hear back from shortly, and have a few other AM interviews lined up but no chance that any of those offers will go out before this deadline passes.

Coming from a non target, I don't want to turn this down counting on one of the other options to pan out, and then end up with nothing. If i do get this offer I am tempted to just accept to lock in a decent summer position, although I am fairly confident I could have done much better if I interviewed with some of these other firms.

Not a terrible situation to be in, I would just hate to accept and look back knowing I could have positioned myself much better for a FT position. I have read similar posts on here about other students being in similar positions...seems like it just comes down to how confident you are in getting other offers.

"I must create a system or be enslaved by another man's." William Blake
 

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