Is Sales Underrated?
Obviously sales jobs aren’t as good as going to IB/HF/PE. However, some people make it seem like sales is the worst job ever. I thought it could be lucrative if you’re in the right industry. Is this true?
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Absolutely underrated. And I wouldn’t say it’s not as good as an IB job, it’s just different. And the higher you go in IB, the more of a sales job it becomes.
Unless you’re a quantitative genius or in medicine, most high paying jobs have a sales component. But yes sales is very overlooked on this forum. I know people who are wholesalers or selling tech that are making $300-$500k a year working 40-50 hours in LCOL areas. Top wholesalers make close to a million.
Exactly. I actually know MANY (like hundreds) of these people, as I am one of them. Although comp may be coming down a bit for pure wholesalers, many still make north of 500k and have established relationships. Some will still clear 1M. I'm a hybrid. part wholesale and part retail (so I run my own client practice AND market, motivate, coach, recruit, supervise a "downline" of advisors - so I get a piece of their production)
Sales (retail or wholesale) in general is quite lucrative and provides a great lifestyle for those that CAN. The challenge for most is you actually have to work for your success, be accountable to yourself, and realize excuses don't matter. Market changed, territory changed, new boss doesn't like me, family issues, health issues, regulations, etc. No one cares. You either got the job done or you didn't. Takes a certain type of person to be critically objective of themselves. You'll find with many who fail (or have limited success) there is always a reason. The real reason is they are willing to fail.
Selling is selling. Doesn't matter the product / service or industry. All have different sales cycles but essentially you have to be able to get a check, period!
I have found in financial sales, unlike what many suggest, it pays to be as knowledgeable as possible. So knowing technicals matters. What also matters A LOT is being able to simplify complex problems, topics, etc. and explain them in actionable bites that create transactions. That is key!
Depends what you want, but can be very good, yes
I don't think it's underrated. Can it be very lucrative? Yes. But pure sales positions are hyper-focused on performance. You typically have targets you need to meet, and you won't last very long if you consistently underperform. A large part of compensation also comes directly from your performance through commission. Compare it to other finance roles where you can coast and collect a stable paycheck for a long time before you get axed, and sales isn't so attractive. Not many people are actually good at sales.
I feel like sales is underrated but you need to have the personality and the skills for it. A lot of what you do is very communicational base and most of us in here are very analytical. I see many fun majors that do well in sales
It's very doable to be both analytical and a good communicator. Most lean on one side but can acquire skills to keep the ship floating.
Allow me to demonstrate...
ME - Target/Ivy school educated. Graduated in top 10% of class in both high school and undergrad. After torturing myself from prepping for recruitment, became an Analyst at a top-tier BB IB. 70-80 hours per week for 2 years in a high COL city. Gave up 2 years of income and paid 6 figures to do my MBA with honors. Currently a VP at a MF PE shop, but started as an Associate. Hours still brutal and the work mind-numbing, but comp is $600,000-$800,000. As VP, I'm having to do more biz dev anyway (aka SALES).
FRIEND SINCE 3RD GRADE - Complete moron, but hilarious AF. Barely passed high school, went to community college for 3 or 4 years while working at Baby's R Us. He thought he was banking at $12/hr. Eventually transferred to a local, satellite campus of State U. Majored in Accounting. Accumulated $6K in total student loan debt.
Initially became a real estate agent selling houses. He sold a couple houses to a local RE investor/house flipper who gave him a shot at selling a small, $2MM office building. Mind you, the average house he was selling was $200,000. After selling the office property, my friend realized that deal sizes were bigger, commission rate was higher, and the buyer pool was larger (office property buyer was from out of state). This naturally peaked his interest and he hustled to pivot to CRE sales.
He was pleasantly surprised when he got a starting base salary (around $40K). He wasn't getting shit on the residential side. Obviously there was more transaction volume on the residential side, but the team he's on just sold a "COVID proof" portfolio of properties for $70MM. His take? About $475K (his brokerage arranged financing as well). Including his base salary and other deals in the pipeline, he'll probably make $750K in FY 2020. FWIW, he made $1.35MM in FY 2019, his best year so far.
If he works more than 50 hours, he goes stir crazy.
Touchè and well played my friend, very well played indeed.
Love it!
That’s awesome man!
He's a pretty flashy guy, but doesn't try to show off intentionally. Actually quite humble. First thing he did was buy his parents a house and cars. New money I guess.
Really enjoy sharing his story, but I admit I still get shocked and slightly jealous.
Your friends results are unlikely to be typical.
Agreed. He got VERY lucky. Funny enough, people who aren't obsessed with "success" (I'm guilty) have an easier path of getting there it seems. One lesson I've learned from him is to just go with the flow. Might be something there.
My friend is humorous and extroverted, so he's naturally a gifted sales guy. And CRE isn't exactly rocket science (no offense).
But is it preftigious?
I know you're joking, but I do like that I'm surrounded by "high performers" who are extremely ambitious. Even cut throat for better or worse. Not to say CRE professionals aren't motivated, but it's different in PE. The burn out is real however.
With that said, my earnings are mostly stable, plenty of upside potential, and I don't have sales quotas either. Life as MD gets a lot better in terms of pay/hours, but I have a long way to go to get there, if ever.
Most importantly, I feel like I can do just as well in CRE sales as my friend, but my friend could never break into and survive IB/PE. I just can't make a U-turn at this point in my career/life. Too heavily invested, literally and figuratively. And plus, it's not like I'm making peanuts in my current job.
Truthfully, had I known in undergrad the earnings potential of B2B sales, I probably would've given it strong consideration (despite stigma of "sales"). Although not sure why sales is so looked down upon-- literally every organization, big/small/for-profit/NPO/worldwide, etc. all need sales obviously.
BUT the difference between B2B and B2C is night and day. I had a retail sales job in high school, which left a TERRIBLE taste in my mouth. My boss was sleazy and pushy and I had to be the same with customers. I blame that fuckin job haha.
If you're still in college, major in Marketing and public speaking, which will help break into a lucrative sales job.
Great story.
I have a similar yet different anecdote. I know a CRE broker, went to a state school, but an extremely smart guy. Fast talker, funny, amazing with math. He deals with mom and pops doing $5MM multifamily deals. Whenever he secures a meeting with those mom and pops, he shows off his math by calculating returns and shit, and it works almost every time. Mom and pops are impressed and want to hire him lol.
He charges 5-6% commissions on those deals, and when he was in his mid 20's, he hit $1MM, and ever since his worst year was like $500K.
Sometimes those stories are inspiring, but for every one of him there is probably 99 that didn't make it.
The sales skill as people have said earlier, is critical for a first sales job but also for a senior guy in IB / PE. The people side of the business in terms of learning how to talk to folks in a balanced professional/personal manner is absolutely crucial. I've personally never worked a real sales job but I do recognize the importance of being able to learn and exercise the skills one would learn in one
I can add some insight given I have been in B2B tech sales my career. To many of the points earlier, you can make significant money for a lot less hours than IB/PE. Most enterprise tech sales people make $150K base + $150K commission for hitting quota. Not to mention the equity/stock options depending on the stage of your company. Many people who work at some of the top tech firms or great startups pulling in min of $500K W2 with commission with the top performs taking home $1M+. Again, not including equity/stock options. The way comp plans are design is via accelerators, meanings, your base commission rate might be 15% on a $1M ACV quota, but once you hit your quota the rate increases with some companies paying out 35%+ which is where people make significant money. Hours rarely go over 50 a week. The downside to all this is how performance based it is. I have heard many people being fired after 6 months for not performing. However, if you are willing to put in the work and are competitive, you can have high earning potential with a great W/L balance. Plus, you always know where you stand and you are in control of your future and earning potential.
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On the contrary, I believe that sales are the best business that generates the most profit. Today, many people underestimate this kind of income and think that sales are a loss-making business. To begin with, sales are the result of the synergy of three processes: attracting, converting, and retaining customers. The question, "How to increase sales," worries all companies. Competition and changes in buying behavior push companies to find new tricks that allow them to sell more and maintain (or even increase) their profitability. Sales are underestimated by those who do not know how to work with them. It's been a long time since most marketers switched to deal tracking software, which automates many processes involved in recording, analyzing, and implementing sales. So, make the correct conclusions!...
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