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Originally Posted by floridaorange
Anyone have any positive experiences they care to share? I have been running my own business now for 10 years and am looking to get back into sales. I have a few resume's I have sent out.
Just wondering what industries some of you have thrived in?
I did commercial real estate sales after college and loved it, up until the recession which brought that to a hault, only because I was in Southern Cal and had gone through 2 yrs of insane work schedule and little to no pay. My listings that I had gotten became overpriced over night and sense lending had ended, I decided to pivot.
I also did Life Ins Sales, and although it wasn't terrible by any means, if a client chose to cancel their policy in the first yr, the company took back your bonus, which sucked.
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General comment: your personal network + a "good" market = good salesperson income. Real estate during the GFC is an example of a bad market. Building (construction) products for the past couple of years is an example of a decent or good market. Timing plays a role in this.
If you are an average sales person in a bad market, income will be poor. If you a good to great sales person in a bad market, income might be OK. Sales is tough as mentioned many times.
Long selling cycles sometimes come with more salary and less commission, because the number of "sales" (executed customer orders) per year is low. An example of this is the capital machinery market. Customers spend months, sometimes years, figuring out what they want, then sign a multimillion dollar contract. During the months-years process, the salesperson needs to keep giving the customer what they want in terms of information, pricing, customizations, etc.
Business development in my experience is not strictly "Sales" but is the step prior to Sales. I have seen BD roles generally with salaried compensation, not commission compensation. This is for highly technical, high dollar-per-order products. The BD person networks, makes connections, qualifies leads, identifies a need, and either becomes the "Sales" person or passes the lead to the Sales team. It is a more creative and white space role, for example if a company wants to enter a new market (geography or product - space ) . You need chutzpah and presence to convince a client/employer that they can trust you with their money (your salary) in a less-defined role.
Summary: go with your network and products/services that feel right to you. Hopefully the market is good.