Best/highest paying sales job(s) to build capital and improve selling skills

[AndreHimself]

I've been thinking about becoming a car salesman or real estate agent to build capital and improve on my selling skills. Which job would be the better choice? Are there any other sales jobs you would recommend that are better? Throw some ideas my way. Thank you for your time.

 

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[BlakeIC]

bmw car salesman

 

[DeletedUser394]

What research have you done into the two choices?

How is the real estate market in your area?

How difficult is it to get a license?

How many local agents have you reached out to and talked to?

How many open houses have you gone to in order to see what supply is like?

Are there any car sales lots that are hiring in your area? Have you contacted any?

Do you have any relevant experience in either cars or real estate?

Have you compared the pros and cons of either job?

Do you know anyone in either industry?

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

Do B2B.

Search "business development", and "sales development" on local job boards.

If you learn how to sell in a B2B role, then you'll be able to sell anywhere.

 

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[Supercar Ace]

I've done car sales before and quickly went into brokering. I'd say research both and see which one might suit you better, but I say that learning to sell B2B (business to business) instead of B2C (Business to consumer) teaches you more and has the potential to put more extra $$$ in your pocket.

 

[Bouncing Soul]

Do B2B.

Search "business development", and "sales development" on local job boards.

If you learn how to sell in a B2B role, then you'll be able to sell anywhere.

I moved from engineering to sales 3 years ago to build the skills. I consider it to have been a great education, and I was paid well to get it.

I was doing B2B tech sales for a large company, to the largest tech cos. A Global Account Manager pretty much owns everything implicitly if not explicitly...from making sure the caterer delivers the food to a lunch meeting, environmental compliance, supply chain continuity, contracts, purchasing agreements, selling business plans internally to get priority for your projects, ferrying VIPs around airports, getting on your knees and apologizing to your VIP who took a couple of days to fly to your customer only to have the meeting cancelled while you're in the lobby, getting screamed at daily with constant threats of lawsuits for months and making the news when your company F*cks up...oh yeah, and you have to sell to the external customer sometimes too. (And good luck if you try to BS an engineer who knows more about your product than you much of the time)

Please notice the slowlane traps inherent in this plan!

 

[dompamar]

I am currently an insurance agent (insurance salesman). It's rather easy. Makes okay money (salary plus commission). It's the only sales job I've ever had. Be cautious though because sales jobs can be an easy trap like @Bouncing Soul said. Pays okay, easy work, normal schedule. Very easy to get comfortable and stay in the slow lane. The good thing with insurance, is that almost everyone needs it. If you know a lot of people you can build your clientele fairly quickly. You will need to get licensed in your state. I'm located in Oregon and getting my license was more difficult than I was expecting. If you are considering a sales job, it might be worth looking into the insurance world.

 

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[Lex DeVille]

50 Best Companies to Sell For

Guess who wrote the recruitment letter for #1 on the list.



Or you could try Collections. Same skills + you build thick skin.

 

[Andy Black]

The pay will be cr@p, but how about working for a PPC agency building campaigns for clients, dealing with the clients, and then eventually selling the service to clients? Lots of good lead gen and sales skills to be picked up there.

 

[Choate]

I am currently an insurance agent (insurance salesman). It's rather easy. Makes okay money (salary plus commission). It's the only sales job I've ever had. Be cautious though because sales jobs can be an easy trap like @Bouncing Soul said. Pays okay, easy work, normal schedule. Very easy to get comfortable and stay in the slow lane. The good thing with insurance, is that almost everyone needs it. If you know a lot of people you can build your clientele fairly quickly. You will need to get licensed in your state. I'm located in Oregon and getting my license was more difficult than I was expecting. If you are considering a sales job, it might be worth looking into the insurance world.

I second this guy. I'm licensed in about 12 states and write for 14 different companies. It isn't cheap, but I had paid licensing and training through my company. Make $15/hr plus monthly commission checks anywhere from $700-$2000, and I've been doing it for 9 months. The industry average is about $42-48k per year, but that's usually minimum wage with a higher commission structure than what I have. I write home and auto. Your best bet is to find an independent agency who will take you on. But like others have said, you can't get comfortable.

 

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[Bouncing Soul]

The pay will be cr@p, but how about working for a PPC agency building campaigns for clients, dealing with the clients, and then eventually selling the service to clients? Lots of good lead gen and sales skills to be picked up there.

Right, depends on the kind of company OP wants to own someday.

I did some affiliate marketing on the side last year to learn about this as well. I do think working in PPC would be more valuable than selling cars unless selling cars had some sort of direct crossover.

 

[TheHound]

bumping this. any particular recommendations for good part time jobs for those in university to build sales skills with no prior experience?

 

[5holiday]

2nd that bump. it is a good question

 

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[EvanOkanagan]

I've been thinking about becoming a car salesman or real estate agent to build capital and improve on my selling skills. Which job would be the better choice? Are there any other sales jobs you would recommend that are better? Throw some ideas my way. Thank you for your time.

I've been in sales for about 9 years now.

For the last 3 years I've been a Realtor and I've made the most $$$ in commission doing it BUT--I don't feel it's the best way to improve sales skills. I do feel if you have interest in Real Estate investing though it's a huge asset to have the knowledge you'll get by becoming licensed (and you can also get paid when you buy any investments from the commission).

I haven't done car sales so can't comment on that... But as previously stated B2B is a great way to improve your skills, probably the best for me as well.

My sales history:

B2B sales selling advertising (straight commission)
MLM sales (ughh.... straight commission)
Retail Cell phone sales (commission plus salary)
Call Center Telecommunication sales (commission plus salary)
Door-to-Door sales (commission plus salary)
Real Estate (straight commission)

 

[Ubermensch]

Forget car sales, because you won't make much money.

Forget real estate sales, because you have to get licensed, it takes a long time to get set up, and you're limited by geography.

The enlightened salesman these days doesn't just sell one product.

As an example, you can get into commercial energy sales (natural gas and electricity), commercial LED sales, commercial window film, commercial LED, and it's all related (energy and energy efficiency). You can talk to the same prospect about literally a half a dozen different products and services that get you paid.

Which salesman will make money faster: The one selling one thing, or the one selling six things?

 

[axiom]

Agree completely with those that mentioned B2B sales as the way to go.

B2B sales is the best way to learn the ropes of selling AS WELL AS the best way to earn more money than you know what to do with.

@Ubermensch mentioned commercial energy sales.

This is the market I'm in. What I've learned so far has been ridiculously valuable and profitable. It has opened my eyes to the huge opportunities in B2B selling. I've already developed partnerships and strategic alliances that will prove very fruitful for indefinite amount of time.

There is a lot of talk on the forum regarding selling to large companies in the B2B space.

Start here:
How to Make $1,000,000+ per Year in Sales

Read through all of the posts by:
@Ubermensch
@Cyriex

Happy Learning.

 

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[Ubermensch]

Want to get rich fast?

Sell expensive stuff with good margins.

Simple.

 

[axiom]

Want to get rich fast?

Sell expensive stuff with good margins.

Simple.

Exactly. You know that little industry everyone wants to be a part of? Finance, I think it's called.

Yeah, Wall Street is founded on the principle of the big sale. Hedge fund managers don't get to the top by catering to middle income families.

The beauty of construction, though, is that it isn't bogged down by ridiculous regulation like Wall Street. It's the Wild West of big deals.

 

[Ubermensch]

Exactly. You know that little industry everyone wants to be a part of? Finance, I think it's called.

Yeah, Wall Street is founded on the principle of the big sale. Hedge fund managers don't get to the top by catering to middle income families.

The beauty of construction, though, is that it isn't bogged down by ridiculous regulation like Wall Street. It's the Wild West of big deals.

@Cyriex and I joked about how the finance industry creates people like @mom

 

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[SES93]

I worked for an IT service company and the GOOD salespeople earned $200k yr. You don't have to be an IT expert but you have to be smart and be able to learn quickly. Forget jobs that require licenses or training. Here is an example of this type of company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/marco-technologies

 

[Andy Black]

I've been thinking about becoming a car salesman or real estate agent to build capital and improve on my selling skills. Which job would be the better choice? Are there any other sales jobs you would recommend that are better? Throw some ideas my way. Thank you for your time.

Sell new business (leads and sales) to businesses.


EDIT: Just spotted I've already commented on this. I'm delighted to fully endorse my previous comment.

 

[chrisbiz4444]

Top paying sales jobs

Pharmaceutical sales- Strong income potential. Higher barrier to entry.
Insurance sales- Low barrier to entry, good income potential if you are good and you usually get residuals.
Commercial Real estate- High income potential, Higher barrier to entry then residential.
Residential Real estate- Large income potential if you are good with people and really hustle, Low barrier to entry after getting licensed. Might want to team with an established agent to start. It is not easy to get clients without a book of business. I knocked on doors when I started.
Financial sales- Huge potential, the good jobs usually require a business/finance degree. However it is possible to find a mid level position if you can sell. ( This was my last job) Be careful of the MLM type company's,they are out there.
Car sales- Low barrier to entry, decent earning potential and room to grow into the F&I/sales management departments which is where the real money is.
SAAS Sales- Usually requires a degree but Large earning potential.
Medical device sales- I have seen spots open for this without a degree. But most will prefer you hold one. Good potential in most cases.

 

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[iizu]

I'm a total rookie in sales but I have some bad experiences to share, so I can tell you what not to do

Do not apply for a sales job just because a company is advertising one.
Usually the firms that are aggressively searching for sales people are experiencing difficulties and have declining sales.
Research the Industry and find out if there is any potential.

Before I got fired from my last sales job, they offered me a very tempting deal. The salary was completely based on the net profit(as it should in sales)
You have to understand that until to this moment I had a fixed monthly salary(really F*cking stupid for everyone). So when I started to research this possibility and I gathered the previous sale data from my given region, I realized that I would have had to bring up the sales volume 5x to get a decent salary with the proposed deal.

I realized there just was not a need for these products and I declined the offer.

Find industries that are booming, learn them and start contacting companies with great products/services to sell.