<p>Seeking some advice from all you wise adults Will be graduating with a degree in economics from a very reputable school…not Ivy league though! Have a sales job offer from Oracle…now, I’d usually be hesitant to work in sales, especially it would entail hard selling. It’s B2B selling, and Oracles reputation makes it less of a “hard selling job”. Base salary and modest commission (should make around $70,000 or so first year, total). I’m extremely outgoing and have no problem speaking with people.</p>
<p>So my concern…I really am not sure that I want to do sales long term…is there usually room in companies like Oracle to move around? Any other advice is appreciated!</p>
<p>You will have to be able to refrain from taking personally or being offended when people tell you “no.”. You will hear a lot of that. You can’t be afraid or hesitate to sell anyone. I knew a young man who sold mutual funds. After a police officer stopped him and gave him a ticket, he started trying to sell the police officer on mutual funds. Always follow up without being pushy. Take every sales course you can. </p>
<p>I worked with a guy who used to sell Lanier dictaphone products. He said their sales manager told them that there daily goal was to get 100 people a day to tell them no. (You have to think about it for a second. ) In any case, its illustrative of the idea behind sales. </p>
<p>Its also worth noting that Tom Watson, who built IBM, had a sales background. After being fired at NCR from the presidency, he was recruited by an investor group that had assembled a collection of office machine companies. Watson went out with the salesmen, and visited with the customers, and concluded that they needed to modify some of the machines to enhance desirability. So, a good salesman will be able to discern why customers pick his product, and will be able to figure out how to make the product even better. </p>
<p>Good luck. Its always great to be in sales for a company that makes a good product. </p>
<p>Sales is often a springboard to district and managerial positions. Your degree is in economics, do you ever want to do Econ analysis?
Successful sales people usually move up the company ladder fast. Those not so successful may stay in sales longer. I think the key is to work for a reputable company and believe in what you are selling. If you’re personable you will do fine. The key is to get the appointment with the person making decisions. </p>
<p>I would find out some more answers to these questions before deciding…what happened to the previous employee?how much travel? what is your quota and how much growth percentage is that? Can you earn end of year bonuses etc? Where do they see you working after four or five successful years? And the most important question - what is the turnover rate for your salespeople?</p>
<p>Once some reps gain sales experience they either switch to other companies or to different industries. You’ll know what is best for you. </p>
<p>As Shiloh77 mentioned, it is important to talk face to face to the decision maker. Sales allows you to be creative and you won’t be chained to a chair in a cubicle all day long. Be prepared for long hours on the road and you need to get used to staying in hotels and taking long rides in company vehicles or spending hours in airports. I found sales to be similar to the sports profession and that is both good and bad. In one sales job I had a coworker told me on day one that their average account exec lasted only 30 days! She was gone before the next quarterly meeting. </p>
<p>I was raised in a family that equated “sales” with used car salesman. In other words, it was not a worthy occupation. I have since learned to appreciate the value of sales skills and the true value added of a good salesperson. I have a lot of respect for anyone who succeeds in sales. The fact is that you are always selling something, whether it is a product, your ideas, or yourself, and sales skills are the most transferable skills you can have in business. </p>
<p>I’ve worked in sales… our company uses it as a spring board to other positions. I took a week long Oracle course taught by an oracle instructor at work last year and it was pretty interesting. I believe the instructor said she originally started out in a different department, then swiched over to training.</p>
Will be graduating with a degree in economics from a very reputable school…not Ivy league though! Have a sales job offer from Oracle…now, I’d usually be hesitant to work in sales, especially it would entail hard selling. It’s B2B selling, and Oracles reputation makes it less of a “hard selling job”. Base salary and modest commission (should make around $70,000 or so first year, total). I’m extremely outgoing and have no problem speaking with people.</p>
) In any case, its illustrative of the idea behind sales. </p>