Sales careers offer several potential advantages including relatively good job security, advancement opportunities, immediate feedback on performance, and independence. Projections indicate enduring demand for salespeople across many industries in the future. While sales was not traditionally considered a prestigious career, its image has improved as the public learns more about the qualifications and problem-solving skills of professional salespeople.

1. ●Job security
●Advancement opportunities
●Immediate feedback
●Prestige
●Job variety
●Independence
●Compensation

2. ●Sales people are revenue producers and thus enjoy relatively good
job security compared with other occupational groups. Certainly,
individual job security depends on individual performance, but in
general, salespeople are usually the last group to be negatively
affected by personnel cutbacks.
●Competent salespeople also have some degree of job security based
on the universality of their basic sales skills. In many cases,
salespeople are able to successfully move to another employer,
maybe even change industries, because sales skills are largely
transferable.
●Furthermore, projections by the U.S Department of Labor indicate
enduring demand for salespeople in all categories in the future. And

3. JOB TYPE 2002 EMPLOYMENT PROJECTED GROWTH (2002-12) IN %
Manufacturers and Wholesale 1,857,000 19.2%
Advertising Sales Rep. 157,000 13.4%
Real Estate 407,000 4.9%
Securities/Financial Services 300,000 13.0%
Insurance Agents 381,000 8.4%
Retail 4,706,000 14.6%
TOTAL 7,808,000 12.25%

4. ●As the business world continues to become more competitive, the
advancement opportunities for salespeople will continue to be an
attractive dimension of sales careers. In highly competitive markets,
individuals and companies that are successful in determining and
meeting customer needs will be rewarded. A Case in point is Carly
Fiornia, CEO of HP, who began her career as a sales representative
for AT&T.

5. ●Salespeople receive constant, immediate feedback on their job
performance. Usually, the result of their effort can be plainly
observed by both salespeople and their sales managers- a source
of motivation and job satisfaction. On a daily basis, salespeople
receive direct feedback from customer, and this can be stimulating,
challenging and productive. The opportunity to react immediately to
customer feedback during sales presentation is a strong benefit of
adaptive selling, and distinguishes selling from other form of
marketing communications such as advertising and public relations.
The spontaneity and creativity involved in reacting to immediate
feedback is one dimension of selling that makes it such interesting
job.

6. ●Traditionally, sales has not been a prestigious occupation in the eye
of the general public. There is some evidence that as the general
public learns more about the activities and qualifications of
professional salespeople, and thus the prestige of selling, is
improving. An analysis of the popular press reveals that there are
more positive than negative mentions of news-making salespeople.
In a positive light, salespeople are frequently seen as a
knowledgeable, well trained, educated, and capable of solving
customer problem. The negative aspects of salespeople’s image
often center on deception and high-pressure techniques.

7. ●Salespeople rarely vegetate due to boredom.
Their jobs are multifaceted and dynamic. For a
person seeking the comfort of a well-established
routine, sales might not be a good career choice.
In sales, day to day variation on the job is norm.
Customer change, new products and services
are developed, and competition introduces new
elements at a rapid pace.

8. ●Sales jobs often allow independence of action.
This independence is frequently a by-product of
decentralized sales operations in which sales
people live and work away from headquarters,
therefore working from their homes and making
their own plans for extensive travel.

9. ●Compensation is generally thought to be a
strong advantage of sales careers. Pay is
closely tied to performance, especially if
commissions and bonuses are part of the
pay package.