characteristics of sales careers, then describe several different types of personal selling
jobs. The appendix concludes with a discussion of the skills and qualifications necessary
for success in sales careers.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SALES CAREERS
Although individual opinions will vary, the ideal career for most individuals offers a
bright future, including good opportunities for financial rewards and job advancement.
As you read the following sections on the characteristics of sales careers, you
might think about what you expect from a career and whether your expectations
could be met in a sales career. The characteristics to be discussed are
_ job security
_ advancement opportunities
_ immediate feedback
_ prestige
_ job variety
_ independence
_ compensation
Job Security
Salespeople 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. For salespeople working in declining or stagnant industries, this is heartening
news.
There looks to be a fairly strong demand for salespeople within the 2004–2005
time period. Overall U.S. job growth is expected to be approximately 13 percent
in that time, which represents above average opportunities in technical sales, advertising,
real estate, some services sectors, and in sales management positions. (See
Exhibit 1A.1.)1 Even life insurance, where expected overall job growth is less than
average in 2004–2014, offers strong opportunities for those with college degrees.2
Advancement Opportunities
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 with opportunities for advancement.
One reason that many successful salespeople ultimately find their way into top management
is that they display some of the key attributes required for success in executive