Sales jobs are very common in our modern society, especially for entry-level positions coming out of college. Some are hesitant to go into the field because there are fewer guarantees when it comes to a future in the career. Recruiters are always looking for sales people to come on board and are constantly contacting recent college grads to consider a position. With experience in the field, I have looked into sales jobs upon my graduation in May 2016. I, like others are worried about the repercussions of going into the field, and think it is imperative to make sure it’s the right fit before getting deep into the process.
The Future of Sales
In an article on inc.com, Tom Searcy took a glimpse at the future of the sales field and what we should expect to see over the next five years. Tom feels there will be fewer traditional sales people, which will lead to less prospecting, and fewer client meetings. With the growth of digitalization, the traditional prospecting will have lower yields and it will become cost prohibitive. In addition, he predicts sales people will not have as much time or interest in considering new vendors going through the traditional face-to-face presentation. There will be smaller contracts, which are more structured purchases, so there would always be clients to do business with.
Consumers and Revenue
In terms of consumers, Tom feels the buyers will shift from price to integrated outcomes. This is due to the competitive pricing exercises squeezing out what is available in margin discounting. This means the roles in the revenue generation chain will become more specialized. Some of the roles that will be included will be traders, designers, project managers, and lead generation. There will obviously be other roles to bring in revenue but these are the main sources that will shine in the future. Tom also predicts compensation for sales people will change significantly because of the specialization in roles. The change will feature a more salary-based model rather than traditional commission-based.
What will not change in the sales field is the urgency of the process, evaluation of prospects, and communication skills. These are all qualities that a sales person must be skilled at in order to have success. These people will need to adjust on the fly to see what works. I think this means a brighter future for the field because it will be less running around and more stability in the job.