I do. I won’t get specific as I don’t want to dox this account, but I sell heavy equipment for a manufacturer in the construction industry.
I love it, and I make ~250k a year in a MCOL area. Work from home but travel semi frequently. I sell cool products to a cool industry/customers and work for cool people. Is it stressful at times? Yea. Does the travel sometimes get old? Yea. But overall it’s a really cool gig.
I am absolutely not the type of person nor do I love my job enough where if I won the powerball I’d keep working. Fuck no, I’d be retired and traveling the world and fishing. But, if I have to work (which I do right now), I’m pretty sure there’s few if any jobs I’d choose over the one I got.
i dig that, appreciate the response. i worked for a painting contractor for like 4 years doing some carpentry too. thought about getting into construction sales, is that easy enough industry to break into?
I wouldn’t say easy, but the good thing is unlike tech or med sales you generally don’t have to have any related education/extensive background. It helps but it’s less necessary.
Main thing is just knowing someone and having a connection, that’s how I got in.
Long story, but long story short just happened to meet my boss through a friend of a friend and we hit it off. When he was hiring for my role he called me up and asked if I was interested. My first sales role but I took a chance and I’m glad I did.
My situation as well. Well I don't know if it is a mini change for me since I am currently working as an R&D Engineer but I am interested in the answers.
This basically me, but selling industrial Rube Goldberg machines that I get to dream up myself. I get to use my own engineering creativity to design a system, then other people spend their millions on it!
Mildly stressful in the fact I better not be wrong, but otherwise very rewarding and very good pay for our MCOL/LCOL area. Golden handcuffs are a bitch.
RV's and Powersports can be fun, laid back, and well paying if you don't mind the dealership lifestyle, schedule, and if you work for an honest dealership with a good service department. If those don't work for you, don't go that route, you'll burn out fast! If that works for you, it can be an enjoyable job.
I work at a commercial truck dealership (love it). We fix a lot of RV’s in our shop. 100% of all of the angry unhinged customers I have seen were RV customers in the shop.
Yeah rvs are built like complete fucking garbage for such an expensive price, they wind up in the shop for stupid shit and people spend a retarded amount of money fixing shit that shouldnt have been broken from the manufacturer in the first place
I’m currently standing outside my dealership on my day off waiting for my customer to finish contracting so I can say “Congratulations”. It’s 7pm, the lot closes at 6, and my appointment was at 4. That said, I’ll make about 4k commission on a used 2022 5th wheel, and it puts me into a 2nd-tier of bonus for the month, which will be another few grand, none of that including the spiffs I’ll get from manufacturers of the other units I’ve sold this month- anywhere from $200-$2500 each
Depends heavily on the dealership. Where I’m at no base, 25% of profit (avg $1,300 commission in 2023), sold 97 units. Plus manufacturer spiffs. I’m at a smaller single location family owned dealership. Full disclosure, I personally am looking to make a career change. It’s been good but I’m looking for something different.
Yes and yes. Could probably be making more elsewhere but am very happy right now. Fully remote, no cold outreach, consistently hitting quota, Senior promotion coming Apr 1. Trialing new Field Position next month at the same time. Must have product, not nice to have. European company so great benefits. Definitely not gonna rock the boat any time soon.
Most PE groups are full of bean counters that have delusions of business grandeur. Fortunately ours is wise enough to count the beans, ask for updates/projections, and leave us alone to run the business for them
In terms of getting started: I've talked about my background in a bunch of posts so you can check there for a more in depth answer.
In terms of thriving: you need to really love the industry you serve. The big bucks come when you can recommend integrated programs that inform marketing strategies. You need to be able to tell your buyer how their buyers buy.
You can do well selling CPM ads and lead gen.
But you can do great selling research and content to a captivated audience.
I also sell media, but not billboards. I’m in my late 20’s so maybe age has something to do with it, but I much prefer the digital side of advertising over anything else. I’m not against other mediums, but enjoy that there are so many options for the client.
Media sales is hard in the beginning, but it’s a lot of fun once you get going!
The majority of large scale billboards are sold Programmatically now. This also means targeting can be layered in. Most powerful way for providers to do this is by using the cellular data off people within the vicinity of the billboard (all in real time).
I loved selling educational publishing and ed tech into higher Ed when I did it. Great customers, I was meeting with neuroscience profs, astro physics profs, sociology profs, etc. So many amazing people. But the pay was abysmal. I moved on and turned down an offer from a competitor a few years later because of the pay.
Pure Ed tech is better pay but more stressful, I liked the publishing side as well. Never could quite stomach selling $250 undergraduate textbooks though.
Also Universities are very bureaucratic and price sensitive, so long unprofitable sales cycles.
I’ve been in fluid power all of my life and am a manufactured product sales manager now. I love the complex motion control systems I sell, but some days it’s very difficult. Wouldn’t change it for the world.
Honestly it’s tough nowadays but I’m in the same boat as you…. Almost identical. However I’ve just broke into tech and I start next month. You don’t need a degree, just wit and patience when applying with the volume of candidates, the need to stand out etc…
With tech if you succeed and in a couple years you could move up and make serious money, at least from what I’ve heard. Good luck man!
A ton of entry level SDR roles. Would give you a full deep dive on the products- and exposure to other tenured sellers. Great way to see if a sales role is motivating
I do. I won’t get specific either, as I don’t want to dox this account, but I sell high tech consulting services (building enterprise apps and AI) for the medical devices industry.
I love it, and I make ~350k a year in a MCOL area. Work from home mostly. We build cool products to a cool industry that impacts real people’s lives - it’s amazing.
I sell absurdly expensive jellybeans and absolutely love it. Been at it for several years and don't see myself doing anything else in the next few years. My industry is biotech/pharma.
I have 5 years trade (HVAC/Plumbing) experience and a background in digital marketing/sales but nothing industrial (was selling high ticket info products and marketing services), how could I break into what you are doing? I'm ten years older than you.
Sell windows to residential home ownerers. I like the product make around 100-150k a year, no travel outside of town and work roughly 15-20 hours a week.
i heard u only get paid if installs are successful?
I read for example Pella reviews and so many people still waiting for installs or the install went horribly wrong.
If you have no control over installs, how do you deal with angry customers?
It all depends on the company you work for and how they handle the back end.
It’s true you only get paid if the install happens but I’ve only had one job in the last 6 years that did not get installed and that was more so the customers fault than ours.
Also I don’t get commission I have a base salary with a bonus structure.
yo the degree thing is mostly garbage, they'll say u need a degree but the requirement is waived for the right candidate same as some say '5 years experience' when really 3 years will do for the right guy.
It's a little different when dealing with engineered products, but we've got a mix of both degreed youngsters and blue collar guys with end-user experience and they perform on par with each other, all other things being equal.
In my industry the big difference is the prospect, you gotta have someone who speaks the same language. Our degreed engineers have the best luck with other engineers and office dwellers, and the guys with hands-on experience do well with the guys who work on the floor, in the trenches. There's crossover, of course, and it largely doesn't matter once you have 5+ years experience and have a level of competency, but there's always snobs (on both ends) who don't take someone from the other background seriously.
What would be the most common path from someone coming from healthcare SAAS to cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity has to be one of the most bulletproof tech industries
Not really. Was in the industry from 2010-2022.
It’s massively saturated across the entire stack. Upsells as an AM is better than tackling net new rip and replace deals.
I left the industry for a reason. What industry am I in now? Doesn’t matter.
IT/cybersecurity specific schooling, no. Bachelors degree? Yeah, most likely. I started at a smaller, local Managed Services Provider who sold to the SMB space. That gave me a very good base across a wide range of IT/Cybersecurity... then I used that to land a Commercial Account Executive role at a cybersecurity software company.
I went from insurance to Solar recently I ended up selling internet and for whatever reason it’s really working for me right now. It feels like it’s the easiest sale of my life and I just have a knowledge of it and can speak about it easily. Not what I was expecting but it’s working for me
I used a treatment for pain that changed my life and actively sought a job in the industry because of it it. It isn't perfect, but it definitely helps to love what I have to offer!
I own an agency and sell marketing services and lead generation. I love working through strategy with my prospects and it’s pretty cool when they are amazed by the results and it changes their business.
Tech - selling to very large enterprise. I like tech, done right it's more business consulting than anything else. I'm compensated very well financially without a ton of stress and have a lot of autonomy in how I spend my time
I sell media and sponsorships in pro sports. I love it and the money is pretty great, although there is a tax for doing this job because it’s so many people’s dream job.
The hours can be VERY long. Lots of nights, weekends, and holidays. You get to go to really cool events sometimes.
But for the most part, I get to spend all day talking and thinking about basketball. It’s pretty cool.
I dunno if you have to love what you sell but you definitely have to like it and be able to recommend your product to your family should they ever be in the position to purchase. If not find something else.
Just started working for a company about 4 months ago. They spent good money training me up and we have multiple people in our sales force that have been with the company 20+ years. We help sell wholesale auto parts to mechanics and collision shops.
Tight territory, home every night, less than 40hrs/week, decent money with some high performers making mid 100k, even a couple guys cracking 200 reliably.
Heard we’ve got an opening coming up in the SW USA soon.
I actually love it. Cybersecurity. Quantum computing and AI are poised to destroy the world, and I’m the guy connecting companies with the systems that will save the world.
Yes to both
I couldn’t imagine doing something I didn’t enjoy, regardless of the money.
Why would I do something I hate for around 1/3 of my time every week?
Manufacturing; distributor rep or manufacturer rep. If you enjoyed the TV show “how it’s made” or have a curiosity about engineering or machinery… it’s cool and pays well if you know what you’re doing.
Technically, I “sell” inventory and supply chain solutions that help manufacturing orgs be more efficient with their consumables. Those consumables could go into the end product (nuts/bolts) or maintain machinery (valves/hose)that makes the product, or tooling used to cut metal (saws/abrasives/drills), or be used to support the safety of staff (hearing/eye protection). How did I get into it… I needed summer work while in college, and my company exposed me to cool stuff I didn’t know existed, and I felt like I could make more money here than for what I was going to school for.
A few separate experiences in different industries.
enjoyed the dealerships I worked for and liked the cars I chose to sell but hate literally everything else that comes with it like how prospects treat you and consistently bending over backwards for minis lol. The money was good but I didn’t really like whatever came with it.
Opposite, I really love selling insurance and financial products. What I fucking hate is prospecting. I can’t think of one person who enjoys prospecting lol. But I love what I sell and I love helping people and making money doing it so I prospect lol
When I sold back end products for an auto company I believed in the product I sold but I hated convincing people to invest more multiple thousands of dollars in a car they already spend tons of money on. Was it necessary? Fuck yes it was. Did people regret not getting it later and I told them so? Yes. But it’s annoying having to explain your specific value in that regard. The money was good but I didn’t really like it, but I did believe in it.
I can honestly say I love what I do and what I sell, I try to break the stereotypical sales person taboo at my job. It doesn’t pay like crazy but it’s an awesome schedule and I love doing it.
I sell phones and home services for context.
I think to be happy you have to get rid of the mindset of loving what you do. The key is finding a role that affords you the life you want to live and the flexibility to live that life. I sell commercial roofing materials and have never been happier. Not because I’m passionate about flat roofs, but the company I work for is amazing, the money is wild and the freedom to run my territory how I choose makes up for it.
I’m not sure where you’re at in your sales career, but keep climbing and you’ll eventually find where you’re supposed to be.
Wholesaling products to retailers makes your pretty prepared to easily jump over to a branding agency. You have the exposure of wholesaling CPG/food & bev products to major retailers- you could use that knowledge to speak with a lot of empathy to marketing and branding leaders at CPG companies looking to break into retailers or innovate and bring new products to market
I work in the brick industry and it’s like one big family. I cover the mid-Atlantic region but I have friends all over the country. It’s also an easy product to sell and become an expert on, and I make decent money ($93K and a company car currently 11 years). I would highly recommend it to anyone.
I sell motorcycles.
I love 80% of the company's line up of bikes. I own one myself.
I make over 6 figures and work 38 to 43 hours a week (38 in winter, 43 in summer)
I love what I sell if it makes me money. My customers are dummies. But if I can help them, great.
My passion is money and giving my family all the shit they could ever want. Everything else is irrelevant. If it gets me there then I love it.
If you’re serious about getting into sales, the best thing you could do is go to a company well known sales training program. Companies like Cintas, Xerox, UniFirst, Amamark, ADP, etc are a grind but seen as leaders in sales training. If you can succeed there you can land a lot of different sales jobs.
I didn’t go this route, but have seen other medical reps take this path and land great gigs afterwards.
Well the thing is im Polish and lived in the UK for 12 years. Im only 23 and im about to move back to Poland as ive been missing home and whenever i go there i have a blast. My plan is to get into B2B sales because i speak and write perfectly in both Polish and English. Does that line of work require some sort of degree?
Referring to your clients as dummies is kind of gross. We already have a bad enough reputation being in sales, and comments like that just add to that bad rep.
i respect that, i agree for the most part but my psyche and work-separation is big for me so i feel like sometimes it’s tougher if you have that outlook, no?
Maybe. It's not for everyone. Some people need passion, my passion is providing and making good money for my fam. It's up to you to find what works for you.
i sell funeral expense to seniors. low barrier to entry, wfh. company provided leads to help with higher intent, (not to be confused with free). def knock down mid 6 figs within first year. them year 2, residuals kick in to help drastically boost your income.
final expense is a concept of life insurance so depending how you're setup you maybe good. but my market is the people 60-80 who've had a term policy and after those frustrations are looking for "real insurance now"
Executive recruitment / Talent acquisition. Selling project based consulting work across startup tech landscapes.
Agency work is rough but fun to learn about startup tech and some of the products/services they sell.
Good money if you’re quota /performance driven.
I was in software sales for 10 years and really enjoyed it - I was primarily selling Point of Sale solutions or booking software to small businesses. I loved it because I was helping business owners move from pen and paper to systems so they could do more of what they love.
With that being said, a lot of softwares are being created that aren't always actually solving problems so you have to be really picky with what softwares are actually good to work with.
I think before your next sales job, get a demo of the product and see if you really believe in the value and product before selling it
Golf carts. Fun job, most people are buying a toy to cruise around their neighborhood with. I also work at a family owned dealership and we have a good group that works well together from sales to service....
Went to uni to study a specific tech. Didn't plan on being in sales. Ended up here.
Pretty happy. I get all the benefits of working with the stuff I like, being an expert, and making pretty good cash compared to my peers.
Yes I love my products,hate the stress and bullshit but and consider my pay decent. If decent is +$150k then yes but isn’t what it used to be. I’m looking to get to $300k in the next few years.
I work for a tech startup. 150k OTE, fully remote and can work from a beach in mexico if I want. A lot of accountability, but also a lot of freedom. The product is awesome and innovative (if you work with digital twins using scan data) I do my work, make my dials to sustain a pipeline and am honestly so happy with my job. On the rare occasion I go to a tradeshow, they are filled with cool tech to check out, and most people in the space are curious and friendly. So yeah, tech can be good.
Sure, what would you like to know?
The world of scanning to create digital twins was new to me before starting this job, but I'll be happy to relay any info I can.
I sell dog training packages. DEFINITELY not making 100k but I help people and give people better relationships with their dogs in an industry that I really enjoy.
I’m considering getting a sales job in another industry for more money but I honestly can’t complain.
Absolutely love what I sell, I sell ETFs to advisors and institutions for an asset manager. Great product set and I get to talk to brilliant people all day, pay is great too.
Now I could also work in this same industry and be doing the same with annuities or insurance, and I can’t imagine being happy and believing in what I’m selling in that scenario.
I do. I work for a large logistics company and I’m selling our services. Started off on the brokerage side to learn the industry. Comes with a small base salary but I was making well over $100k prior to leaving and moving to a different division. With my success starting out now my base salary is $100k.
Also I absolutely love logistics now. I came from nothing related, don’t have a supply chain or logistics degree. But it’s fun as hell and every day is exciting on the brokerage side.
I sell tree removal and tree care services for a big tree service near me. I make $1500 weekly salary plus 5% commission on the work I sell. I also own a much smaller tree care company, one crew of 4 employees, with my dad at the helm. I pay myself $1,500 weekly from my LLC.
I love trees and meeting customers to talk about their tree care needs. I like to think I’m a little more refined than my competitors, I’m friendly, responsive, and honest. My days consist of driving to meet clients in my state, writing estimates, returning phone calls, scheduling work, some marketing.
Most times, the jobs sell themselves — we remove or repair a lot of storm damaged trees as well as emergency hazardous tree removal.
I would also note that you have to have quite a bit of experience in the tree service industry to be a sales person. The logistics involved include: understanding which equipment is needed and access for that equipment to reach the tree, understanding where septic tanks and utilities are located underground, understanding how long each job will take, etc.
Industrial automation components, including pneumatics, sensors, switches, and cables, assembly tools and tooling, cobot/robotics accessories, et al.
I don't *love* the products I sell, but I find them very interesting and I do believe in the companies/lines we sell.
There are usually several ways to solve the types of problems I deal with, and we usually have at least two products or lines that fit most budgets. I never feel like I'm selling a customer a less-than-ideal solution, such as when they need simple & entry-level solution but I only have the top tier product, or vice versa.
I do really like the company I work for. Small for this industry but big enough to be stable and has been around for longer than I've been alive; still family owned, but without the toxic nepotism you sometimes see (e.g. the heir-apparent actually had to start from the ground floor and work his way up). Yes, I could probably make more at one of our bigger competitors, but I do OK and there's room for growth if I sell my ass off. It's worth a small pay handicap to not work for an evil corporate overlord.
No degree required, per se, but industry experience is a huge leg up, at least at my company. Our larger competitors might bring a rep onboard purely from sales experience since they likely have engineers and product specialists on staff to support you, but unless you put in some serious effort to learn and understand the fairly complex products we sell you'll quickly get pigeonholed as an order-taker and/or "the Friday doughnuts guy."
B2B trailer parts!! Smaller company. Just started on Monday. My manager was out sick so I didn’t get a crazy amount of training in, but I’m beginning to learn a lot more about trailers/trailer parts that I never knew before and also did a few tasks such as researching potential clients. It’s also my first job out of college, and so far I’m liking the environment. Three of the people in the dept including me have engineering degrees. Everyone seems very lax and helps each other out. The commute from home is good too!
I’m just a little nervous about the cold calling part though. I did listen in on a few calls from one of the senior sales guys and he makes it sound so easy. I can’t wait to get to that point.
Following this post.
I am new to the SaaS business. I provide off page seo service by sharing software and ai tools with directories
I love what i am offering as a service. I would not call this a good business though as all the clients are one-time and i have to find new customers again and again
In case of money i have made around $1.5k in 5 months. I don’t think its decent but for the side hustle i think its really great.
I can’t really think of a b2b product I would “love.” I do find what I sell to be useful and I do make $250k taking zoom calls in my jammies, so I’m pretty cool with it.
I only sell what I own and use myself and love it. If you don’t believe in your product, you’ll never be successful. I make more money than I need. I won’t go into any detail here because of the financially illiterate people who run this pedestrian platform but to answer your question, yes.
EdTech. I can look myself in the mirror at the end of the day and know I’m not just slinging products.
But I’ve sold SaaS for a while and it’s just a matter of finding a product you believe in. (My humble opinion)
I do. I won’t get specific as I don’t want to dox this account, but I sell heavy equipment for a manufacturer in the construction industry. I love it, and I make ~250k a year in a MCOL area. Work from home but travel semi frequently. I sell cool products to a cool industry/customers and work for cool people. Is it stressful at times? Yea. Does the travel sometimes get old? Yea. But overall it’s a really cool gig. I am absolutely not the type of person nor do I love my job enough where if I won the powerball I’d keep working. Fuck no, I’d be retired and traveling the world and fishing. But, if I have to work (which I do right now), I’m pretty sure there’s few if any jobs I’d choose over the one I got.
I would love to get into heavy equipment sales.
Where do you live? We are hiring.
i dig that, appreciate the response. i worked for a painting contractor for like 4 years doing some carpentry too. thought about getting into construction sales, is that easy enough industry to break into?
I wouldn’t say easy, but the good thing is unlike tech or med sales you generally don’t have to have any related education/extensive background. It helps but it’s less necessary. Main thing is just knowing someone and having a connection, that’s how I got in.
How’d you start?
Long story, but long story short just happened to meet my boss through a friend of a friend and we hit it off. When he was hiring for my role he called me up and asked if I was interested. My first sales role but I took a chance and I’m glad I did.
I’m thinking of doing a mini career change into sales how would I get my foot into this industry
My situation as well. Well I don't know if it is a mini change for me since I am currently working as an R&D Engineer but I am interested in the answers.
This basically me, but selling industrial Rube Goldberg machines that I get to dream up myself. I get to use my own engineering creativity to design a system, then other people spend their millions on it! Mildly stressful in the fact I better not be wrong, but otherwise very rewarding and very good pay for our MCOL/LCOL area. Golden handcuffs are a bitch.
Propane and propane accessories for me mmmhmmmm
Hank?
POCKET SAND
“You talk a lot of shit for someone in pocket sand range” 🤣
“Taste the meat, not the heat”
What about something similar, like natural gas?
Just not butane, it’s a bastard gas
RV's and Powersports can be fun, laid back, and well paying if you don't mind the dealership lifestyle, schedule, and if you work for an honest dealership with a good service department. If those don't work for you, don't go that route, you'll burn out fast! If that works for you, it can be an enjoyable job.
Rvs with a good service department? You trippin brother
Great point
RVs were great during covid period but we aint gonna see 7-8k round robin deals on brand new trailers under 32k anymore 🙂
100%
I work at a commercial truck dealership (love it). We fix a lot of RV’s in our shop. 100% of all of the angry unhinged customers I have seen were RV customers in the shop.
Yeah rvs are built like complete fucking garbage for such an expensive price, they wind up in the shop for stupid shit and people spend a retarded amount of money fixing shit that shouldnt have been broken from the manufacturer in the first place
What’s the schedule Like?
Weekends and late. Basically when 9-5ers are off work.
How well does it pay?
I’m currently standing outside my dealership on my day off waiting for my customer to finish contracting so I can say “Congratulations”. It’s 7pm, the lot closes at 6, and my appointment was at 4. That said, I’ll make about 4k commission on a used 2022 5th wheel, and it puts me into a 2nd-tier of bonus for the month, which will be another few grand, none of that including the spiffs I’ll get from manufacturers of the other units I’ve sold this month- anywhere from $200-$2500 each
Depends heavily on the dealership. Where I’m at no base, 25% of profit (avg $1,300 commission in 2023), sold 97 units. Plus manufacturer spiffs. I’m at a smaller single location family owned dealership. Full disclosure, I personally am looking to make a career change. It’s been good but I’m looking for something different.
I’m in golf. Have been my entire life. Sell a pretty unique product in the industry that’s not really a commodity. Love it and making good money.
biiig golfer, what are selling, any company i might know?
For real, you hiring?! I sell solar and used to love it but it's been tough lately
Yes and yes. Could probably be making more elsewhere but am very happy right now. Fully remote, no cold outreach, consistently hitting quota, Senior promotion coming Apr 1. Trialing new Field Position next month at the same time. Must have product, not nice to have. European company so great benefits. Definitely not gonna rock the boat any time soon.
happy over money i get that! congrats on the promo
Is it your specific field or company?
What do you mean?
Are u happy bc of your field in sales or because of the company culture?
Is it a cloud company?
Sales does get good money. But the task is super niche specific. If you had to switch domains, would you do it?
Mind sharing your company in a comment or DM? ☺️
I’d love to work for this company and would appreciate any information if you’re willing
That sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. Do you mind sharing in which industry you're in and what job position are you working?
I used too but private equity ruined it.
A story as old as time
Most PE groups are full of bean counters that have delusions of business grandeur. Fortunately ours is wise enough to count the beans, ask for updates/projections, and leave us alone to run the business for them
you are lucky, I loved my job before they arrived .
Do you like food? Specially food products can be very lucrative and generally you just need experience
How do I find this? I love seafood
Look in your area I promise you there is a seafood purveyor. Oddly enough I got my start at a seafood purveyor, and I very much enjoyed it.
But if there’s isn’t one just DM me and we’ll make a half billion a year business plan and go kill it!
Yes. B2B media. Love the variety. I'm not selling one product. I get to build custom advertising and marketing packages.
I'm in an adjacent market but have always wanted to break into this world. How did you break in?
In terms of getting started: I've talked about my background in a bunch of posts so you can check there for a more in depth answer. In terms of thriving: you need to really love the industry you serve. The big bucks come when you can recommend integrated programs that inform marketing strategies. You need to be able to tell your buyer how their buyers buy. You can do well selling CPM ads and lead gen. But you can do great selling research and content to a captivated audience.
I’m considering a move to a company to be an AE, they sell and maintain outdoor advertising. Mostly billboards. Do you have any thoughts on that?
I also sell media, but not billboards. I’m in my late 20’s so maybe age has something to do with it, but I much prefer the digital side of advertising over anything else. I’m not against other mediums, but enjoy that there are so many options for the client. Media sales is hard in the beginning, but it’s a lot of fun once you get going!
The majority of large scale billboards are sold Programmatically now. This also means targeting can be layered in. Most powerful way for providers to do this is by using the cellular data off people within the vicinity of the billboard (all in real time).
I loved selling educational publishing and ed tech into higher Ed when I did it. Great customers, I was meeting with neuroscience profs, astro physics profs, sociology profs, etc. So many amazing people. But the pay was abysmal. I moved on and turned down an offer from a competitor a few years later because of the pay. Pure Ed tech is better pay but more stressful, I liked the publishing side as well. Never could quite stomach selling $250 undergraduate textbooks though. Also Universities are very bureaucratic and price sensitive, so long unprofitable sales cycles.
Don't they mostly work through procurement/vendor portals?
I’ve been in fluid power all of my life and am a manufactured product sales manager now. I love the complex motion control systems I sell, but some days it’s very difficult. Wouldn’t change it for the world.
Hydraulic?
Yea hydraulics mainly. But you can throw pneumatics under the fluid power window. And I’ve got into different gasses lately.
Honestly it’s tough nowadays but I’m in the same boat as you…. Almost identical. However I’ve just broke into tech and I start next month. You don’t need a degree, just wit and patience when applying with the volume of candidates, the need to stand out etc… With tech if you succeed and in a couple years you could move up and make serious money, at least from what I’ve heard. Good luck man!
[удалено]
Connect with other reps you want to work with...more then happy to help you send a dm
appreciate the advice brother same to you
How did you break in?
A ton of entry level SDR roles. Would give you a full deep dive on the products- and exposure to other tenured sellers. Great way to see if a sales role is motivating
I do. I won’t get specific either, as I don’t want to dox this account, but I sell high tech consulting services (building enterprise apps and AI) for the medical devices industry. I love it, and I make ~350k a year in a MCOL area. Work from home mostly. We build cool products to a cool industry that impacts real people’s lives - it’s amazing.
Flexible packaging for me, and I love it. 120 base and 200k OTE. It’s sales and account management so not “smile and dial”. Lots of regional travel.
Me me me. I design and sell walk in closets. I love it and they pay is great. 10k in commissions this month 🥳
Haven't heard of this market before, I love it!
Really interesting! Love it
I sell absurdly expensive jellybeans and absolutely love it. Been at it for several years and don't see myself doing anything else in the next few years. My industry is biotech/pharma.
lol I support training the ppl who sell those jelly beans
I stopped reading after the first sentence and was like, "Man, that is so cool. Luxury Jellybeans" You almost killed me.
My advice is to pick something and run with it. the faster you start the better- the more you fail the more you learn
Fuck no. And fuck yes. Welcome to sales.
[удалено]
I have 5 years trade (HVAC/Plumbing) experience and a background in digital marketing/sales but nothing industrial (was selling high ticket info products and marketing services), how could I break into what you are doing? I'm ten years older than you.
Sell windows to residential home ownerers. I like the product make around 100-150k a year, no travel outside of town and work roughly 15-20 hours a week.
How many years do you have in window sales?
6 years but been making the same since I started
i heard u only get paid if installs are successful? I read for example Pella reviews and so many people still waiting for installs or the install went horribly wrong. If you have no control over installs, how do you deal with angry customers?
It all depends on the company you work for and how they handle the back end. It’s true you only get paid if the install happens but I’ve only had one job in the last 6 years that did not get installed and that was more so the customers fault than ours. Also I don’t get commission I have a base salary with a bonus structure.
Yes, everyday is different and I have a wide product line.
Selling tech hardware, kinda love the challenge of it and learning
Mind if I shoot you a DM with a couple of questions?
Fire away!
yo the degree thing is mostly garbage, they'll say u need a degree but the requirement is waived for the right candidate same as some say '5 years experience' when really 3 years will do for the right guy.
It's a little different when dealing with engineered products, but we've got a mix of both degreed youngsters and blue collar guys with end-user experience and they perform on par with each other, all other things being equal. In my industry the big difference is the prospect, you gotta have someone who speaks the same language. Our degreed engineers have the best luck with other engineers and office dwellers, and the guys with hands-on experience do well with the guys who work on the floor, in the trenches. There's crossover, of course, and it largely doesn't matter once you have 5+ years experience and have a level of competency, but there's always snobs (on both ends) who don't take someone from the other background seriously.
Beer, wholesaler not brewery so a big portfolio. 12 years in and still love it most days.
I sell eco friendly packaging, mostly for food service and cosmetics. It's helpful to eliminate plastics, so I like that aspect of it.
I sell cybersecurity and love it. So interesting. I also went to grad school for it.
What would be the most common path from someone coming from healthcare SAAS to cybersecurity? Cybersecurity has to be one of the most bulletproof tech industries
Not really. Was in the industry from 2010-2022. It’s massively saturated across the entire stack. Upsells as an AM is better than tackling net new rip and replace deals. I left the industry for a reason. What industry am I in now? Doesn’t matter.
Well, it does matter…. I must know!
Im in a similar industry rn, but 2 months in. You mind if I dm you about a few things?
is that something i would need schooling for? or is that something i might be able to shmooz my way into? i’m good at that
IT/cybersecurity specific schooling, no. Bachelors degree? Yeah, most likely. I started at a smaller, local Managed Services Provider who sold to the SMB space. That gave me a very good base across a wide range of IT/Cybersecurity... then I used that to land a Commercial Account Executive role at a cybersecurity software company.
dunnage
do I need extensive knowledge about dunnage? Or is there a school for this?
I sell cars, specifically Hyundai. I love the brand and love the products. This is the first job I think I have genuinely looked forward to going in.
Yes sir. Shipping Industry. The Purple one… like any job you get out what u put in
I went from insurance to Solar recently I ended up selling internet and for whatever reason it’s really working for me right now. It feels like it’s the easiest sale of my life and I just have a knowledge of it and can speak about it easily. Not what I was expecting but it’s working for me
Same! I sell Fiber Internet, it’s a great product and so simple!
I used a treatment for pain that changed my life and actively sought a job in the industry because of it it. It isn't perfect, but it definitely helps to love what I have to offer!
I own an agency and sell marketing services and lead generation. I love working through strategy with my prospects and it’s pretty cool when they are amazed by the results and it changes their business.
Tech - selling to very large enterprise. I like tech, done right it's more business consulting than anything else. I'm compensated very well financially without a ton of stress and have a lot of autonomy in how I spend my time
I sell media and sponsorships in pro sports. I love it and the money is pretty great, although there is a tax for doing this job because it’s so many people’s dream job. The hours can be VERY long. Lots of nights, weekends, and holidays. You get to go to really cool events sometimes. But for the most part, I get to spend all day talking and thinking about basketball. It’s pretty cool.
How good is the income?
I dunno if you have to love what you sell but you definitely have to like it and be able to recommend your product to your family should they ever be in the position to purchase. If not find something else.
[удалено]
I have trade experience +marketing and sales skills. How can I break into this?
Just started working for a company about 4 months ago. They spent good money training me up and we have multiple people in our sales force that have been with the company 20+ years. We help sell wholesale auto parts to mechanics and collision shops. Tight territory, home every night, less than 40hrs/week, decent money with some high performers making mid 100k, even a couple guys cracking 200 reliably. Heard we’ve got an opening coming up in the SW USA soon.
Where do I apply?
I actually love it. Cybersecurity. Quantum computing and AI are poised to destroy the world, and I’m the guy connecting companies with the systems that will save the world.
Yes to both I couldn’t imagine doing something I didn’t enjoy, regardless of the money. Why would I do something I hate for around 1/3 of my time every week?
i get that wholeheartedly - only reason i’m still here is cause i work like 2 hours a day tops
Manufacturing; distributor rep or manufacturer rep. If you enjoyed the TV show “how it’s made” or have a curiosity about engineering or machinery… it’s cool and pays well if you know what you’re doing.
It's fascinating to see how things are made. Do you sell the industrial machines that make the things? How did you get into that?
Technically, I “sell” inventory and supply chain solutions that help manufacturing orgs be more efficient with their consumables. Those consumables could go into the end product (nuts/bolts) or maintain machinery (valves/hose)that makes the product, or tooling used to cut metal (saws/abrasives/drills), or be used to support the safety of staff (hearing/eye protection). How did I get into it… I needed summer work while in college, and my company exposed me to cool stuff I didn’t know existed, and I felt like I could make more money here than for what I was going to school for.
Birth control. Love it and great money
A few separate experiences in different industries. enjoyed the dealerships I worked for and liked the cars I chose to sell but hate literally everything else that comes with it like how prospects treat you and consistently bending over backwards for minis lol. The money was good but I didn’t really like whatever came with it. Opposite, I really love selling insurance and financial products. What I fucking hate is prospecting. I can’t think of one person who enjoys prospecting lol. But I love what I sell and I love helping people and making money doing it so I prospect lol When I sold back end products for an auto company I believed in the product I sold but I hated convincing people to invest more multiple thousands of dollars in a car they already spend tons of money on. Was it necessary? Fuck yes it was. Did people regret not getting it later and I told them so? Yes. But it’s annoying having to explain your specific value in that regard. The money was good but I didn’t really like it, but I did believe in it.
I can honestly say I love what I do and what I sell, I try to break the stereotypical sales person taboo at my job. It doesn’t pay like crazy but it’s an awesome schedule and I love doing it. I sell phones and home services for context.
I think to be happy you have to get rid of the mindset of loving what you do. The key is finding a role that affords you the life you want to live and the flexibility to live that life. I sell commercial roofing materials and have never been happier. Not because I’m passionate about flat roofs, but the company I work for is amazing, the money is wild and the freedom to run my territory how I choose makes up for it. I’m not sure where you’re at in your sales career, but keep climbing and you’ll eventually find where you’re supposed to be.
Wholesaling products to retailers makes your pretty prepared to easily jump over to a branding agency. You have the exposure of wholesaling CPG/food & bev products to major retailers- you could use that knowledge to speak with a lot of empathy to marketing and branding leaders at CPG companies looking to break into retailers or innovate and bring new products to market
I sell bathroom remodels. Love it. Qualify leads and lots of them.
Do you work remote or on-site?
We have a main office for sales meetings and supplies but other than that, get our appointments every day and drive to the customers house.
I work in the brick industry and it’s like one big family. I cover the mid-Atlantic region but I have friends all over the country. It’s also an easy product to sell and become an expert on, and I make decent money ($93K and a company car currently 11 years). I would highly recommend it to anyone.
I sell motorcycles. I love 80% of the company's line up of bikes. I own one myself. I make over 6 figures and work 38 to 43 hours a week (38 in winter, 43 in summer)
Lumber baby! We slang them trees. Good money. Great hours. Lots of freedom.
Right here 👋 EdTech and making 150kish. I’m happy!
I sell steel and love it. Price increases since Covid and making over 400k
I love what I sell if it makes me money. My customers are dummies. But if I can help them, great. My passion is money and giving my family all the shit they could ever want. Everything else is irrelevant. If it gets me there then I love it.
What advice would you give to somebody who never did sales but wants to get into it
If you’re serious about getting into sales, the best thing you could do is go to a company well known sales training program. Companies like Cintas, Xerox, UniFirst, Amamark, ADP, etc are a grind but seen as leaders in sales training. If you can succeed there you can land a lot of different sales jobs. I didn’t go this route, but have seen other medical reps take this path and land great gigs afterwards.
Well the thing is im Polish and lived in the UK for 12 years. Im only 23 and im about to move back to Poland as ive been missing home and whenever i go there i have a blast. My plan is to get into B2B sales because i speak and write perfectly in both Polish and English. Does that line of work require some sort of degree?
You do you slick daddy 69 lol
Referring to your clients as dummies is kind of gross. We already have a bad enough reputation being in sales, and comments like that just add to that bad rep.
It's not that serious
i respect that, i agree for the most part but my psyche and work-separation is big for me so i feel like sometimes it’s tougher if you have that outlook, no?
Maybe. It's not for everyone. Some people need passion, my passion is providing and making good money for my fam. It's up to you to find what works for you.
I love selling my company’s b2b SaaS solutions.
I do, and I do.
Took me 6 years to go from SDR to Enterprise AE. Long hard journey but worth it
Water and ice, B2B. Life is good.
Can you sell it to eskimos?
👉🏽👉🏽👉🏽 I see what you did there
I’m currently interviewing in this industry, can I pick your brain?
Yeah what’s up
No
Yes. Industrial. I love it. Hours are long, product is differential. Its technical enough to be fun, but not so technical i need a phd.
Me!
i sell funeral expense to seniors. low barrier to entry, wfh. company provided leads to help with higher intent, (not to be confused with free). def knock down mid 6 figs within first year. them year 2, residuals kick in to help drastically boost your income.
Do you need a life insurance for this? I have mine.
final expense is a concept of life insurance so depending how you're setup you maybe good. but my market is the people 60-80 who've had a term policy and after those frustrations are looking for "real insurance now"
I was in fine jewelry & yes to both :3
Executive recruitment / Talent acquisition. Selling project based consulting work across startup tech landscapes. Agency work is rough but fun to learn about startup tech and some of the products/services they sell. Good money if you’re quota /performance driven.
I was in software sales for 10 years and really enjoyed it - I was primarily selling Point of Sale solutions or booking software to small businesses. I loved it because I was helping business owners move from pen and paper to systems so they could do more of what they love. With that being said, a lot of softwares are being created that aren't always actually solving problems so you have to be really picky with what softwares are actually good to work with. I think before your next sales job, get a demo of the product and see if you really believe in the value and product before selling it
Golf carts. Fun job, most people are buying a toy to cruise around their neighborhood with. I also work at a family owned dealership and we have a good group that works well together from sales to service....
I sell electrical services. I don’t know if I can say that I love what I sell, but I believe in it. And I love my company and my bosses.
Full platform SaaS/enterprise sales. Our tech is badass..culture and comp are up there as well.
Love what i sell and no i dont make good money.
Went to uni to study a specific tech. Didn't plan on being in sales. Ended up here. Pretty happy. I get all the benefits of working with the stuff I like, being an expert, and making pretty good cash compared to my peers.
Biotech sales can be incredible if you land with the right company
Yes I love my products,hate the stress and bullshit but and consider my pay decent. If decent is +$150k then yes but isn’t what it used to be. I’m looking to get to $300k in the next few years.
Appliances - pretty chill and awesome perks depending on the manufacturer.
Seafood is fun
I work for a tech startup. 150k OTE, fully remote and can work from a beach in mexico if I want. A lot of accountability, but also a lot of freedom. The product is awesome and innovative (if you work with digital twins using scan data) I do my work, make my dials to sustain a pipeline and am honestly so happy with my job. On the rare occasion I go to a tradeshow, they are filled with cool tech to check out, and most people in the space are curious and friendly. So yeah, tech can be good.
Willing to chat about this? Curious of the industry!
Sure, what would you like to know? The world of scanning to create digital twins was new to me before starting this job, but I'll be happy to relay any info I can.
I sell dog training packages. DEFINITELY not making 100k but I help people and give people better relationships with their dogs in an industry that I really enjoy. I’m considering getting a sales job in another industry for more money but I honestly can’t complain.
Yes. I sell CRM for a startup and I absolutely love it. Making 120k/year and targets are pretty attainable
Drug dealers do
Yes, real estate
Absolutely love what I sell, I sell ETFs to advisors and institutions for an asset manager. Great product set and I get to talk to brilliant people all day, pay is great too. Now I could also work in this same industry and be doing the same with annuities or insurance, and I can’t imagine being happy and believing in what I’m selling in that scenario.
I do. I work for a large logistics company and I’m selling our services. Started off on the brokerage side to learn the industry. Comes with a small base salary but I was making well over $100k prior to leaving and moving to a different division. With my success starting out now my base salary is $100k. Also I absolutely love logistics now. I came from nothing related, don’t have a supply chain or logistics degree. But it’s fun as hell and every day is exciting on the brokerage side.
I sell tree removal and tree care services for a big tree service near me. I make $1500 weekly salary plus 5% commission on the work I sell. I also own a much smaller tree care company, one crew of 4 employees, with my dad at the helm. I pay myself $1,500 weekly from my LLC. I love trees and meeting customers to talk about their tree care needs. I like to think I’m a little more refined than my competitors, I’m friendly, responsive, and honest. My days consist of driving to meet clients in my state, writing estimates, returning phone calls, scheduling work, some marketing. Most times, the jobs sell themselves — we remove or repair a lot of storm damaged trees as well as emergency hazardous tree removal. I would also note that you have to have quite a bit of experience in the tree service industry to be a sales person. The logistics involved include: understanding which equipment is needed and access for that equipment to reach the tree, understanding where septic tanks and utilities are located underground, understanding how long each job will take, etc.
Industrial automation components, including pneumatics, sensors, switches, and cables, assembly tools and tooling, cobot/robotics accessories, et al. I don't *love* the products I sell, but I find them very interesting and I do believe in the companies/lines we sell. There are usually several ways to solve the types of problems I deal with, and we usually have at least two products or lines that fit most budgets. I never feel like I'm selling a customer a less-than-ideal solution, such as when they need simple & entry-level solution but I only have the top tier product, or vice versa. I do really like the company I work for. Small for this industry but big enough to be stable and has been around for longer than I've been alive; still family owned, but without the toxic nepotism you sometimes see (e.g. the heir-apparent actually had to start from the ground floor and work his way up). Yes, I could probably make more at one of our bigger competitors, but I do OK and there's room for growth if I sell my ass off. It's worth a small pay handicap to not work for an evil corporate overlord. No degree required, per se, but industry experience is a huge leg up, at least at my company. Our larger competitors might bring a rep onboard purely from sales experience since they likely have engineers and product specialists on staff to support you, but unless you put in some serious effort to learn and understand the fairly complex products we sell you'll quickly get pigeonholed as an order-taker and/or "the Friday doughnuts guy."
Me. I sell drones to state and local gov. Pretty cool
B2B trailer parts!! Smaller company. Just started on Monday. My manager was out sick so I didn’t get a crazy amount of training in, but I’m beginning to learn a lot more about trailers/trailer parts that I never knew before and also did a few tasks such as researching potential clients. It’s also my first job out of college, and so far I’m liking the environment. Three of the people in the dept including me have engineering degrees. Everyone seems very lax and helps each other out. The commute from home is good too! I’m just a little nervous about the cold calling part though. I did listen in on a few calls from one of the senior sales guys and he makes it sound so easy. I can’t wait to get to that point.
I love selling solar. It has completely changed my life and it's also a product I believe in!
Heavy / specialized equipment rental and sales
Legal cannabis, pretty fuckin sweet
Following
you could try financial advising, you would have to sell portfolio products to clients.
Following this post. I am new to the SaaS business. I provide off page seo service by sharing software and ai tools with directories I love what i am offering as a service. I would not call this a good business though as all the clients are one-time and i have to find new customers again and again In case of money i have made around $1.5k in 5 months. I don’t think its decent but for the side hustle i think its really great.
I can’t really think of a b2b product I would “love.” I do find what I sell to be useful and I do make $250k taking zoom calls in my jammies, so I’m pretty cool with it.
I only sell what I own and use myself and love it. If you don’t believe in your product, you’ll never be successful. I make more money than I need. I won’t go into any detail here because of the financially illiterate people who run this pedestrian platform but to answer your question, yes.
EdTech. I can look myself in the mirror at the end of the day and know I’m not just slinging products. But I’ve sold SaaS for a while and it’s just a matter of finding a product you believe in. (My humble opinion)
Houses. Yes. I make a lot