There are more than 13 million sales jobs in the U.S. — that’s more than all the teachers, doctors, nurses, and police officers combined. Before you apply to your next role, educate yourself about the types of sales jobs in the market to find your perfect fit.
Sales remains a career path with high earning potential that’s accessible to people from all backgrounds. With every variation from retail to software to aircraft sales (yes, this job exists!), career opportunities abound.
Use this comprehensive guide to sales jobs to find opportunities that pique your interest. You’ll learn what each position encompasses and how to tell whether it’s right for you.
Table of Contents
- What to Look for in a Sales Job
- The Top 11 Types of Sales Jobs
- What’s the highest-paying sales job?
- What is the best entry-level sales job?
What to Look for in a Sales Job
Before you can analyze a sales job, you need to know what to look for. Take the following five points into consideration.
1. Industry and Career Path
Are you interested in working for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies? Chances are, you’ll need to start as a business development rep and work your way to an account executive position.
On the other hand, if you go into manufacturing sales, you’ll probably be responsible for handling deals from start to finish. Business-to-Business (B2B) sales is a very different experience than selling to consumers.
This is to say: The industry you work in will determine the type of sales roles open to you, and vice versa. Before you commit to a certain career path or industry, make sure the positions and focus are compatible with your goals and preferences.
2. Long-term Job Outlook
Certain jobs, like SDRs, are steadily growing more popular. Others, like outside sales, are on the decline. Before you commit to a career path, make sure your role will still be necessary in 10 years.
3. Type of Sales Compensation
How do you like to make money? Sales compensation ranges from zero-commission (retail salespeople, for example) to pure commission (your salary is completely determined by performance). The former offers a greater sense of security, but the latter can be incredibly profitable — assuming you’re good at your job.
It’s even more important to keep in mind the average and median pay of the role. You might discover that the position you’re interested in doesn’t provide enough income to maintain your desired lifestyle.
4. Type of Leads
If you prefer working with inbound leads, a role that asks you to proactively find your opportunities won’t be the best fit. Consider what types of leads you prefer working with before you sign for a new job.
5. Personality
You’ll be miserable if you dislike the main activities of your role. For instance, someone who loves to get to know their customers and help them achieve their goals over an extended period would likely be best in account management.
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The Top 11 Types of Sales Jobs
1. Sales Development Rep (SDR)
Job Level: Entry-Level
SDRs (also commonly called business development reps, or BDRs) are responsible for the first part of the sales process: researching, prospecting, and qualifying leads.
Depending on the organization, that may mean identifying and reaching out to potential good fits, answering requests for more information, following up with prospects who downloaded content, prospecting on LinkedIn and other social networks, and more.
Once an SDR has determined the lead is qualified, they pass the opportunity to a sales rep. That rep is responsible for presenting or demoing the product, resolving the buyer’s objections, and creating a proposal.
Unlike a closing sales rep, SDRs don’t carry a traditional quota. They’re typically measured on their activity, like the number of calls made or emails sent. Most companies base an SDR’s commission on the number of meetings or opportunities they pass to their partner reps and the number of meetings or opportunities accepted by those reps, according to The Bridge Group’s 2021 Sales Development Metrics and Compensation report.
The Bridge Group also found average SDR compensation is $76,000, with an average 65% to 35% split between base pay and commission.
How to know if this job is right for you: This position is a great entry point to sales. Not only is there a clear promotion path, but you don’t need much experience. Of the companies that have an SDR career path, 93% require just 1.2 years of experience on average.
You’ll spend most of your time speaking with potential prospects, so you may not want to become an SDR if you’re not comfortable talking on the phone. The typical SDR role requires excellent written and verbal communication skills.
2. Account Executive (AE)
- Running demos or giving presentations.
- Identifying, surfacing, and addressing potential buying obstacles.
- Crafting personalized value propositions.
- Securing a commitment to purchase.
- Negotiating the actual terms.
AEs are held to quotas — sales targets they must meet either monthly, quarterly, or annually. Account executives earn a total of $116,610 on average including commission, though in some industries, like B2B SaaS, compensation averages as high as $167,000.
How to know if this job is right for you: Being an AE is a natural next step once you’ve gotten some selling experience under your belt. People with strong interpersonal skills thrive as AEs, since the lion’s share of their day is spent in meetings, on the phone, sending emails, and/or engaging prospects on social media.
Resiliency is crucial for this role. Like most sales jobs, the AE role comes with rejection and uncertainty. You’ll be miserable if you don’t learn to bounce back quickly after failure and remain calm in high-stress situations.
Of course, there are also a lot of highs. If the idea of closing a big deal or winning a low-probability opportunity thrills you, this position is right up your alley.
3. Outside Salesperson
Outside sales typically involve longer sales cycles and higher-value deals, and they also get paid slightly more. The most common industries for outside sales roles are manufacturing, Fortune 500 companies, and retail.
Because you’re largely working by yourself or with a few other team members, a field sales job can be isolating. On the other hand, you have more autonomy.
Thanks to the rise of email, social media, and web-conferencing tools — not to mention, a growing desire to talk to salespeople virtually and on the phone rather than in person — outside sales roles are becoming increasingly less common. They’re also evolving: Outside sales reps are starting to include some virtual tools and selling techniques into their multi-step processes.
The average total compensation for this role is around $107,139 according to Glassdoor, with a 68% to 32% split between base pay and commission.
How to know if this job is right for you: Employers usually look to more experienced salespeople for outside sales roles since you’ll typically be meeting buyers on your own. It’s also harder to learn selling fundamentals when you’re operating solo or in a small team.
As a result, an outside sales role might not be the optimal choice when you’re new to sales. Constant travel can take a toll too — whether you’re a novice or a veteran.
Working in outside sales does offer some advantages, like changes of scenery if you’re someone who can’t stand the thought of being in an office staring at a computer screen all day. Building rapport and establishing trust with your prospects tends to be easier if you’re face-to-face. In addition, many reps like how much independence this role offers.
4. Inside Salesperson
Inside salespeople guide their customers through the sales process remotely, building relationships with their buyers over time using video, email, and phone calls to connect.
The role of an inside salesperson typically does not involve travel or in-person interaction with customers, as the work is primarily done from their company's offices or remotely.
According to Glassdoor, the average salary for an inside salesperson is $69,510, including commission. Approximately 44% of those occupying the inside sales rep role are early in their career, and 19% of those in the role are considered mid-career.
How to know if this job is for you: If you’re a strong communicator who is self-motivated and a fast learner, you may be well-suited for an inside sales role. A job in inside sales can be a good place to begin your career in sales because you can work alongside other sales professionals in a safe environment for learning.
5. Account Manager
Job Level: Entry/Mid-Level
Account managers enter the picture once the initial purchase is complete. Unlike a salesperson, whose accounts are constantly changing, an account manager’s portfolio is relatively stable.
You’ll work with each customer to understand their needs, create a long-term strategy, and help them realize the greatest possible ROI from your product.
An account manager also serves as the client’s primary point of contact at the company. When they have non-support questions, they’ll go to you.
The main metrics you’ll be measured by? Retention and satisfaction rates. But account managers also look for upsell and cross-sell opportunities. At some organizations (usually smaller ones), they’ll handle this conversation with the customer directly. At larger companies, it’s more common for a salesperson to take over once an opportunity to expand the account comes up.
The average national compensation is $75,017, according to Glassdoor, with a 72%–28% split between base salary and commission.
How to know if this job is right for you: If you’re passionate about building lasting relationships and being an internal advocate for your customers, you’ll do well as an account manager.
Successful account managers are also skilled at balancing multiple needs. For any given account, you must consider the client’s objectives, your company’s objectives, sales targets, and more.
Lastly, you’ll need to speak your customer’s language. With a deep understanding of their business, market, product, and industry, you’ll earn their confidence and turn them into loyal customers and brand advocates.
6. Regional Sales Manager
You also might be involved in the recruiting, hiring, and firing of employees. And, depending on your organization's hierarchy, you might need to represent your team in executive and company-wide meetings.
According to Salary.com, you can expect a median annual salary of $123,057 and a total compensation averaging $143,151. Though regional sales managers no longer manage their own sales accounts, they still earn commissions and bonuses based on the entire team’s performance.
How to know if the job is right for you: You'll need at least three years of sales experience, often more, including some managerial experience. You might have held an account executive position or overseen a few SDRs, and you should be familiar with managing a small budget and analyzing team performance.
Once you have the experience, ask yourself whether you like managing people, budgets, and strategy for a team. A sales manager position involves a lot of people management and coaching. But some salespeople prefer to remain individual contributors. If you're happier in the trenches making sales and ringing the gong, a sales manager position might not be for you.
7. Sales Operations Manager
The goal of sales operations is to minimize friction in your company’s sales process to help your sales organization achieve its goals. In larger organizations, operations teams consist of analysts led by sales operations managers.
Sales operations managers are responsible for managing and simplifying the sales process on behalf of their company using automation and sales enablement best practices. Sales operations managers often oversee a company’s CRM and sales data and analytics. Key competencies include analytics, process management, basic sales knowledge, and business acumen.
According to Glassdoor, the total compensation of a sales operations manager averages $111,704, with 67% base pay and 37% other compensation.
How to know if this job is for you: If you have a strong understanding of sales and have experience with process management and sales enablement, you could be well-suited for a sales operations management role.
8. Sales Engineer
That’s a powerful — and rare — combination, so demand for them is relatively high.
As a sales engineer, you’ll answer in-depth product questions, work with prospects to determine their technical needs, communicate those needs to your sales, engineering, or product teams, help salespeople give demos, and craft the technical components of proposals and contracts.
You’ll either be paired with a single rep — in which case you may be held to a joint quota — or assigned to deals based on demand. Reps often complain there aren’t enough sales engineers to go around, so it’s likely you’ll have a full schedule.
Because sales engineering calls for more tech savvy than a traditional selling role, the median pay is relatively high: $103,780, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
How to know if the job is right for you: This position is ideal if you’re excited to flex both your technical knowledge and people skills. It requires fantastic active listening, presentation, and communication skills, as you’ll be spending a great deal of time in front of customers.
Some sales engineers are always on the road. Can you picture yourself spending a few days per week away from home hosting workshops for prospective customers and giving demos? If just the thought exhausts you, a sales engineering position may not be the best fit.
It’s also worth noting most employers look for a B.S. in computer science, a B.A. in engineering, or another related degree. Five-plus years of experience in pre-sales roles will also increase your chances of getting hired.
9. Director of Sales
In this position, you‘ll maintain a more strategic role than that of a sales manager. You’ll likely report to the VP of sales, and communicate executive directives to the rest of the sales organization.
You'll probably be held responsible for the performance of your department. And your bonus will be awarded when your sales organization meets or exceeds goals. Budgeting, people management, recruiting, and business development initiatives will also be on your plate.
While Glassdoor sets the national average base pay at $105,117, additional types of compensation can bring your total pay up to $200,034.
How to know if the job is right for you: Are you a sales manager who's ready for more responsibility and leadership potential? This might be the role for you.
You should be able to demonstrate growth and performance from your team as a sales manager. Your reps and region should be thriving, and you should already be flexing your muscles outside your job description.
Demonstrate a one-step-ahead mentality against your competition by identifying gaps in your business and delivering solutions first.
10. VP of Sales
As a VP of sales, you’ll identify strategic hiring opportunities that will strengthen your team, and aid in recruiting top talent. You'll also be in charge of team strategy like deciding which markets your organization will expand to and selling the tactics your team will need to get there.
At the end of the day, your goal is to help your company scale and grow. You can use your experience and insights to set a vision for the company’s next moves.
Because this role requires 10 or more years of experience and a proven track record of success, VPs can command a large salary and even larger commissions and bonuses.
Glassdoor reports the average base pay of VPs of sales as $170,770, with total compensation averaging $354,799.
How to know if the job is right for you: You’ve held managerial and director-level sales positions and can demonstrate that you’ve spearheaded significant departmental and company growth.
You should feel comfortable in a leadership role, be able to think analytically about your sales organization, and be proficient at communicating with executive- and board-level colleagues.
11. Chief Sales Officer
The Chief Sales Officer often reports directly to the CEO of the company and is expected to have top-tier sales expertise.
According to PayScale, over 80% of Chief Sales Officers are classified as being “experienced” or “late in career,” meaning those in this role typically have decades of sales experience under their belt.
Glassdoor reports the average base pay for a Chief Sales Officer at $178,475 per year, with all types of compensation totaling $358,643 per year.
How to know if the job is right for you: You have managerial, director, and VP-level sales experience and are able to drive revenue growth for an enterprise organization.
What’s the highest-paying sales job?
Among salespersons working as individual contributors, the highest-paying types of sales jobs are account executive (averaging $116,610 total compensation) and outside salespersons (averaging $107,139 total compensation).
Among managerial and operations positions, the highest paying sales jobs are Chief Sales Officer (averaging $358,643 total compensation) and VP of sales (averaging $354,799 total compensation).
Just remember that most sales jobs are commission-based, so there’s no limit to what a high performer can earn in any type of sales job.
What is the best entry-level sales job?
There’s a wide variation in what education or experience you need to get your first sales job. With little to no experience, you can start out as a sales development rep (SDR), seeking and qualifying leads.
Depending on the company, you can also land an entry-level role in inside sales or account management with only a bachelor’s degree. Inside sales is a more competitive, direct-selling role while account management builds relationships and offers solutions over time.
Good luck finding your perfect job in sales. No matter what type of sales job you choose, it's a career that offers fulfillment, autonomy, and unlimited earning potential.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
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