Salesman is a dirty word to a lot of people but they are the people that drive the economy. I forget which sales/business guru first coined the phrase but we all live by it “Nothing happens until first the sale.” I consult with a lot of people doing startups and 9 times out of 10 all my advice is on sales and marketing because so many people with great ideas, great products, really innovative and killer business can’t sell and so nothing ever happens. When I talked to you young people about jobs, careers, college etc I always point out that if money and job security are most important to you then you should learn to sell. Good salesmen out earn the management, the engineers, and all the other workers in most industries. Here’s a fun a example that shows what most people don’t understand about where the money is in jobs. - I know 5 guys in the orthopedic business. One is an engineer. He has 5 years of college, works 50 hours a week and makes 55k. One is a machinist. He has no college, works 50 hours a week and makes 75k. One has an MBA and works in HR at the same firm as the first two and makes $45k. One is an Orthopedic surgeon. He has 11 years of school/residency. He works 50 hours a week and is on call another 24 hours. He makes $220K. THe last guy is an independent sales rep for the orthopedic products the other four guys deal with. He works 40 hours a week, half of it in tropical places with his clients and he make $350k.
“Salesman is a dirty word to a lot of people but they are the people that drive the economy.”
Ain’t that the truth! I am an engineer at the top of my game, did consulting for 15+ years, and found the truth in business the hard way. Those “business weenies”, as I used to call them, make the money. A great engineer can make a product and earn millions, billions even, but on whole it is the sales people that can earn the big bucks.