Don’t get an MBA.
The majority of jobs in the world are sales related. Yet colleges don’t really do a good job of teaching for it. That’s 14 million employees who were not taught how to sell. Not to mention the average MBA costs nearly $100,000.
It’s a travesty.
What salespeople need to be successful in the workforce just isn’t taught in schools. This role that could be the most important in business is learned with practice and hard work.
Here are the 4 top reasons why you should forgo the MBA and pursue a career in sales:
#1 Demand is high, supply is low
Just this year, the number of jobs in sales and related occupations jumped to a four-year-high of 15.8 million. According to USA Today article, sales representative is the second-hardest job to fill this year, behind skilled trades. And Glassdoor ranked Sales Director in the top 5 of highest demand jobs is the nation.
#2 Successful companies are driven by a top-down sales culture
Salesforce.com, Microsoft, Oracle, etc. Some of the greatest businesses in the game are known for their sales culture.
Additionally, a large % of CEOs are hand picked from the sales ranks. Sales skills are a requirement in business leadership and an area where you can differentiate yourself.
#3 You can teach it yourself (save the $$$)
You can teach yourself everything you need to know to succeed in sales. In fact, it’s better learned in the real world than through structure.
Make a habit of reading, practicing what you learn, and going out and selling things on your own. Look for a future post here on just how to do that but know for now that you can create your own path to sales mastery.
4. Great salespeople are the highest paid professionals in the company
There’s an adage in the software world that CEOs want their sales professionals to make more money than they do. There are absolutely no other roles that could be thought of this way. In most cases, the sales profession offers unlimited upside in terms of career earnings.
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Why natural abilities are important in sales, there is a huge professional body of best practices, sales methodologies, etc. Since
very few MBAs offer this track, it could be one of the best opportunities to build your amazing career.