Kevin Gardner, Negosentro | In any given organization, sales plays a key role for the success or failure of the company. There’s a saying that something like this: a great salesperson can sell a mediocre product, but a mediocre salesperson can never sell a great product. Without efficient salespeople, there is no progress.
Sales has become a competitive field, and there is always a demand for more qualified and successful salespeople. Though sales is a universally applicable practice for all industries, some industries are more preferred and sought out.
According to a 2018 analysis by LinkedIn and Peak Sales Recruiting, the following list includes the best industries for salespeople.
- Software Technology — Machine Learning, Business Intelligence, Big Data
With the Machine Learning and Big Data’s rapid usage and application across many businesses, most companies are looking forward to hiring big data, machine learning, and business intelligence services. Every business executive looks forward to making data-driven decisions regarding their business.
Salespeople working for tech giants and startups have an advantage over other salespeople, in that their product is in high demand. All signs are pointing toward that demand growing larger every year, allowing all salespeople to feel some job security – as long as they are hitting their sales quotas, of course.
- SaaS — Software as a Service
Though SaaS is related to the software industry, it is vast in its scope. In SaaS, a salesman primarily sells a software to another business, such as SalesForce, Qualtrics, or other enterprise softwares. These softwares are usually housed on a cloud, allowing companies to free up memory space and computer speed, all while securing their data. They are almost always subscription-based, so salespeople in this industry will focus on how to work longer subscriptions into their negotiations.
The products in this industry, much like the products of industry 1, are in high demand and are expected to grow in demand as years pass. Salespeople in this sector are expected to hit high quotas, but they can also expect to be compensated very well.
- Healthcare
The healthcare industry is next for salespeople after software and tech. There is an ample room for growth in healthcare with the baby boomer population coming to their retirement. The older generations encounter a wide range of health issues. In such cases, healthcare is vital and there is not a future without healthcare being the most basic need. Medical sales representatives are one of the most key figures in the healthcare industry, as both medical and pharmaceutical companies depend on them.
This industry requires the ability to makes sales in a very different way than tech-based careers. You might consider undergoing some basic medical sales training, or starting out in an entry-level position with a large company that offers training services. You can expect to move up quickly by proving your worth as you work hard and make the company better.
- Financial Services
With the advent of Fintech – financial technology – the number of products and services that can be offered in the finance sector at a B2B level has skyrocketed. The finance industry has increased twofold ever since the last decade. Though the present younger generation might not embrace the traditional route of financial consulting, they’re all wildly drawn towards the financial technology aspect.
This sector of sales is similar to Industry 2, in that there is usually some technology sales involved, often in a subscription form. Most financial tools today are technology-based and run on a computer. Many similar skills will be expected by salespeople in Fintech as in SaaS.
- Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)
These are the purchases that are most commonly made in our day to day lives. These transactions have always been there from the start of the retail industry. Sale of groceries, clothing, food, drinks and other products of these sorts come under Consumer Packaged Goods.
For the businesses in this industry, profit is made through partnering and deal-making with the right sellers. The person to carry out this dealmaking and negotiation is usually the salesperson. In terms of job security and stability, an aspiring salesperson should keep an eye on this industry.
