Graduate jobs in sales & Entry-level sales roles

Considering applying to entry level sales jobs? Here’s a quick insight into the industry!

Graduate careers in sales are incredibly rewarding, both financially and personally. In terms of personal reward, sales roles are often centred around helping customers and clients achieve their goals by utilising your company’s products and services. If you enjoy problem-solving, this can be very fulfilling. 

When it comes to the financial perks of jobs in sales, grads will often get paid commission on top of an already competitive starting salary. These roles also offer financial incentives like bonuses and fast career progression to more senior, high-earning Sales Manager jobs.

Sales careers sometimes have a negative stigma. This may be attached to the notion that sales careers involve coercing or forcing a product upon those who don’t want it.

In reality, with graduate sales jobs, a large part of your time is spent working out the target audience you should be promoting to and where your company’s products/services will be most useful. By refining the scope of potential customers, you can easily avoid constant phone-bashing or cold-calling. Sales is an art!

 

Many career options within the sales industry are currently in high demand:

• Business Development Executives are tasked with helping businesses grow by acquiring new customers or clients to offer the company’s services to.
• Client Services Executives work closely with current clients, understanding their needs and solving any issues.
• Sales Support roles involve administrative tasks, maintaining customer satisfaction, and processing new sales prospects.

 

Whether you want to launch your graduate career in an SME or FTSE 100 company, there is a huge range of roles on offer on our sales jobs board above. Check it out!

Wondering what makes a good salesperson? Here are some of the key sales skills, so you can decide if sales assistant roles or sales administrator jobs are right for you.

To excel, you will need to have excellent communication skills. You’ll be speaking to customers and clients frequently, both on the phone and in person. So, being a confident communicator is key. If picking up the phone makes you anxious, sales roles may not be right for you. 

Having the gift of the gab is important in sales roles, but it’s equally important to have the ability to listen. A good salesperson needs to satisfy a client’s needs and really listen to what they are looking for.

Problem-solving skills are also a quality that employers look for in salespeople. A career in sales will involve obstacles and pushbacks, like no’s, rejections, and complaints. A good salesperson will adapt well to unexpected problems and work through drawbacks.

Empathy is also an attribute readily sought after in salespeople. Showing empathy creates great client relationships. It’s crucial to show that you understand their unique challenges and perspectives. This builds trust and belief in your services or product.

Sound like you? If you think you have the right qualities to pursue a graduate sales career, register on our site and get in touch with our sales recruitment professionals today!

Unsure of whether to apply for graduate schemes in the sales industry? Here’s a brief overview of what to expect from the job…

There are multiple career paths within the sales industry. One of the key benefits of joining a graduate scheme as opposed to a standard graduate sales role is that it allows you to decide what area of sales is right for you. 

Sales graduate programmes offer on-the-job training in multiple different sections of the business. This helps you to what you enjoy and what you’re good at. This will help you make a more informed choice: perhaps business development is for you, maybe account management will suit your personality, or even a B2B sales role if you are an entrepreneur at heart.

Graduate schemes in sales are also a great way of fast-tracking your career progression. Sales graduate schemes can provide different leadership opportunities. For example, managing client accounts and building sales leads, which both quickly pave the path to seniority. Territory Manager graduate schemes, for example, give you the responsibility of supervising a group of stores and sales executives after one year of training. 

Sales graduate schemes also offer training from experienced members of the team. This gives you the chance to gain some advice and wisdom from some of the best professionals in the industry.

If you’re looking to quickly progress your sales career, you should check out the opportunities on our jobs board today!

In short, it depends– it largely changes based on several contributing factors:

• Industry: In sectors such as real estate, insurance, or financial services, commission-based structures are more common across all levels, including graduate sales roles. Due to the demanding nature of such industries, they typically rely on sales commissions to motivate and reward their teams.
• Training: For those in a graduate sales trainee role, companies often focus on investing in comprehensive sales training and career development, rather than monetising performance. In such cases, the emphasis may be on building a strong foundation of sales skills before transitioning to commission-based structures in senior roles.
• Targets: Sales jobs for graduates typically have lower sales targets and expectations compared to more senior positions. This can impact the decision to offer sales commissions. If the targets for sales graduate jobs are relatively modest, the company may opt for a fixed salary structure to provide stability and attract entry-level talent.

 

It’s important to remember that the highest-paid sales jobs are not necessarily the best sales jobs. Sales jobs for beginners should centre on development and progression opportunities, with a fair graduate salary and options for commission as the role progresses.

Make sure you research and inquire about the specific company’s compensation structure during the application and interview process.

Sales graduate roles require a wide range of technical and soft skills. Here are some essential skills that are highly valued by employers:

• Communication: The foundational skill for all UK sales jobs is verbal and written communication. Employers require individuals who can confidently present their product/service, actively listen to client’s needs, and use rapport to build solid relationships.
• Resilience: Rejection and setbacks are a common occurrence in sales. So, employers seek out candidates who possess the kind of persistent personality that can bounce back in a challenging environment. Positivity is key!
• Adaptability: Sales environments can be dynamic and ever-changing. As a result, employers value candidates who can adapt to new situations, learn quickly, and embrace new technologies and sales techniques.
• Target Orientation: Sales roles typically have targets and quotas to meet, so you’ll need to be goal-oriented and motivated to achieve and exceed sales objectives.

 

If this criteria matches your skillset, why not apply for the graduate sales executive jobs on our job board? Your sales career starts here!