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Posted by u/cyberrico Mod - Tech Sales 4 years ago 

How to Get Your First Sales Job
Guide

This guide will mostly focus on landing a job in technology sales as it is the field that I know the best and the field
that most people have been coming to me about and asking me to mentor them through the job selection and
interview process. It will apply to pretty much any industry for entry level B2B though.

PICKING THE RIGHT COMPANY

First of all, I highly recommend that you stay away from commission only jobs. Down the road when you are
established, some salespeople go commission only because you're usually paid a higher rate but at entry level
commission only usually means a crappy job.

When you find a company that looks interesting, look them up on Glassdoor. Don't use their reviews as your only
means of judging a company though. It only takes one former manager to piss 100 people off who leave the
company and write a 1.0 review on them because of him. But you will get a lot of good information on the
company on how big they are. I am a big fan of big companies. It's hard to get into them at the entry level but the
bigger they are the better their training will be. This is very important to your future.

This is your first sales job, you have no experience so beggars can't be choosers. But try to stay away from
extremely small companies if you can. 5 employee companies are often a mess. Check to see how well funded they
are. Millions in funding is what you are looking for. Do they have a sales manager? Does he/she seem like the type
that will train you?

FINDING A JOB

Get your resume and profile on Indeed, Monster, Careerbuilder, Yahoo, etc. Find out what all the big sites are. You
won't get a ton of great responses from them but it's important that you not leave that stone unturned.

Most entry level folks find their jobs by applying for them directly. LinkedIn is a great place for this. I'll get into
your LinkedIn profile later. In general, you need to search the job sites and apply to these jobs.

More importantly, you need to make a list of companies in your area that you would like to work for and apply for
them directly. Do a Google search for "SaaS companies in Atlanta" or whatever else you're interested in. Go to
their websites.
 3
It doesn't matter if they have an ad up stating that they are hiring. It's even better than
Search they don't,Free
that way you're
not competing with 100,000 people with better resumes for one opening. Usually a company will have an
employment section on their website for you to submit your resume. Chances are this will go to HR and they will
throw it in digital pile. What you really need to do is find out who the sales managers are and contact them
directly.

To find out who the sales managers are, go to LinkedIn, pull up the company and do a sub search for "sales" in the
search box on the left side (not up top). If you have the Email Hunter Chrome extension installed you might even
get their email addresses. Email them, wait a week, then call them.

I could write a template for a compelling email to a sales manager that you are trying to get a job with. But there
are several reasons that I'm not going to do it. First, each email should be customized. It should address their
company specifically and how you are a fit. Do a search, work on your script and if you need help, send me a PM
with what you have and I will steer you in the right direction.

This process is similar to how you will be selling. You will call them and email them and continue to follow up in
hopes of getting them on the phone to pitch yourself. Are you up to that? Because it's what you're going to do for
a living.

RESOURCES

One thing that I often recommend that people do is have their resumes professionally done. It's a little silly to do
this for someone with no sales job history but if you have $100 it will give you a major leg up and they will consult
you on the best way to not only build a general sales resume but something targeted to what you're looking for
and they will give you some advice on attacking the job market. About a year or so ago I paid for a service from
(will recommend someone else soon) and I was very impressed. I ended up deciding not to leave my company so I
gave the service to a friend of mine. The basic package though is about $100. Go on live chat and talk them down
on price.

Keep in mind that every word on your resume is a keyword. I don't have experience selling CRM solutions but
"CRM" is on my resume because of a reference that I made about partnerships or something. Hence, I will come
up on a search with that term in it. Don't arbitrarily put a bunch of words out of context in your resume but try to
get words like SaaS and software in there for sure.

It's been a very long time but I have had a lot of luck with premium listings on Careerbuilder and Monster.
Basically, when your name comes up on a match in a search from an employer or a recruiter you will be at the top
of the list rather than the bottom of tens of thousands.

You need to work on your LinkedIn profile. I am no expert on building an optimal LinkedIn profile for job hunting
but here is an article on job hunting profiles in LinkedIn.

Get your connections on LinkedIn a high as you can. You can always remove garbage connections later but a lot of
people will judge you by the number of connections that you have.

THE INTERVIEW

Look them in the eyes, smile and give them a firm handshake, even if it's a woman.

You need to have a solid story as to what qualities about you would make you a great salesperson. You've always
had exceptional social skills, you've always been a student of understanding people, relevant studies in college,
related job experience, volunteer work, leadership experience, etc. Have this story down. Not just in a script but
in pieces.
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Let them talk and ask Search
you questions. Look up guides on standard responses to interview questions.
Free

At some point they will ask you if you have any questions. This is your time to shine:

What traits are you looking for in an a rep for this position?

What advancement opportunities are available to those who are successful in this role?

What challenges have you had with reps who have failed to meet their goals?

What methodologies are your top producers using to be successful?

(You should also ask questions about their product to should that you have done your homework).

Now you make your pitch:

I am very interested in this position because <good things about the company> and <advancement opportunities
that they mentioned>. I believe that I would be an excellent fit for this position because I am <all of the things that
they said they were looking for in a rep> and <none of the things that they are having a problem with in their
under achievers>. I am absolutely confident that I will be a top producer for you and if you give me a chance, I
promise I will not let you down.

Let them talk then go in for the close:

What does the rest of the interview process consist of?

What do you think of me as a candidate?

(Now you want to overcome any objections that they have. It will probably be about you having no experience).

I assure you that I spend a large part of my free time studying sales methodology and speaking with senior level
salespeople about the craft to prepare me for the career that I know I was meant to do. Take a chance with me
and I promise I won't let you down. Do you see any other reason why we can't move forward immediately?

In general, prepare, prepare, prepare. Read the LinkedIn profile of everyone who is interviewing you. Scour the
company's web site to learn everything about them. Don't go into the interview having to ask them what they do.

FINAL THOUGHTS

You're going to have to be persistent and you will need to apply to a lot of companies. I know that it will be difficult
to do but you need to sound as confident as possible. Obviously, you're not going to have the suave relaxed
confidence of someone who has been doing this for 25 years but even us veterans have to fake it sometimes.
Don't speak too quickly. Try not to say "um".

Let me know if you have any questions.

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Cyndershade 4 years ago

You realize now that Cyberrico has closed the loop, there can be no more helpful3 guides...
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https://www.reddit.com/r/sales/comments/3qfiv0/should_you_leave_your_job/

And now how to get hired? r/Sales people can get hired and quit any time they want, should we... should
we stop? Are we making new salespeople... too powerful?

 9  Give Award Share Report Save

oodluspoodlus 4 years ago

Seconding all of the above with one additional suggestion. Once you've found the hiring manager, don't
email them first. Instead call them first. Cold call them and close them on a first meeting with you. In
doing so you will instantly demonstrate that you have the attitude and ability to open new doors, which
is exactly what they are hiring for. You will stand out amongst the pile of cvs on their desk. Even if
another candidate has 10 times more experience than you do on paper, guess what, the hiring manager
has just experienced your skill firsthand in a way that those paper applicants haven't.

Worked for me. Cold call at 11 am became an interview at 1 pm the same day, became a job offer a few
weeks later after meeting the rest of the team.

Also for bonus points, if you don't get the job, call back the manager, thank them for their time and ask
them for feedback on the interview. Ask them why you didn't get the job. Someone did this to me once
and I was blown away by his brass balls and he really stood out. Despite him not getting the job we
ended up becoming friends and helping each other out with leads in the industry.

 5  Give Award Share Report Save

cyberrico Mod - Tech Sales  4 years ago

That's not a bad idea. They probably get hammered with emails and by reflex forward them to HR who
will resent you for not going through them in the first place. So calls first is probably a good idea. There
are a few things that I am going to add and change about the guide. I'm going to change this and I'm
going to put in a section about recruiters. Thanks for your input.

 1  Give Award Share Report Save

oodluspoodlus 4 years ago

Thanks. Even if HR resents you, you can later feign ignorance about their role in the process to win
them back and in the process you've proven to the hiring manager that you know how to get past
gatekeepers and go straight to the decision maker.

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cyberrico Mod - Tech Sales  4 years ago

I just call the VP of HR and say "Look bitch, daddy is going to make you lots of money so get me
through to the sales manager". It usually goes really well.

Seriously though, getting inside of people's heads and really understanding who they are and
what they want has always been my forte. But I have never really been able to sync up with HR. I
know what a sales manager wants to hear. They want to know the truth because 99% of the time
they know what a good salesperson is. But I have yet to crack the code on what the perception of
the average HR person's ideal salesperson is.
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I had an interview
Search with a company years ago. The head of HR ran a series of interviewsFree
with me
and was present in all 3 interviews. I crushed them all. They were all floored by me. The sales
manager, the CFO and the CTO all drooled on the spot. She spent the day telling me that she had
serious reservations about me though. I swear to you I was never cocky, was very polite, didn't
talk over her and was humble the entire time. One thing I'd imagine about HR is that they hate a
cocky sales guy.

She tells me how much the job pays and it was so ridiculously below my requirements I had to
stop and ask. "You've seen my resume. I've been incredibly successful at every company that I
have worked for in high tech. Your CTO, CFO and sales manager loved me and you have
reservations of me for this $xx,xxx position? Are your other candidates really that good that I am
just not that interesting to you?"

She said she thought that I didn't seem that qualified. So needless to say, I avoid HR like the
plague and need to learn what they are looking for that they perceive as a good salesperson.

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proROKexpat 4 years ago

Its one of the things my last hiring manager said they liked about me, I kept pushing and closing on
different call back times/etc

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Known2bG 4 years ago

I like this a lot. You may have gold coming your way in the future. Is it original?

 1  Give Award Share Report Save

oodluspoodlus 4 years ago

Thanks. Original? Yes. No one ever told me to do this or even suggested it was a possibility. I just
saw the opportunity and tried to go after it via the shortest, most direct route possible.

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VyvanseCS Enterprise Software 🍁 4 years ago

And there it is ladies and gentlemen.

A god amongst (sales)men.

Cyberrico the Legend.

 6  Give Award Share Report Save

flip3fence 4 years ago

Thank you so much. We've talked in another thread. Will definitely be bookmarking this. Again thanks
man!

 3  Give Award Share Report Save

underpaidzero8 4 years ago

Thank you for writing this. Started my first sales job and it's been nothing but telemarketing
3 for 3
Search Free
months.

 2  Give Award Share Report Save

desylid 4 years ago

I have been trying to land my first sales job (preferably in pharmaceutical or medical sales) for months
and I am at my absolute wits end.

I keep running into the same problem of recruiters trying to pull the bait and switch scam. They post an
attractive job and then contact me to tell me that I am not qualified for that job because of "strict
requirements from the company" (yeah sure), but they do have a no or low barrier job for me that is
supposedly more suitable such as B2B uniform sales or Paychex. It's always Paychex. Or they want me to
be a recruiter.

I have not gotten a single interview from a company. At this point I am not sure if I have even applied to
a real job posting through LinkedIn, Monster, Indeed, etc. I'm starting to think there is some kind of
recruiter conspiracy because this is getting ridiculous.

Hate for the system is starting to flow through me and I haven't even fucking gotten started yet.

 1  Give Award Share Report Save

Cyndershade 4 years ago

Starting out in sales at pharma or med sales is just about unattainable, and an absolute recipe for
disaster. I have been doing this for a long time and I have not heard a single case of anyone I've ever
met starting out in either or similar fields, the people I do work with who have met those that are
'lucky' enough to have started in pharma have taken a quick exit from the industry and work in cubes
now.

It's not a conspiracy, it's pretty much the highest skill floor you can possibly get into in sales outside of
ridiculously niche markets.

Set your sights much, much lower and work your way up.

Also, Paychex is not a bad gig, it'll teach you many tenets of how to be an effective pharma and med
rep because persistence is a big part of the deal, if you're too good for Paychex you will never be good
enough for pharma.

 2  Give Award Share Report Save

desylid 4 years ago

Alright thanks for the advice. Decided that I am no longer going to pursue pharm and medical sales.
Going to aim lower and gain experience.

I have a very strong medical and medical background. Do you have any advice for a sales position
that is in the scientific field that is a more reasonable target?

 1  Give Award Share Report Save

Cyndershade 4 years ago

Don't fall for the misconception that you need any medical or scientific experience to sell for
pharmaceutical companies, you just need good sales skills in general. If Paychex is hurting to
hire you, I'd go work for Paychex.
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I've writtenSearch
up overviews on selling cars a bunch of times, but I have no advice going for a
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specific field outside of that. If you have the ability to learn dental trade information you can
probably learn the caveats of any product or service, it's sales that you need to learn.

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Stizinky 4 years ago · edited 4 years ago

Cyndershade's comments below are correct. Rarely anyone breaks into medical sales as their first job.
The exceptions are if you're a D1 athlete or graduated from west point. I empathize with your anger at
"the system" but there are reasons for that:

Most medical sales positions are highly autonomous and fast paced; companies cannot spend
days and weeks training someone on how to do a proper cold call, much less move a complex
deal through many stages. They need people who can sell right out of the gate
The huge companies like Stryker, MDT, J&J etc are the only companies who can really afford the
constant turnover. However, the demand for those jobs is high such that they can afford to be
picky. Smaller companies absolutely cannot afford the turnover, thus they are extremely
picky...due to the nature of the job where there isn't constant supervision (there's usually no office
to report to) you can't tell whether the 22 year old you hired is sleeping in his car or doing sales
calls. They need folks with a proven track record or history of being exceptional.
You will continue to get dicked around unless you get 1-2 years of B2B sales on your resume. I'm
not sure if you're unemployed right now, but if that's the case you're way off base. Gaps in your
resume especially at a young age is a killer for med sales. If you haven't gotten any interviews yet
you haven't even begun to feel the frustration...the interview processes are typically 5,6,7, up to
10 steps long. Ride alongs, panel interviews, business plans...and you're in intense competition
with other candidates. However, it is worth the trouble.

The med device industry is extremely recruiter driven and is unlike most other industries. You have to
work through these people to get a shot at an interview. They are paid handsomely to screen out the
tire kickers and place A1 candidates...that's how seriously device companies take hiring standards. Ive
worked in B2B and enterprise software and there still has been nothing like the interview process with
medical device companies.

There is nothing wrong with Paychex - one or two years there with great numbers and recruiters will be
salivating over you for a medical sales job. Right now your arrogance is your worst enemy.

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desylid 4 years ago

Right now your arrogance is your worst enemy.

Point taken, but in my defense my arrogance is a reaction to what has happened in my life. Last
summer I cleaned fish shit as I was trying to get back into my last year of dental school after
dropping out. I don't think I'm too good for a job at the bottom to get my hands dirty and work my
way up.

I'm just so sick of being scammed. Dental school I learned the hard way was paying hundreds of
thousands of dollars to support the old guard in years of ritualistic academic hazing. 80% of my time
was navigating red bureaucratic red tape. I stuck with it for years longer than I should have in spite
of the red flags and misery because I was so stubborn and set on being a dentist. If I had just
survived the system the payout could have been potentially very profitable but I was not the person
I wanted to be.
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In between years Freedudes
of school I helped build up a few tennis clubs. Made tons of money for the
Search
at the top but made a small pittance for what I should have for my time and effort. 24 year old me
was enticed by $14 dollars an hour. 30 year old me realizes that making 14 dollars for an 80 dollar
lesson is a scam.

I am aware of my direct sales experience limitations. But I trust myself and I know my potential.

I am so sick of getting fooled by false promises. I've gone through the ringer and the 'training' in
several industries now and I've come out every time feeling used and abused.

My fear in taking a job with a company like Paychex is getting trapped again. When people like you
give free advice on forums like reddit I listen. When recruiters talk and give me the same lines of
bullshit all of my defenses go up. It sounds like the dental/medical school admissions process all
over again.

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Cyndershade 4 years ago

Point taken, but in my defense my arrogance is a reaction to what has happened in my life.
Last summer I cleaned fish shit as I was trying to get back into my last year of dental school
after dropping out. I don't think I'm too good for a job at the bottom to get my hands dirty
and work my way up.

You're saying one thing and doing another, though, so you can see why /u/Stizinky pointed out
your arrogance (and myself). You need to realign this properly if you're going to be in sales, there
is no other discussion to be had about it.
I'm just so sick of being scammed.

Sometimes life sucks man, move past it. Sales is not dental school, sales isn't your tennis club,
sales isn't your experience at all. You can't possibly look at the inside of this business from your
quoted experience and have any idea what you're talking about, but you certainly are acting and
portraying like you do. If I interviewed you for any position with an attitude like what's displayed
here I'd barely trust you with coffee runs.

30 year old me realizes that making 14 dollars for an 80 dollar lesson is a scam.

It's not, though, this is how a business operates. There are a myriad of costs associated with
running a business that people in your position don't consider when it's all said and done.
Facilities, payroll, taxes, training, staff, insurance, and plenty more where that comes from before
you can even consider profit.

24 year old you learned a lesson improperly that made 30 year old you bitter and set your career
potential and value back a decade, you need to nip this in the bud as soon as you possibly can. I
would suggest seeing a therapist, or at the very least taking a step back and looking at your
options from a different perspective, this isn't even sales advice, this is happy life advice.

From a sales perspective, sales skills is a foundation. Foundations are building blocks that allow
great things to be put on top of them, right now you have no foundation, and no big company
wants to build their business on a muddy pit. Saying this:

My fear in taking a job with a company like Paychex is getting trapped again. When people
like you give free advice on forums like reddit I listen. When recruiters talk and give me the
same lines of bullshit all of my defenses go up.
 3
Is a very, very clear example that you don't understand how that works. Sales is a different
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industry I admit, and I understand your reservations, but you can't go from 0-100 doing what we
do without working the shitty, shitty jobs.

Buddy, I started out almost 20 years ago as a programmer in a basement of an ad agency about
to go bankrupt in student loans because I realized that I had no idea how to sell a website before
people realized how important they were. I didn't like sales, I didn't like people (still don't), I just
wanted to code away and make a decent living. I couldn't do it without sales skills, I never looked
at any position that was available to me like I was too good for it, I just looked at them like a
foundation building opportunity, that's where you need to be right now.

I walked into a car dealership and made a hundred grand a year learning a skill I'd previously
hated, and I handed W2's and hand written letters to any company who'd look at me long
enough to see I'm not a piece of shit.

You're not there yet, but you can be.

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desylid 4 years ago

14 dollars on an 80 dollar lessons for clients that we recruit ourselves is a scam. I came
already trained. The company preys on recent college graduates. The standard in the industry
is about 50-60% per lesson and that covers overhead and then some. You either suffer for a
few years making a pittance and move up the ranks and then profit by scamming the young
guys or you get the fuck out as soon as you can and take as many clients as you can with you
can with you. The company I'm talking about is the butt of many jokes I have with my alumni
friends.

Thanks for the life advice on seeing a therapist. If you want to fund me to go talk to someone
for a hundred an hour I'll do it but otherwise I think just about any other way to spend that
money is a better investment.

 1  Share 

Cyndershade 4 years ago

Thanks for the life advice on seeing a therapist. If you want to fund me to go talk to
someone for a hundred an hour I'll do it but otherwise I think just about any other way
to spend that money is a better investment.

Well if you go get a job at Paychex it'll be about 20 bucks per visit with their copay. Hell
even a car dealership will give you decent insurance these days.

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Stizinky 4 years ago · edited 4 years ago

We are strangers on the internet trying to help with free advice, not disparage your
situation. The therapist comment was aimed more at your frustration level and anger
which is highly evident. If this comes across in interviews, you will appear to have
baggage and be a product of your own poor decision making. If you can ease the
frustration and see the big picture, not let your emotions guide you the path will
become more clear. That is all I think Cyndershade is trying to say.
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ISearch
don't think you need to be worried about being "trapped"...you're actually in the
Free
absolute opposite situation. Trapped is you can't relocate for a better job or you're
miserable but can't switch industries because you have debt and can't take a paycut.
You're not tied to anything right now and the world is your oyster...you just have to be
willing to pay your dues.

Honestly, your tennis lesson gig sounded like every other job out of college. I was an
insurance adjuster making 28K a year, I have a buddy that sold knives at cutco (well
known for being a pyramid scheme) who now has a director title at medtronic. There is
nothing wrong with Paychex, there are folks who are making 200K plus there. A little
research would have shown that is absolutely a legitimate company and well known for
producing great B2B talent.

 5  Share 

cyberrico Mod - Tech Sales

 4 years ago
I helped a couple of people land medical device jobs recently. They both had about a year of BRD sales
experience though. One year of successful sales B2B experience opens a ton of doors. However, the
pay for entry level medical devices is not pretty. I don't know anything about pharma. I know it's kind of
a beauty contest.

Watch out for recruiters. Take everything that they say with a grain of salt. Don't tell them who else you
are interviewing with.

Find something in pretty much any B2B industry that will get you that year of sales experience. Even if
the job kind of sucks you can hold your breath for a year and grind it out. You will learn a lot and that
sweet entry on your resume will be golden.

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Recplayer609 4 years ago

This is awesome! I am in the beginning stages of trying to land my first sales job and this is very valuable
information!

The only thing that is left to be done is actually put this into action.

Thank you all who have contributed to r/sales

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flip3fence 4 years ago

How does one find a B2B sales job that's entry level if everything I've been searching for requires at least
2 years of sales experience? Should a person start selling something else first such as cars or retail sales
before trying to go into B2B?

Maybe I'm searching wrong. Should I be searching on linkedin titles such as "entry level sales" or "inside
sales rep"?

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