Mr.Lego

Sales Director.

MBA...is it worth it for sales professionals?

I have been considering pursuing an MBA for a while now. At the same time, I’ve always believed that strong sales professionals can demonstrate their value through performance, not necessarily through formal education. (I mean this with all due respect, we all know "that guy or gal" who has an education from some impressive school but brings absolutely nothing to the table when he/she speaks...haha.) While I’ve viewed an MBA as a potential tool for career advancement, I have also built my path through hard work, results, and consistent growth—earning leadership roles without a graduate degree.

I would love to hear from others:

Have you advanced your career without higher education? What did you do to separate yourself from the competition?
Has earning an advanced degree helped open doors you wouldn’t have otherwise accessed? (provide some examples)
How important do you believe "X school" was towards advancing your career and why?

Curious to hear different perspectives.

Is an MBA crucial for career advancement in sales?

Attached poll

Yes No Other (wrote more in the comments)

*Voting in this poll no longer yields commission.

💡 Education/Resources

14

15 comments

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Pachacuti

Politicker

10

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

I have LONG deliberated the value of an MBA for someone in Sales. Here's my 2cents:

(1) there are certain companies and career paths which require an advanced degree to move forward. Sales is generally not one of those.

(2) A good Sales person is like a good Welder. The proof is in the finished product - or sales metrics. So a good sales person does NOT even need a bachelors degree (or any degree for that matter). But having that piece of paper has inherent meaning which helps get your foot in the door. Rarely is an MBA required for an IC sales role.

(3) What an MBA tells a prospective employer, with respect to an IC role, is "I won't be at this role for very long" because it broadcasts ambition to move up the ladder. And if your boss doesn't have an advanced degree, it could easily work to your disadvantage.

(4) Unless you are just after the piece of paper, only a Top 50 MBA is worth the investment. But if you just need the piece of paper, for what its worth you could just as easily print your degree from your home printer (there are a few MBA programs in the US which go for under $10k)

(5) If you go for a Top 50 MBA, you need to work out the ROI or Cost-Benefit Analysis. What is the cost of taking 2 years off work + the cost of the MBA ($400,000ish?)? What increase in pay do you reasonably see coming from an MBA in your sales role? What additional opportunities do you see the MBA opening up for you.

(6) If you want to pivot from Sales eventually, having an MBA is a great advantage. So there's that.

In the end, you need to evaluate what is best for you. I eventually decided the OTJ experience I have is just as good, if not better, than anything I'd learn from an MBA program.

Revenue_Rambo

Politicker

7

Bad MFer

💯 I’ve toiled with this idea as well and @Pachacuti lays out the rational perfectly.

Ultimately what you are buying is a network. If you just want to learn then save a few hundred thousand and buy this book.

jefe

Arsonist

4

🍁

Gotdamn I can't keep up with this fucking guy today.

@Pachacuti you're one a roll.

All of this is so true.

Pachacuti

Politicker

3

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

been on some lame calls, so i have time to kill

Sunbunny31

Arsonist

2

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Great post, sorry about the reason you have the time to write it out!

Gasty

Notable Contributor

2

War Room Community Manager

Not even a single point missed!! Hats off champ. Hats off!!

You're killing it today.

FoodForSales

Politicker

1

AE

great write up!

RckChlkG33k

Big Shot

1

AE (Account Executive)

I have my MBA, and I endorse what @Pachacuti lays out here. Consider excellent part time programs if you think it could help your career (see my other comment) and you want to do it anyway.
If you're looking purely for a career ROI, it's not going to be worth your investment unless you're in a Top 25 program. I went to a top 50 program, and I still don't consider it to be a PURE goldmine in ROI for career.

Gyro25

Notorious Answer

2

Account Executive

As someone who's just finished their MBA, it's absolutely not necessary. Is it a nice-to-have for management experience?
Sure, but I will say for things VC related and speaking to founders, it does give you a leg up when you have SaaS selling experience as an IC + an MBA to cut through the founder talk. It gives you a bit of a founder's experience of what it's like building the company, raising funds, and working on the founder's POV.

For context, I did 2 years as a BDR/BDR manager and 3 years as an AE/IC role. Most of my cohort comes from the finance, management side of things, and very few sales/BD guys. I found that I was always much better at actually communicating on the client side, working on pitches and delivering, but weaker on the VC/Finance end of things.

So, for me, it was more about getting more exposure to the VC/finance side of things. Overall, I think it was kinda worth it, but I'll more than likely end up back in some form of an IC role, but I do think I've learned how to navigate conversations with founder types a bit better after having a chance to shadow a few of them. In the end, I think it depends on what you consider to be "advancement" in sales. Some would consider leaving sales altogether an advancement lol.

medhardwaredr

Politicker

1

Director of Sales NA

Unless you want to work for a larger company and in sales leadership, there is no need

CuriousFox

WR Officer

1

🦊

Totally up to you. But your name is 🔥

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

0

ERP Sales

No

Carlosg

Politicker

0

SDR

Sales is not about studies, its about energy and motivation. If you are looking to management or something like that, that maybe better.

SafetyKnight

Tycoon

0

Account Executive

For sales, no

If you want to work your way up the corporate ladder - yes. Paper ceiling.

RckChlkG33k

Big Shot

0

AE (Account Executive)

I have my MBA. I didn't have a business or technical undergraduate degree. It's helped me legitimize myself in the business world and show a certain amount of historical mental stamina (I know I know some MBAs are dumb but three letters = shiny on resume) to handle technical and complex sales.
Could I do this job without and MBA? Absolutely. Would I get the chance to do it without an MBA? I'm not sure. I also know that my degree didn't guarantee me the spot, so it's difficult to parse out.
Here's my advice-If you're already interested in graduate school and would like to learn it anyway, it's not a bad decision if you can make the finances work. It's never going to hurt your career IMO, and (sometimes) it can help.

My MBA at the University of Kansas (don't DOX me) was the best academic experience I've ever had, and I value it independent of the ROI in my career, despite their being an ROI in my career.

Feel free to message me if you want to talk more.

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