MontBlanc

Senior Account Executive

The Wall Street Journal is catching on...

Anyone else see this on LinkedIn today? I wonder if we'll see over the next few years more sales majors at colleges and interest in the field generally. As of now, the career feels like a cheat code to 6 figures without having to go through the elite schools or super expensive graduate programs. I hope it stays that way...

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-pay-is-high-and-jobs-are-plentiful-but-few-want-to-go-into-sales-11626255001?st=n7i1g29ks56hc5q&reflink=article_copyURL_share

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CoorsKing

WR Officer

Retired King of the Coors Knights

Shiiiit I had a degree in Marketing and I turned out all right. I don’t think a “sales major” will ever really catch on in college, tbh I’m not 100% sure college degrees will be required in the future.

RealEstateVeep

Politicker

VP of Real Estate

My alma mater (TCU) has a sales focus track in business school which seems very expensive to become a salesperson lol. I entered this track on accident.

CaneWolf

Politicker

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

My alma mater does as well. It helped me end up in sales so I'm not complaining.

yer_blues

Opinionated

Sales Director

We source a ton of university talent from these programs. All of them have been excellent hires. Houston, Texas St, Virginia Tech are a few we get talent from

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

A sales major at college is just a new way colleges can suck money out of student's pockets. Degrees are becoming more worthless every year... A BA is the new high school diploma.

People have succeeded in sales without a college education for a century already, so I'm doubtful this will catch on as much as colleges would love for it to...

That said, I wish high schools would include sales in discussions about potential career paths with students. It's always "go to college" with little mention of sales, trades school, entrepreneurship, or spending a few trying out a few jobs to get life experience and not have to decide your life trajectory at 18 years old.

Oboy77

Arsonist

Workspace Consultant

Bingo! (Insert Randy Quaid GIF)

RealEstateVeep

Politicker

VP of Real Estate

Like most degrees, a sales degree is useless. We can absolutely have sales programs after HS where you spend a couple of years doing some shit work for low pay (huh, almost like a BDR) and you can learn the ropes.

LordOfWar

Tycoon

Blow it up

I find the best salespeople come from other areas in the industry such as end-users, engineers or buyers and are good at their core competency in addition to being personable. I don't know anyone who chose sales as a career from school but lots are in it now for better or worse.

I don't sell a product, I find solutions for potential partners that help them be better and grow. Sales is such a dirty word and has been for so long. I'd almost support calling us something like "solution engineer" if it wasn't so cheezy.

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

I sell a product, but it's a product that helps businesses and their employees. I'm not ashamed to say that. Sales is only a dirty word if you're selling a shitty product or using dishonest tactics.

LordOfWar

Tycoon

Blow it up

The crappy telemarketers, door knockers and account chasers did in the sales word ages ago. Hell, even as a kid I remember not wanting to go into business and do something meaningful with my life, oh what a silly fool I was.

funcoupons

WR Officer

👑

I feel ya. I used to think sales meant you were a telemarketer or used car salesman.

MontBlanc

Notable Contributor

Senior Account Executive

They’ve kinda done that with Account Executive and Business Development Manager.

Just don’t say sales!! 😖

LordOfWar

Tycoon

Blow it up

Unless your VP Sales or something higher, but yea the salesperson title is kind of dead.

I am partial to it though as it is at least honest.

paddy

WR Officer

Director of Business Development

This is a horrible idea. Soon enough you'll have to obtain a professional sales license or some other bullshit in order to be a qualified sales rep.

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

You mean like my professional broker license which I have to do CE credits for to maintain

paddy

WR Officer

Director of Business Development

And you think that should be incorporated for the rest of people in sales? Like selling software, for instance?

Incognito

WR Officer

Master of Disaster

No, because no one is legally required to buy software - unlike insurance.

Oboy77

Arsonist

Workspace Consultant

I feel like the car sales, door-to-door sales omen, is going away, especially with many lucrative sales jobs out there right now and more to come with the Tech Companies getting funding for expansion.

The ability for companies to tap into other markets now with remote workers is only going to help increase the positive outlook on sales.

This is a topic I think the can be discussed for days.

What do you think?

SaaSguy

Tycoon

Account Executive

It's definitely something to keep an eye on. I think sales is unique in that it ends up attracting people from a fairly diverse background career/education wise. It will be interesting to see if in a decade a "sales" degree is a requirement companies will have.

CaneWolf

Politicker

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

I didn't see this, good spot. There is a version of this article put out by a major outlet every so often. The story doesn't change. Also, the most surprising part of this is "The Wall Street Journal is catching on."

RedLightning

Politicker

Mid-Market AE

There are two people I work with ~25 years old with sales minors/certificates from college.

MontBlanc

Notable Contributor

Senior Account Executive

So it has begun... what colleges?

RedLightning

Politicker

Mid-Market AE

Baylor and University of Washington I think

CaneWolf

Politicker

Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract

Baylor's had a sales center and competition team for approaching decades. They were sort of on the leading edge of this.

FWbear

Contributor

Territory Manager

I graduated from the Baylor Center for Professional Selling back in 2014 and still get shocked looks when I tell folks I majored in selling. It was incredible and the two jobs I have are directly from my connection to the program.

I participated in 4 different sales completions and traveled out of state for two of them. The level of preparation they gave me was fantastic. There’s a running joke that we were more nervous for role plays in school than any sales call with a C suite member.

The program is continually evolving and many of us alumni stay connected and participate in events and assist the current students. It’s insane what the program looks like now. Extremely competitive to get admitted into now and guaranteed internship placement before senior year and full time position.

Companies pay lots of money to recruit to just the sales students at baylor.

I am biased of course but it has got me to a job I really enjoy and it was the best decision I made during my college days.

plssircanigetanotherpo

Executive

Sales is all about learning from experience and by being in the trenches. I don't mind having a few college courses on sales, like electives, but as a major? Hell no to the power infinity.

Imagine "studying" sales for 4 years without getting any commission checks and worse, you're supposed to be paying them? Definitely not a sentiment I can co-sign.

MontBlanc

Notable Contributor

Senior Account Executive

The good thing is that sales is too real and too important for a college major to really have any sway in hiring #cantfakeclosedrevenue, everyone will still have to pay dues as a BDR and go from there, I guess it wouldn't hurt in getting an entry-level job but it'd probably be better just to get a food service or retail job instead of spending 4 years and $100k.

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MontBlanc

The Wall Street Journal is catching on...

27 comments

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