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Why is sales as a profession so looked down upon?

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Deleted member 17092

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Oct 27, 2017
20,360
I hear it all the time. What do you do?

Sales.

Oh.

We are the people creating revenue for literally any company you work at.

I make just under $100k, in Minnesota, doing inside sales. If I was in NYC or CA I'd be making north of 150k.

We literally make your paycheck possible.

And we get treated like, oh, anyone can do sales.

No, anyone cannot do sales. I make near 100 phone calls a day. I send over 100 personally crafted emails a day. I give hundreds of presentations a year. I close 2 million dollars of business a year.

You think anyone can do that?

Give some respect to your sales folks.
 
JLP101

JLP101

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,745
Sales is a very tough job. I did it, not everybody has the mentality for it. I can not sit and make phone calls all day. I would rather make a lot less but enjoy my time. I have a lot of respect for the OP.
 
makonero

makonero

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,663
Because lots of you lie and mislead for a living. "Car salesman" is literally what we call sleazy individuals. Not your fault that the whole profession is tarnished like that.
 
Septimus Prime

Septimus Prime

EA
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
8,500
Your job is to spin facts so that people want to buy your product. I respect your ability to do that, but I don't trust you.
 
Z-Beat

Z-Beat

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
31,848
ZOONAMI said:
I close 2 million dollars of business a year.
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Biggest sale of your career!
f78.gif
 
iksenpets

iksenpets

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,494
Dallas, TX
I don't deny the importance of sales, but I would rather die than spend five minutes around any salesman I've ever known.
 
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ghostemoji

ghostemoji

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,818
Because everyone has had bad experiences with desperate / high pressure sales people and it leaves a lasting negative impression.
 
MasterSummerSmith462

MasterSummerSmith462

Banned
Jul 3, 2018
1,252
What products do you sell?

My idea of 'ugh sales' is selling lame MLM crap.

Though I know that's somewhat of a minority. My aunt is the sales rep for a chemical company and yea she makes over $100k.
 
Dyle

Dyle

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
29,938
Too many bad experiences with the fabled used car salesmen. When dealing with many salespeople consumers put themselves into a hard defensive position assuming that the person is selling their goods in bad faith and trying to pull a fast one on them, which is probably only true maybe 1 out of 100 times, if we're being generous, but those rare occasions are the exceptions that make the rule. I think many have trouble separating some of their personal bad experiences from their perception of the field as a whole
 
Cyanity

Cyanity

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,345
Because it's an exhausting job that is ubiquitous among the workforce and seen as the quintessential day in, day out sort of profession. Everyone knows what a sales job entails (for the most part). Not everyone knows what Joe down in data management does. So it's easier to talk about and, by proxy, make jokes about sales jobs. And, like any stereotyped profession, these common conceptions color the thoughts and opinions of thousands of people on a subconscious level every day.
 
Kotto

Kotto

CEO of Traphouse Networks
Member
Nov 3, 2017
4,466
Way too much finessing. I mean, you gotta make your bread too, but it gets to the point where I feel bad for some people.

I do get suckered into some people trying to sell me products, but its only after I have worked the price down to my liking.
 
Masoyama

Masoyama

Attempted to circumvent a ban with an alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,648
Depends on what you compare it to. If you are saying sales should get more respect compared to other jobs like marketing and regular business management, sure. If you are saying that sales should get as much respect as engineering, medicine or law, can't agree with that.

ZOONAMI said:
So even in this thread it's happening. Fire all your sales people and see what happens.
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Fire all your janitors, or your doctors, or your engineers, or your financiers. Such a bad argument.
 
Bloodbathnbyond

Bloodbathnbyond

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,114
Because some people that are really good at sales tend to exhibit narcissistic personalities, and tend to be annoying as fuck. Some of them.
 
MikeOfAllTrades

MikeOfAllTrades

Member
Oct 27, 2017
376
The sales people at my company are paid and treated like rock stars, and give us all projects to work on. I think it's just that people don't like getting fucked, and being sold to feels like that. People want to buy on their own accord.
 

QuigleyMcShine

Member
Jan 29, 2018
9,394
I wasn't aware that it was looked down upon?

At my company they seem to be looked at as the rockstars that make the company possible. They make way more money than I do for selling the software that I built (after they sold it before it existed or even existed in my department's backlog).
 
Fuzzy

Fuzzy

Completely non-threatening
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
18,131
Toronto
It's not that they look down on what you do, they just assume all salespeople are bullshit artists.
 
JeTmAn

JeTmAn

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,825
I don't disrespect sales as a career, but I absolutely hate talking to salespeople in a professional capacity. I don't like being sold.
 
-JD-

-JD-

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
3,472
Decades of ingrained bias from media portrayal of them as desperate, intrusive, pushy, arrogant, corporate line-towing liars.
 
Cyanity

Cyanity

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,345
TheMan said:
sales people are like politicians. professional liars, basically
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This is really not true. The best sales people rep good products and know it. And it shows in their pitches. The absolute best salespeople are also of good character as well.

Sure, you can sell your company's shit with the right sort of manipulation, but you'll never beat the guy who knows his shit and utilizes that knowledge to make sales.
 
Jogi

Jogi

Prophet of Regret
Member
Jul 4, 2018
5,452
A lot of sales seems too pushy and desperate. The "better than you" personality most exude is also off putting. Is sales integral to a company's success? Obviously. But isn't the product you are hawking equally as important?
 
Fuzzy

Fuzzy

Completely non-threatening
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
18,131
Toronto
RiceandBeans said:
Does real estate count? I don't think anyone looks down on real estate agents.
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I do for the agents that represent both the buyer and the seller because they'll suppress slightly higher bids to make sure they also get the commission from the buyer. It's a practice that should be abolished here.
 
New002

New002

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,704
I dunno man I'm a graphic designer and it feels like the epitome of everyone thinks they can do your job.
 
BDS

BDS

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
13,845
ZOONAMI said:
So even in this thread it's happening. Fire all your sales people and see what happens.
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Fire your IT team. Fire your janitors or your cleaning staff or your managers and see what happens. Everyone has a job to do to keep the company moving. Corporations are not in the business of giving out jobs for charity; if a position is unneeded, it will be cut.

Your thread is why people hate salespeople.
 
Alavard

Alavard

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
5,320
Because some sales people promise the world to the customer, and then support people like me have to break the bad news to the customer later on down the line.
 
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