Dear SaaStr: Is It Worth Working as a Sales Rep?
Absolutely.
Being a sales rep is the hardest job that almost anyone can get and at least try to do. But boy, you will learn.
You will learn:
- How to hear “No” 100 times in a row.
- If you can turn 100 “No’s” into 1–2 Yeses.
- How to present yourself, a product, and a company.
- How to listen to a prospect and a customer.
- How people pull ahead of a back (the other reps).
- What management is like (sales requires managers. Often, a lot of them). At least a slice of it.
- How hard sales is.
- That very few products are truly differentiated.
- They people don’t really need to buy anything new.
- How to manage your time.
You probably will be terrible at it.
But — most smart folks can find an entry level sales job. Finding an entry level engineering job, an entry level design job, etc. is much harder without the right experience.
Try it.
