Post: #1

I'm a college senior that's majoring in a technical field(Computer Science) but would like to get some sales/marketing experience. I'm starting to realize the importance of sales in forming the foundation of social skills, marketing, etc.

What would be the fastest/best way to learn this?

Most of my future internships/jobs will be in tech, and starting a side business seems to be the best way. But I'd also love to learn from a mentor from hands-on experience.

Post: #2

Your best way would be to grab a sales job. Any old one will do, especially if you're just looking to get experience. If you can get an entry level one with a good company even better. Both of my parents did sales and continue to do sales. They both got in this way.

Post: #3

(07-24-2015 11:08 AM)Fortis Wrote:  Your best way would be to grab a sales job. Any old one will do, especially if you're just looking to get experience. If you can get an entry level one with a good company even better. Both of my parents did sales and continue to do sales. They both got in this way.

Same. It shouldn't be too hard to get a part time sales job for starters. The field has a very low barrier to entry but a high barrier to success.

Post: #4

Go sell cars. Easily the quickest way you'll learn sales experience face to face. It will also kill any approach anxiety that you may have.

Car dealerships will pretty much take anyone that has some ambition to sell.

Post: #5

Sign up for a commission-only sales job. These are common. I don't know how free-market South Korea is, but there must be someone who would offer you such a job without much fuss. Obviously, try to get one in a market that is suited to your knowledge. Perhaps software sales or something.

Also you could check out craigslist, or whatever the local equivalent of that is. I've seen guys advertising for salesmen on there from time to time, but as always with places like craigslist, you have to check everything is legit more thoroughly.

Post: #6

OP, I'm going to go against the grain here because I truly want to help.

Why get such a technical degree as Computer Science and then go into sales? Reason I ask is that you have more value as a technical professional than as a sales person.

It's like learning how to farm and having a great headstart on it and then decide after 4 years of learning it that you want to switch to hunting.

Sales is not the only place to learn social skills. You can do that through a social circle, game and networking while performing a technical job.

I know the forum and even the manosphere highlight and prioritize jobs that are "alpha" but if you are a social well rounded guy, you don't need to sell yourself short on your career just to learn one of the many skills that will help you succeed.

You don't need a sales job to learn marketing and social skills. You just need tenacity and inner belief.

Don't worry, this is coming from a sales guy that currently works in sales but spent about 10 years in a very technical profession.

Post: #7

(07-25-2015 12:19 AM)Cobra Wrote:  OP, I'm going to go against the grain here because I truly want to help.

Why get such a technical degree as Computer Science and then go into sales? Reason I ask is that you have more value as a technical professional than as a sales person.
...

Ditto. If you can hone yourself to the top 10-15% of say software developers, your career potential is higher than most salespeople (since most people in any industry suck). Being in the top of any profession is always a good place to be, and if you're solidly good in your core skill, you can hone some rudimentary sales skills and have a killer combo.

Another way to learn a lot of different skills including sales is to work in a small-firm or start-up environment - being on a dev team in a big company far from the front lines of customers is far different than writing some product code in the morning and then meeting the customers, investors or senior management in the afternoon.

Post: #8

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If you can learn how to combine your technical prowess (build products) with the ability to sell (sell products) then you will become unstoppable.

I think there is never a situation in which people should be discouraged from learning sales, particularly if they are interested in it.

Two ways to learn sales off the top of my head:

1. Do a sales internship at a tech company that is near your university

2. Hack together a product in your spare time - something simple like https://www.bingocardcreator.com/ - and then try to convince someone to buy it.

3. Find a niche service on http://www.fiverr.com - like logo design - and find someone who will provide multiple iterations on the logo design. Then find some local businesses who might need a new logo. Try to sell your service for $250 USD and make money on the difference.

In a broader sense, you get sales experience by trying to convince people to give you money in exchange for products or services. The best option for you is to go intern in a sales role in a tech company. Explain that, while you are studying a technical field, you are interested in getting practical experience in sales, which you will never be able to learn from books.

In a business, sales solves everything. There is never a bad time to know how to sell and that will always be true.


Throw in something like copywriting on top of that and you'd be invincible.

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Post: #9

Take a 100% commission sales job, and read books on solution selling. As you are in the tech field that's what you will need to know.

Post: #10

trial and error worked for me, 15 yrs of it.

Post: #11

You need a more specific goal than what you have stated. And based on what you mumbled, you don't actually want sales experience, but something else

WIA

Post: #12

^^^ This. What do you want the sales experience for? Is it something you want to do long term?

A sales engineer might be a good fit if you want to get into sales but still use your CS education. That might be the best job anyone can have before starting a software business.

Selling a product like cars and selling more complex solutions like software or consulting are very different. So again it all depends on why you want sales experience.

Post: #13

Try door-to-door sales. They'll generally give you a crash course on lying and persuasion then kick you to some suburban street corner. Then it's either you have it, or you dont.

My experience with sales - I Hate Sales

Post: #14

I have worked sales since I have graduated college. My advice, do not do it. Outside sales is miserable because you pretty much knock on doors trying to convince people to buy shit they don't need. If you got one sale a week, you'd be in the top half of outside sales people.

Inside sales is different regarding the face to face interaction. If you are good at building rapport and developing relationships, your job MAY be easier. Relationships don't always a merit a positive outcome because most people are "shopping" around for solutions to their problems. It is always about the most cost effective solution they can find. That doesn't mean they take quality into consideration.

I have held previous jobs where I had the outcome studies to prove the success of the product I was selling. It didn't amount to shit because people are always looking for the cheapest option available.

Sales will help you gain a respect for those who cold call and follow up with leads on a daily basis. The odds of succeeding in a sales position are very low. Turnover is high, you work your tail off for crap results.

Could talk to you all day about different selling strategies and things to do but everyone has their own style. What one successful person does will not mean that it will help the next batch of people going in for training. It's all about tailoring questions/answers towards your own strengths and personality traits. The trick is trying new things to experiment with what makes you successful as well as unsuccessful.

Post: #15

Get a comission-only job. Insurance and cars can do. I personally got a lot of experience from selling insurance, and this is a skill you can reuse in any aspect of your life.

Post: #16

Comp Sci/Tech skills + Sales + Marketing = SICK skillset combination.

Even if you still wanted to be a programmer, just being able to present yourself as a profit center and negotiate a higher salary could add hundreds of thousands of dollars to your income over your lifetime. Sales/Marketing exp is invaluable there.

Why not take a sales role for a startup for 6 months? You'll learn a SHITload from calling prospects/clients, and you might be asked to wear many hats and learn a bit about several different aspects of the biz.

Door-to-door and B2C will be less applicable and (I would venture) less of a fit for someone technical. B2B tech sales is what will benefit (and I guess interest) you most.

I totally second YMG - go for a sales internship at a tech company. Established tech company or a software startup that sells B2B. Learn how to sell software, how to talk about benefits over features, how to dig into the customer's problem, how to address objections... that stuff will be so beneficial for you, whether you go a pure tech career, go further in sales, or want to start a biz.

Sales is such a powerful skill to have under your belt, that most people should probably learn some even if they are completely unsuited to it, it's so key to making an income in life that it's worth going from a 2/10 to a 5/10 in sales even if your natural strengths are entirely elsewhere. The fact that you're interested in it means you should DEFINITELY do it! IMO.

Post: #17

The advice in this thread is all over the place but none of it is necessarily wrong because we don't know what this guy is trying to accomplish. The suggestions to focus solely on being a great developer or to try to learn a combination of technical and business skills are both good suggestions depending on what a college CS major's goals are.

A sales internship for a tech company sounds great in theory but it will be hard to find. A temporary employee isn’t a good fit for a job that requires interacting with potential customers and building relationships. It won’t be impossible but it will probably require some creativity and initiative.

I appreciate that some guys have sales experience with products but I can’t emphasize enough that selling products to individuals (cars, door-to-door sales, etc.) is very different from selling solutions to companies (software, services, consulting). It’s like a golfer and a football player comparing their weight training programs. They are both athletes but there are more differences than similarities.

There is a good sales lesson within this thread. I'm anxious to see if the original poster figures it out (assuming he follows up).