Sales career development is not often the first motivation of people applying for sales jobs. Many sales people claim money as the primary motivator for taking on a sales role. Yet sales skills, the ability to find new business opportunities and turn them into orders is amongst the most highly valued in commerce today.

Selling successfully has its inherent rewards however, becoming a sales person is a potential route to the top job in businesses today. Increasingly, the CEO position is filled by people who have climbed the corporate ladder through sales contributions to the business.

Not all sales people aspire to take on the top job. Some fare better by remaining in a sales role while steadily increasing their business contribution. This path can lead to a fulfilling career without necessitating management experience. Sales people who can remain at the top of there game, who can continually increase their productivity and corresponding results, may continue to be perceived as high performers, right up until retirement.

Unfortunately, this career strategy has some draw backs. The businesses that employ such super sales people can change direction or focus making the need for such accomplished sales people less important. Top sales people often find themselves managing just a few, very important accounts. External events such as market shifts, takeovers, and macro economic swings can leave such people without the accounts that have fed them and their employers so well over many years. There comes a point in a sales persons maturity when it becomes difficult to compete for jobs with the next generation.

There are other strategies that can lead to a more fulfilling and, towards the end of a sales career, more reliable employment.

This site is dedicated to presenting career development resources for sales people.