How to Get A Sales Job in 2024

Now we’ll look at the final 6 steps in launching the sales career of your dreams. 

Step 1: Decide your target sales job

By now, you probably have a shortlist of 2-3 inside sales teams you can picture yourself on. The first step in landing your next inside sales job is deciding on one of these teams and positions.

Be realistic in the role you choose. You know your past experience better than anyone else; aiming for a job that you’re unqualified for could result in wasted time and resources on your end. Don’t be afraid to work your way up.

Step 2: Specialize in an industry or product 

Once you have your ideal position picked out, you want to choose which industries or products to sell. An industry could be health, fitness, insurance, manufacturing, or technology, etc. 

This step is incredibly important because it’s where your motivation to greatness comes from. Selling something you love will have you sauntering into the office every morning hungry and ready to kill the day (figuratively). Also, research to see if your product has product-market fit, meaning there’s a demand for it. 

here are horror stories of new reps joining a company only to find out their product is next to impossible to sell. Finally, you want to go into a profitable and growing industry. Growing industries usually have an abundance of job opportunities, good career growth, and high starting salaries, especially in sales. As a bonus, narrowing down your job search by industry or product will streamline your application process by helping you write a stellar resume that you can use to apply to similar job listings.

You can check out online forums or YouTube videos from real-life salespeople in every job you can imagine to get a hint of what it’s like to work at a B2B inside a sales company or sell a certain product.

Step 3: Make a list of job boards and other places to find openings

Job boards for salespeople

Most people start their job search on a job board, and for good reason; they make it easy to apply for dozens of positions a day. There are niche job boards that only cater to sales professionals, and then there are general job boards. There are even boards designed specifically for beginner, executive, freelance, and remote sales professionals.

Network in real life

Networking includes letting your friends, family, and former colleagues know you’re looking for a new job. This means verbally telling them, describing which roles you’re going for, asking if they know anyone who’s hiring, and possibly giving them a digital and physical copy of your resume they can share with potential employers. Notice we said former colleagues, though; don’t let your current boss or coworkers catch wind of this, as you might find yourself being forced to move on from your current job earlier than you’d planned.

How to work social media for jobs

Make sure to take advantage of social media channels to get hired. Having a profile that’s optimized for search engines, connecting with the right people (i.e. current employees of your target company who can give you tips to get hired), and making sure to post content that lets employers know you’re available for new opportunities are the best ways to be seen by hiring managers today. Plus, your social media profiles will be checked sooner or later anyway; employers use social media to gauge your authenticity and make quick judgements on your character, so you might as well have your profiles polished and ready with your most recent experience, achievements, and contact information.

Step 4: Create a knockout sales resume

Once you have a few job postings you want to apply to and your social profiles are ready to be seen, nothing is more important than a great resume. A resume should showcase your past experience and accomplishments, soft skills and hard skills, technical capabilities, and, most importantly, keywords that get checked by applicant tracking systems (ATS).

ATS are software that employers use during the recruiting and hiring process. One thing they do is analyze resumes and cover letters for certain keywords; in a competitive job posting, one of the first ways you’ll often get denied is by missing the keywords the ATS is looking for. (Keep reading to learn how to find these keywords.)

Still not convinced the resume is key? Check out this data

On average, 118 resumes are received per job opening and only 20% get an interview. This means right off the bat you’re starting with a small chance of having your application opened. So don’t waste time writing a resume without the proper keywords, or you could end up sending 50 resumes to no avail and be left feeling insecure and exhausted.

Indeed says it takes about two months to find a job. For the average person, who may not have 3-6 months in emergency savings, finding a job pronto could mean the difference between feast or famine. If you’re already employed, keep your day job until you land your next role. 

What are hiring managers looking for on a resume?

• The right keywords: Keywords vary by company, job listing and role; however, did you know you can grab a list of common sales keywords to put on your resume? Ziprecruiter says words like “CRM, B2B sales, account management, inside sales, vendor management, business administration” are important to have for a Sales Executive resume. 
• The right skills and experience: Your hiring manager wants to know about any sales experience you may have, but transferable skills are also worth adding. Maybe you never worked in sales per se, but you spent a year as a grocery store cashier; you’re used to speaking to 100+ shoppers per day, which can be applied to a session of 100+ cold calls. The hiring manager also wants to know that you have excellent people skills and a basic understanding of marketing or management and can adapt quickly to technology, use a CRM and other sales software, and understand the basics of prospecting.

Step 5: Create a LinkedIn profile

By now you probably agree that it’s imperative to have a LinkedIn account. If you don’t already, get started on creating your profile. We’ve given a ton of tips on how to set one up and start networking. Before applying to jobs, you want to make sure your profile is complete and up to date. LinkedIn also has its own job boards that let you filter what jobs you want and send in your resume through your profile. It can even help you out by comparing your resume with other applicants and seeing where you match in skills or experience and where you fall short.

Step 6: Prepare for an interview

Once you’ve been contacted by a recruiter, it’s time to get ready for an interview. Most potential candidates see job interviews as intimidating; they think that if they mess up, they’ll “lose” something. But here’s a better way to look at it: you already don’t have the job, and you can’t lose what you never had.

To further ease the anxiety of a job interview, research the common questions you might be asked, like:

• Describe your past experience in sales
• What are your career goals?
• Why do you want to work here?

But don’t leave all the questions to the hiring manager; come with your own set of smart questions to learn more about the work environment. A good start is “Do you provide training resources, mentorship, or exercises for junior sales reps?” Questions like this prevent you from going into a company blind with no tools to grow your skill set.

Average Inside Sales Salaries

Now we turn to one of the most important aspects of inside sales careers: the salary. Once again, various factors affect the salary, but keep in mind that some of these roles may not have cash bonuses like a sales representative. Rather, they may only have profit-sharing, which is a compensation program that splits a pool of money between employees evenly at the end of the year. 

Average inside sales salaries compiled from Salary.com, Payscale.com, and Indeed.com

Which locations have the highest average salary for inside sales professionals?

Average inside sales salaries for senior professionals (10+ years)

What are the fastest-growing industries for inside sales professionals?

1) Online retail

Online shopping is booming. As more brick and mortars set up shop in the digital world, they rely on social media to advertise and connect with customers. More than 50 million businesses use Facebook pages to connect with customers and 4 million pay for social media advertising. What does this mean for you? There’s more demand for inside sales professionals to handle an influx of online shoppers, bring in leads and revenue. As online retail skyrockets, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with social media advertising trends and how to sell respectfully as a member on that platform.

2) Financial services & digital payment solutions

Financial services are companies that manage money (insurance, banks, credit unions, etc). Digital payment solutions are apps released by tech companies like Apple or Google, as well as independent apps like (Stripe, Cash App, Square), that allow their users to send and receive money without using cash or bank cards. Both of these markets are growing rapidly year after year, even in recessions or market crashes, as they’re both essential to the customer’s daily financial management.

3) B2B healthcare technology

The healthcare industry is expanding, and it’s going to need a ton of inside sales professionals to keep people healthy and safe! An example of a B2B healthcare company is Integrated Surgical Solutions, which partners with health facilities, manufacturers, and surgeons to make medical devices more affordable to hospitals and their patients. There’s also the software AthenaHealth, which helps professionals manage patient schedules and view appointments and incoming lab results. Technology is helping the healthcare industry continue to grow in many sectors, and the average inside sales salaries in this industry is in the six figures. Plenty of medical sales reps make a jaw dropping $100,000 or more in commissions alone.

Make your inside sales dream a reality

We hope we’ve been able to answer many of your B2B inside sales questions and you’re feeling more confident on the direction of your career or business. Ask any salesperson around, from a junior sales rep to a leader; every position on an inside sales team will build confidence and challenge you mentally, physically, and spiritually. Never let the hardships turn you away; those who persevere will make the big bucks; get respect; and transform into new, better versions of themselves and be held regarded as an asset to any sales organization. 

You know your next steps to finding a job; now go knock it out of the park!