What exactly is a career in sales?

September 9th, 2009 - 

ProGrad have a core activity in placing graduates into business to business sales roles across a variety of industries….but what exactly is a sales job?  Is it all about telemarketing and knocking on doors?

In a word…no.  Its not about that at all.  Many people have an exposure to selling at an early age, when sitting at home hearing parents tell the telemarketer to “bugger off”.  That is what is called “business-to-consumer sales”, and is not our core activity at ProGrad.

Business to business sales is essential for all companies.  Every organisation will have overheads (think about office costs, staffing costs, bills etc) and to cover these costs (and make some profit) they need to sell.  Easy.

Everything around you is sold from one business to another.  Look in a magazine, and you’ll see advertising.  That advertising was sold business to business.  At ProGrad, we utilise technology systems and telecommunications equipment.  That was all sold to us from another business.

When you visit a retail outlet to do some grocery shopping, the merchandise has likely come from another business.  When you go to the pharmacy, and pick up your prescriptions…they were sold business to business.

It truly is overwhelming, and just goes to show that businesses NEED to sell.  All corporations need to sell their services or products in order to sustain turnover.  It is the most important facet of any company…and one could argue, the most important department to be working within.

Many of the senior management teams of organisations (large and small) will have started their career in business to business sales.  Where better to learn the fundamentals of buying and sales cycles, than in the role yourself.

At ProGrad, we work with over 500 companies and the majority of our roles are within B2B sales.  These roles offer candidates an ideal grounding to launch into management roles or other areas within the business.  That said, when you’re one of the highest earners in the business, its hard to understand why you’d want to move to another department!

For more information about ProGrad and the roles available, please contact us on 02 8235 8300.  Or, you can email us at info@prograd.com.au

Why is everyone so scared of working in the IT sector?

July 20th, 2009 - 

As graduate recruiters in the corporate sales environment, it stands to reason that we represent high-growth companies looking for recent graduates who can be invested in.  Companies state the primary reasons for using graduates are as follows:

* Graduates are in learning mode

* They have no bad habits or preconceptions

* Graduates are flexible to relocate for their career if necessary

* Graduates are intelligent people, having studied at such a high level

* As a generation, they are TECHNICALLY SAVVY, making them a perfect fit for IT companies

Working in the IT sector can be a lucrative career through ProGrad

The last point is probably the most prevalent reason amongst graduate employers.  Its also something that University Graduates take for granted.  As a generation, they have grown up around the internet, mobile phones, social networking online, and various other online mediums.  They understand the benefits around using technology, yet seem not to realise this.

We represent several hundred IT companies, all looking for graduates to join their business to business sales team.  Very rarely, is there ever a requirement to have a technical background.  Some of our most successful people in this field, often don’t have a technical background at all.  Its simply not relevant.  Any intelligent individual can learn the benefits around technology, and essentially that is the requirement for our clients. 

We’d always recommend that candidates are open minded about opportunities within IT companies.  Not only can they offer fantastic rewards, but they offer unparalleled training, and travel opportunities.  Only yesterday I met with one of our most successful IT employers who have over 8 ProGrad candidates (none from a technical background).  Later this week, three of them depart for a week in Singapore.  This follows a trip to the US and Ireland already this year! 

So…be open minded….don’t ASSUME you need to be a technical guru to take a fantastic role within an IT company…you might be closing the door to some of the best opportunities available to you.

Davinia

If you’re interested in applying for ProGrad opportunties, please contact one of the graduate management team on 02 8235 8300.  Alternatively, you can email us on info@prograd.com.au