Comment Make sure you have the talents for sales (Score 1) 85
Your ability to succeed will not have much to do with how introverted or extraverted you are. For MBTI fans, I have seen people who type as introverts do very well in sales.
There is a series of book based on research from the Gallup organization - they have interviewed literally millions of people and they believe they can prove that successful people are those who can apply their natural talents on a consistent basis.
In a nutshell, your talents are the neurological patterns your brain most easily uses to relate to others and gather and process thoughts.
The main book is called "Now Go Discover Your Strengths" and there is one called (I think - I have not read this one) "Now Go Discover Your Sales Strengths".
If you are not a person who either really enjoys competition (as in, an intense burning desire to win - all the time) or achievement (every day you start at "zero" and have to prove something) - if you do not have one or both of those talents, you may not be much more than a mediocre sales person.
Many technical people have natural talents for ideation, strategy, restoration, deliberation, focus, discipline and other strengths - since programming and network engineering are not competitive or numbers driven professions (in the way sales is) it is unlikely to attract the people who are good at sales. Conversly, those who enjoy the technical environment will be very suprised at what life is like under the gun to produce EVERY DAY, ALL THE TIME.
I switched from being a 10 year Network Engineer to a Technical Recruiter. My first job was spending hours per day cold calling prospects and being driven to maintain my numbers. I actually enjoyed the challengs, but it has taken me most of a year to really get used to thinking like a recruiter and not like an IT person.
I am fortunate that among my strengths, I have "self assurance" in my top 5 and "command(aka confrontation)" and "competition" are probably my #6 and #7 but not many technical people are wired this way.
Also - sales/recruiting is very production oriented and not creation oriented. Sometimes in Tech, you can have a slow day or an off day and follow it up with a brilliant day. I had bosses who expected that every day you go 100% full blast - if you were going at 75%, you were in the office explaining why.
So think long and hard - it can look greener on the other side of the fence, and it can be, if you are wired for it. If you arent, then you are headed down the road to disaster.
There is a series of book based on research from the Gallup organization - they have interviewed literally millions of people and they believe they can prove that successful people are those who can apply their natural talents on a consistent basis.
In a nutshell, your talents are the neurological patterns your brain most easily uses to relate to others and gather and process thoughts.
The main book is called "Now Go Discover Your Strengths" and there is one called (I think - I have not read this one) "Now Go Discover Your Sales Strengths".
If you are not a person who either really enjoys competition (as in, an intense burning desire to win - all the time) or achievement (every day you start at "zero" and have to prove something) - if you do not have one or both of those talents, you may not be much more than a mediocre sales person.
Many technical people have natural talents for ideation, strategy, restoration, deliberation, focus, discipline and other strengths - since programming and network engineering are not competitive or numbers driven professions (in the way sales is) it is unlikely to attract the people who are good at sales. Conversly, those who enjoy the technical environment will be very suprised at what life is like under the gun to produce EVERY DAY, ALL THE TIME.
I switched from being a 10 year Network Engineer to a Technical Recruiter. My first job was spending hours per day cold calling prospects and being driven to maintain my numbers. I actually enjoyed the challengs, but it has taken me most of a year to really get used to thinking like a recruiter and not like an IT person.
I am fortunate that among my strengths, I have "self assurance" in my top 5 and "command(aka confrontation)" and "competition" are probably my #6 and #7 but not many technical people are wired this way.
Also - sales/recruiting is very production oriented and not creation oriented. Sometimes in Tech, you can have a slow day or an off day and follow it up with a brilliant day. I had bosses who expected that every day you go 100% full blast - if you were going at 75%, you were in the office explaining why.
So think long and hard - it can look greener on the other side of the fence, and it can be, if you are wired for it. If you arent, then you are headed down the road to disaster.
