![\"Top](\"https:\/\/media.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Sales-jobs-1024x683.jpg?strip=all\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sales jobs are constantly evolving in an ever-changing industry landscape. Changes in customer behavior, new kinds of competition, shifting regulation, new methods of distribution and core technologies of production. Together, these factors have the potential to significantly change the nature of an industry. While some industries are on the decline, others are experiencing massive growth. It\u2019s important to be prepared to pivot<\/a> in your sales career in order to stay relevant and in demand. <\/span><\/p>\n So what are the top industries to look for a great sales job? At Peak Sales Recruiting, we\u2019re finding the largest demand (and compensation) in four major B2B market segments: technology and software, healthcare, financial services, and consumer packaged goods (CPG). We\u2019ll go over each industry, describe how they\u2019re changing, present some of the challenges you need to be aware of,<\/span> and show you why they\u2019re worth exploring further. <\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019d be hard pressed to find a city that isn\u2019t investing in infrastructure to attract tech jobs. Tech and software has long been a staple of the North American economy, dating back to the 60\u2019s & 70\u2019s in Silicon Valley where the first modern technology companies popped up, and still exist today. The dot-com boom in the 90\u2019s, followed by explosive growth in digital in the 2000\u2019s has kept this industry booming. Today\u2019s industry is focused on mobility, SaaS, cybersecurity and automation.<\/span><\/p>\n Sales jobs continue to be highly desirable to professionals in this industry. <\/span>Spiro points out<\/span><\/a> the reasons these jobs are still so hot right now is that the demand is high, job satisfaction is high, pay is better than average, and career opportunities are plentiful and varied.<\/span><\/p>\n Growth is <\/span>expected to expand<\/span><\/a> as it\u2019s \u201cprojected to grow 13 percent from 2016 to 2026, faster than the average for all occupations.\u201d Plus, the industry is not just focused around Silicon Valley anymore. Cities from <\/span>Austin<\/span><\/a> to <\/span>Toronto<\/span><\/a> have become hotbeds for the tech community in North America.<\/span><\/p>\n There are a few segments of this industry that are really driving growth and creating opportunities:<\/span><\/p>\n ByGoogleCybersecurity has grabbed a lot of headlines recently with the Russian election hacking and the Equifax data breach. In the first half of 2017 alone, there were almost <\/span>two million<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n data record breaches, or about 122 individual records compromised per second \u2013 and these events are costly. The average breach costs a typical company <\/span>3.62 million<\/span><\/a>, or about 225 dollars per record. This has led\u00a0<\/span>to a booming B2B industry with growth in the sector breaking records<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cCybersecurity deals hit an all-time quarterly high of 146 deals in Q1\u201917, up 26 percent from the previous quarterly high. The trend held through Q2\u201917, which saw just one fewer deal (145 total) compared to Q1\u201917.<\/span><\/i> The amount of disclosed equity funding to cybersecurity companies has also recently broken records, reaching an all-time quarterly high of 1.6B dollars in Q2\u201917.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n It\u2019s really hard to separate any of these tech industries as they\u2019ve become so intertwined. Big data gathers the information for machine learning to process, which leads to predictive analytics and business intelligence. <\/span><\/p>\n By the end of 2020, the business intelligence and analytics market is expected to exceed\u00a0<\/span>22 billion<\/span><\/a>\u00a0dollars. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPurchasing decisions continue to be influenced heavily by business executives and users who want more agility and the option for small personal and departmental deployments to prove success,\u201d said Rita Sallam, research vice president at Gartner. \u201cEnterprise-friendly buying models have become more critical to successful deployments.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n According to <\/span>HBR<\/span> Analytic Services, more than 60 percent of executives believe that their future success depends on the successful adoption of AI. In fact, more than a third of the executives that were interviewed are piloting, or in production, with tools powered by artificial intelligence. These early adopters have recognized that AI technologies will have a massive effect on the B2B revenue generation process. As such, these companies are <\/span>starting to use tools<\/span> that have embedded AI capabilities that can augment their \u201csales productivity, customer retention, account growth and other critical aspects of business success\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Software has increasingly moved from an on-premise system that you purchase and own forever (or at least until you need an upgrade) to a cloud-based model where you pay a license fee monthly or yearly to use the software, but always have the latest version. Companies are increasingly transitioning to a cloud-based technology stack, so in order for software providers to stay relevant their solution offering must comply with the new norm.<\/span><\/p>\n One of the best examples is when Adobe made the switch to a subscription based model for all of their B2B products. This transformation has led to <\/span>record revenues<\/span><\/a> for the company. It\u2019s no surprise that their salespeople are some of the most well paid and can expect an average yearly compensation of <\/span>183,000 dollars<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Another example of the growing shift is in accounting software. Recent startups like Xero are offering cloud accounting options as a service. This has forced traditional accounting firms like QuickBooks and Turbotax to adapt or die. With the accounting software industry alone expected to grow to <\/span>4 billion dollars by 2021<\/span><\/a>, it\u2019s easy to see the success of transforming a traditional software business to a SaaS model.<\/span><\/p>\n You can expect to be well paid as a salesperson in the tech industry as the average compensation is around $80k. However, top performers can easily reach six figures. Looking at the <\/span>10 best <\/span><\/a>paying companies in the tech industry, a salesperson can expect to make between $150,000 to $250,000.<\/span><\/p>\n There are certainly challenges to working in this field however. Tech changes fast, and you don\u2019t need to look any further than the shift in office-based software over the last two decades. Lotus 123 \u2013 the once dominant word processing software, was replaced by Microsoft Office as the standard in most businesses. And now with the prevalence of Google Docs, you\u2019ll find that the use of Microsoft Office in the workplace is declining as well. There are <\/span>dozens<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of reasons a tech company could fail, and obsolete tech is one of the most common.<\/span><\/p>\n As the baby boomer population retires, the general population expands, and medical technology advances, it\u2019s easy to see why <\/span>7 out of 20<\/span> of the fastest growing industries on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website are in a healthcare related field. <\/span><\/p>\n Growth is explosive in the healthcare industry for two main reasons: an <\/span>aging population<\/span><\/a>, and a population that is <\/span>sicker than ever<\/span><\/a>. The healthcare industry is seeing growth in many different areas, including home healthcare, mobility devices, and sports injury centers. However, there are two segments that are highly desirable for sales professionals:\u00a0<\/span>pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.<\/p>\n The worldwi<\/span>de pharmaceutical market has\u00a0grown<\/a> from 390 billion dollars in 2001, to more than 1.1 trillion dollars in 2016. Almost half\u00a0<\/a>of that is in North America alone.<\/p>\n Although there h<\/span>ave been some cutbacks in recent years, the outlook is very promising, with total sales jobs topping <\/span>400,000<\/span><\/a> in the US by 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n Like pharmaceuticals, the medical equipment market is dominated by US companies. Over the next few years, these companies are expected to <\/span>double<\/span><\/a>\u00a0their revenue growth rates.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOn average, analysts forecast that revenue at large medical-device companies will grow by between 4 and 5 percent per year over the next few years, considerably more than the 2 percent overall annual market growth recorded over the past five.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The biggest downsides to the industry lie with insurance companies and government. Drug and medical equipment sales are highly regulated, even requiring approval of <\/span>sales literature<\/span><\/a>. On top of that regulation, treatment coverage is a moving target and what\u2019s covered one day may not be covered the next and the product or solution you\u2019re selling may no longer be relevant.<\/span><\/p>\n That said, compensation remains strong, and remains as one of the best paying sales jobs. The average compensation in the industry is almost\u00a0<\/span>150,000 dollars<\/span><\/a>\u00a0between base salary and commission. Sales representatives also report many perks to the job, like great benefits, stock options, company cars, and 401k with matching contributions.<\/span><\/p>\n One thing to keep in mind: with rapid changes in healthcare, come new requirements for healthcare sales reps, as they\u2019re expected to excel in a few different areas \u2013 most notably in <\/span>digital marketing<\/span>. This is due to how medical professionals are getting their info, which is to say not just from printed medical journals. If you can excel in these new areas, you can build a great career in this industry.<\/span><\/p>\n The financial services industry encompasses a range of B2B services that manage money. This includes everyday banking, stocks and bonds, financing, accounting, insurance products and more. The industry more than doubled in the last three decades, and it\u2019s why you\u2019ll find that financial services makes up an average of more than\u00a0<\/span>20 percent<\/span><\/a> of GDP in most developed countries. In the US, it\u2019s estimated at 7.3 percent of <\/span>total GDP<\/span><\/a>, which is a massive 1.4 trillion dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n Recent years have seen a decline in financial advisor <\/span>jobs and revenues<\/span><\/a>. This is driven by a new generation of wealthy millennials that are <\/span>declining<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to use financial advisors as new products and services become available. However, there is an area in financial services that is growing rapidly, and attracting top sales talent: FinTech.<\/span><\/p>\n Historically, FinTech has referred to the back end computer systems that run the financial industries. This is no longer true, as FinTech is now used to reference all of the technology implemented into the financial services world. FinTech now includes everything from your mobile banking app, online trading platforms, fraud prevention software, machine learning, mobile payments, blockchain technology and the complex trading software used on wall street.<\/span><\/p>\n The growth in this industry is\u00a0<\/span>staggering<\/span>:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFunding continues to remain strong with US8.2 billion dollars invested in the third quarter of 2017. This is after more than doubling to US9.3 billion dollars in the second quarter\u2026 Investments in Fintech were still way above the US6.3 billion dollars raised in third quarter of 2016. The United States has led the in global fintech investments. Data shows that in the 3rd quarter of 2017 US5 billion dollars deployed across 142 deals. A major portion of the fintech industry is the blockchain market.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Bitcoin has blown the blockchain market wide open. Although Bitcoin itself is not relevant here, the technology behind it is. Companies are investing in blockchain technology to secure almost any transaction or record, the stock market, and mobile transactions. We\u2019re just learning about how valuable this technology can be to everyday financial services, but here are 35\u00a0<\/span>real-world examples<\/a> of blockchain tech in action. <\/span><\/p>\n A subset of FinTech, mobile and digital payment solutions is worth noting as it\u2019s experiencing amazing growth on its own. Startups are creating peer-to-peer <\/span>money exchanges<\/span><\/a> that work by simply tapping two phones together, <\/span>transit passes<\/span><\/a> are going phone-based, and B2B transactions are expected to be the next <\/span>trillion dollar industry<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n The days of checkbooks and ATMs may be headed for the history books as this recent\u00a0<\/span>study<\/span><\/a>\u00a0shows:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMobile money services have proven to be an effective gateway for financial inclusion among the unbanked, a demographic that could evolve into a US3 trillion dollar payments volume opportunity. Tomorrow, your bankers or wealth manager will coach you throughout your day to take appropriate financial decisions based on a combination of artificial intelligence and transactional and contextual data. Frustration and cost will decrease as new business models and emerging technologies are being adopted to streamline onboarding processes, operations and client communication. The influence that FinTech is having on the market is growing and the long-term potential is even greater.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Salaries in the financial services sales world vary greatly depending on the product or service you\u2019re selling. Insurance sales are at the lower end of the spectrum and can expect to make above $50k, with an outlook of <\/span>10 percent growth<\/span><\/a> over the next 10 years.<\/span> Financial services, securities and commodities can expect to make closer to 70 thousands dollars with a ten year expected growth rate of six percent, or average. FinTech sales is a little harder to define overall, but quite often falls into the technology sales salary expectations in the first section and can hit six figures.<\/span><\/p>\n As with all industries, the challenges in financial services are similar. Businesses can be notoriously\u00a0<\/span>slow<\/span><\/a> in picking up new technology. FinTech is also moving fast, which creates two problems: being able to communicate the latest changes to a client, and the dangers of becoming obsolete.<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s also the issue of recessions and market crashes, which sometimes go hand-in-hand. No industry gets hit harder during a recession than the financial industry. If there\u2019s less money to move around, there are less transactions occurring. This will eat into the desire to use these services and invest in new technologies.<\/span><\/p>\n Consumer Packaged Goods, or CPG, are those purchases that we as consumers make frequently, most notably food, drinks, clothing, household products, and health and wellness. The CPG industry hit <\/span>800 billion dollars<\/span><\/a>in North America for 2016, and although actual dollar growth has slowed, this has more to do with deflationary pressures on currency than on product sales themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cImagine, if you will, that over the next decade the world will gain an additional 81 Procter & Gambles or 458 equivalents of Kellogg\u2019s. This is the sort of growth that will happen in the global consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) sector, which will nearly double in size\u2014to 14 trillion\u2014by 2025, from eight trillion dollars in 2014.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The growth in this category is fuelling\u00a0<\/span>investment<\/span> into CPG at record rates. There are a couple of reasons why growth is so massive: Ecommerce and emerging markets.<\/span><\/p>\n You don\u2019t need look any further than Amazon\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>acquisition<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n
Technology and Software<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/h3>\n
Cybersecurity<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"Cybersecurity](\"https:\/\/media.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Top-industries-for-sales.png?strip=all&resize=244%2C206\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/i><\/p>\nBig Data \/ Predictive Analytics \/ Machine Learning \/ BI<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"Google](\"https:\/\/media.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/AI-research.png?strip=all&resize=150%2C150\")
<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
Software as a Service (SaaS) \/ Cloud Products<\/span><\/h3>\n
Healthcare<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/h3>\n
Pharmaceuticals<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/h3>\n
Medical Devices<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u00a0
![\"Compensation](\"https:\/\/media.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Total-comp-by-industry.gif?strip=all&resize=600%2C238\")
<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n
Financial Services<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/h3>\n
Financial Tech (FinTech)<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/h3>\n
Mobile \/ Digital Payment Solutions<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/h2>\n
Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"Consumer](\"https:\/\/media.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/CPG-industry.png?strip=all&resize=150%2C150\")
<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
Ecommerce<\/span><\/h3>\n