<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What Is Sales?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Sales is a career path focusing on selling people products or services. Salespeople are more than just persuaders and negotiators, although their sales pitch is a large part of their role. The sales career path is also about finding prospective clients, building relationships with them, and understanding their needs. The primary goal for sales teams is to generate revenue<\/a> for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t Collaborate with a sales representative to meet with a customer and create a selling pitch.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\tAvg. Time:<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t2-3 hours\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\tSkills you’ll build:<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBuilding relationships, managing team members, thinking about external perspectives\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Sales titles often vary depending on how senior you are; however, sales professionals may also have titles that indicate what part of the sales process they specialize in. For example, some professionals work closely with maintaining client relationships and renewing deals, while others generate new sales leads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sales job titles include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Marketing<\/a> is about positioning and generating awareness and interest in a product or service, be that through unique value propositions, naming, content creation, product development, and translation of the overall organization’s broader positioning,” says Nancy Lockhart, president and senior marketing strategist at Lockhart Marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marketers use a variety of channels, strategies, and tactics to attract and engage potential users (or customers, if it’s a paid product). Marketing careers<\/a> differ not based on the type of product the person is marketing but rather on their marketing tactic. Popular types of marketing include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, I’m a digital marketer who specializes in content marketing. I write content that helps promote my company and attract interest in our product. Other digital marketers on our team create email campaigns; some work on social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While there are some general marketing titles, there are also specific titles that indicate what type of marketing you work on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n While both sales and marketing focus on attracting users for a product, their focus and approach differ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Marketing is about creating broad awareness and interest in a product or service, often dealing with larger audiences and longer-term strategies,” says Sam Wright, head of sales at Huntr, a tech startup that helps people navigate their job search and career path. “Sales, on the other hand, is more direct and personal, focusing on converting that interest into actual purchases or partnerships. At Huntr, our marketing team works on building our brand and attracting potential users (SEO, landing page and blog content, etc.), while in sales, we engage directly with career coaches, universities, and businesses to form partnerships and drive adoption of our platform.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because professionals in each career path use a different approach to achieve their goals, the work environment and required skills for sales and marketing are pretty varied. Marketing is typically more strategic, behind-the-scenes work to execute on campaigns and tactics. Sales is all about building relationships and talking to people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To land an entry-level role in sales or marketing, you don’t typically need an advanced degree; you might not even need a postsecondary education, depending on the role. According to Zippia<\/a>, 63% of sales professionals have a bachelor’s degree, while nearly a third (27%) have a high school diploma or associate’s degree. More marketing professionals have bachelor’s degrees \u2014 74%<\/a> \u2014 and 8% have a master’s degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re in college and interested in either of these career paths, majoring in something related to the field can help you build the right skills and land a role. While some schools have a marketing major\u2014which would be an easy fit if you’re interested in marketing\u2014related majors include communications, business administration, English<\/a>, psychology<\/a>, sociology, and public relations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not many schools offer a sales major, but there are plenty of related majors that can help you get into this career path. Majors like economics<\/a>, finance<\/a>, business, and communications can lead to relevant skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n >>MORE: <\/strong>‘What Should I Go to College For?’ Quiz: 17 Questions to Find the Right Major<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The skillsets for sales and marketing roles are the most different parts of these career paths: sales is focused on building relationships, while marketing is focused on executing strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sales roles require many interpersonal and communication skills<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Analyze sales data and handle customer objections to meet your targets as an On-Premise Sales specialist at Red Bull.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theforage.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/pepsico-150x100.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPepsiCo Sales<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Sales Jobs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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What Is Marketing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Marketing Jobs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Key Differences Between Sales and Marketing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Education<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Skills<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theforage.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/red-bull-internships-150x100.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRed Bull On-Premise Sales<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t