​There are lots of fantastic B2B sales opportunities for graduates at the moment and it can be an amazing career path for someone who has the right drive. But there are a lot of myths that can surround sales roles, so here are the biggest ones you will hear, and what the truth really is!

  1. Cold calling is the same as working in a call centre

False – B2C call centre roles are a great way to gain experience and develop your sales skills. However, graduate B2B sales roles are not working in call centres! Our clients are based mostly in central London and their offices are professional and probably a lot different to the call centre environment you might imagine. You do not have to log in, take your lunches at certain times and are given much more autonomy; it is up to you to put the hard work in.

  1. All sales jobs are commission only

False – all our sales opportunities are offered with a basic salary which can range between £18,000 to £25,000 depending on your experience. Believe it or not, sometimes the lower the basic salary, the easier it is to earn to commission. Commission is added onto basic salary depending on how much money you generate for the company in a month. In a lot of cases this is uncapped which means no matter how much revenue you generate your commission will keep going up. Your commission is either paid monthly, quarterly and in some cases yearly.

  1. B2B sales is calling people up at home at dinner time

False – B2B sales is fulfilling a business need for a company. You will not be calling individuals up at home at random to try and sell them something. You will be contacting businesses during office hours and will finding out about their company and specific requirements.

  1. All sales roles are the same

False– every sales role is different! We currently have sales vacancies in property, media, digital, mobile, business intelligence, recruitment, ecommerce, events, conferences. Each industry is selling a different product or solution and dealing with different types of clients.

  1. People will be rude, shout and slam the phone down

False – this doesn’t happen. You will be speaking with C-level directors and managers. These people have not got to their positions by being rude and brash. Sometimes you will catch people at the wrong time but normally they will give you a better time to call back. You are calling them during work hours so they will always be polite and professional, even if they are not interested.

  1. Sales jobs are only for really loud, chatty people

False– you do need good communication skills and confidence but that doesn’t mean shouting the loudest. Most consultative sales roles call for considered and calm individuals who are good listeners.

  1. You will earn £100,000 in your first year

False – maybe five years down the line you will, but not from day one sadly! We don’t give you unrealistic earning figures because we want to accurately manage your expectations. It is, however, more than achievable to earn between £30,000 – £40,000 in your first year which is a fantastic salary for a fresh graduate!

  1. Sales is a career to be embarrassed about

False – not only will you probably be earning more than your mates (you won’t need to budget for your yearly holiday, two months commission should cover it) but you will also be communicating and networking with CEOs, directors and managers of companies. You will also be managing your own accounts and be controlling your own promotions and career development.

  1. A monkey could work in sales

False – if this was the case then employers wouldn’t need to use agencies and wouldn’t constantly be recruiting to grow their sales teams. Good sales executives are hard to come by. Not only do you need to be hard working and intelligent, you also need to have excellent communication skills mixed with lots of drive. Sales interviews are tough for a reason!

  1. You didn’t go to uni to get a job in sales

False – most of our clients who recruit for sales executives will only look at candidates with a degree. A lot of the roles we recruit for are in specific, and often complicated, areas such as pharmaceutical intelligence. You often need to have a high degree of knowledge surrounding the area. A degree also shows an employer that you are hard working, intelligent and dedicated which are three vital characteristics for sales.

Ready to get going? Click here for all of our current live sales roles!