Sales jobs

Sales jobs explained

Careers in this sector are centred around persuading customers (if you work in B2C sales) or clients (if you work in B2B sales) to buy an organisation's products or services. This includes:

• hitting targets
• lead generation
• negotiation
• relationship building.

As sales professionals are needed in a wide variety of companies you can find opportunities to work in a range of sectors, including:

• business
• healthcare
• IT
• marketing
• retail.

In-demand sales jobs

The sales sector is experiencing a skills shortage and employers often report that they struggle to find talented sales professionals to fill vacancies. Sought-after skills revolve around:

• account management
• business development
• lead generation
• proficiency in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software
• relationship building.

Marketing, sales and advertising directors, business sales executives and sales accounts and business development managers all feature on the GOV.UK Occupations in demand list 2025.

Highest-paying sales jobs

The area of sales you choose to work in, and your role can have an impact on your earning potential. High-paying sales jobs include sales director, sales manager and medical sales representative, and high commission areas include:

• digital media sales
• financial advice
• luxury item sales
• medical device sales
• technology sales.

Careers in sales

Business development manager

While there are all kinds of business development jobs available, a sales-focused managerial role will see you perform such duties as:

• planning sales campaigns
• producing sales forecasts
• creating a sales pipeline.

The improvement and growth of an organisation will still be your priority, with opportunities to specialise in a particular job sector - for example, IT, education or telecommunications.

When starting out, salaries for business development graduates are in the region of £23,000 to £33,000.

Find out more about working as a business development manager.

Call centre manager

To achieve the smooth running of the call centre, you'll need to hit sales performance targets while identifying areas for improvement. You can work in a specialist inbound or outbound centre, although some businesses provide both functions.

These jobs are usually based in large, open offices and with lots of calls to make, you can expect the environment to be noisy and the work to be fast-paced. The motivation and retention of staff will also likely be within your remit.

Moving into your first post as a call centre manager you can expect a salary between £18,000 and £26,000.

Learn more about the responsibilities of a call centre manager.

Customer service manager

Promoting the importance of a high level of customer satisfaction throughout your organisation, you'll typically manage a customer service team. Being able to satisfactorily resolve complex customer problems and complaints is crucial.

You'll likely have to communicate with customers via email, letter and phone, although face-to-face meetings are also common. If you work in banking, sales or retail, customer service manager salaries will often be boosted by generous commission or bonuses. However, starting salaries for trainee customer service managers typically range from £21,000 to £28,000.

Discover 5 skills you'll gain working in customer service.

Ecommerce manager

You'll need sound business knowledge, IT skills and excellent selling ability to work as an ecommerce manager, where you'll advertise and sell products and services on the internet.

There are a number of routes into this career. You can work your way up from an entry-level role (although this often requires years of experience), complete an apprenticeship in areas such as digital marketing or retail leadership or via a degree. Useful subjects include business management, digital marketing and retail management.

In the role you'll research customer needs, make decisions on products and pricing, monitor sales performance, complete competitor analysis and collaborate with marketing professionals. At the start of your career expect a salary of around £25,000.

Estate agent

Whether you choose to specialise in residential or commercial sales/lettings, you'll get to work with solicitors, banks, surveyors, brokers and other interested parties as you negotiate the best prices for your clients and monitor transactions.

By representing the seller, you'll be expected to negotiate with prospective buyers and advise clients on buying property. As with other sales positions, salaries are typically made up of a basic wage, plus commission.

Early career estate agents usually earn a salary in the region of £17,000 to £25,000.

Discover more about the role of an estate agent.

IT sales professional

You'll need to be skilled at interacting with clients either face-to-face or over the phone. If you work in pre-sales, you'll need to be familiar with the technical specifications of the hardware or software, while the aftersales service may involve providing solutions to problems and faults or demonstrating to customers the best ways to get the most out of the product's features.

Average salaries for IT sales professionals at the start of their career range from £25,000 to £35,000.

Some of the larger IT companies run sales graduate schemes, so there are plenty of entry routes for graduates looking to become an IT sales professional.

Medical sales representative

Providing the bridge between medical and pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organisations, medical sales representatives, or 'reps', focus their efforts on selling products to potential customers.

As nurses, pharmacists, and doctors buy these products, you'll require strong technical knowledge - so a degree in medicine, nursing, dentistry or pharmacy may improve your chances of landing a job. However, sales and customer service skills are of equal importance, as you'll be expected to meet annual sales targets.

Starting salaries for medical sales representatives typically range from £25,000 to £35,000.

Find out more about the skills and attributes of a medical sales representative.

Procurement manager

To buy the most efficient products or services for your organisation, you'll need to be good at networking, negotiating and number-crunching. Whatever the nature of your business and what you're purchasing, you'll be liaising with a range of manufacturers, suppliers, customers and departments within your own company in order to help save money and boost profits.

Average salaries at the entry level, for graduates or trainees, are around £25,598. However, at the highest levels salaries can range from £77,381 to £160,166, depending on the nature of the role and the level of responsibility.

To progress your career as a procurement manager, you can work towards gaining membership of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (MCIPS) status with the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS).

Recruitment consultant

Matching suitable candidates to advertised temporary or permanent jobs is your main responsibility. You'll be building relationships with clients on the employer side as well as attracting candidates through a variety of methods, including networking via social media.

There's often the opportunity to specialise within a certain sector or niche industry, or you could recruit those already in employment for a headhunting agency.

While starting salaries for trainee recruitment consultants range from £18,000 to £25,000, pay is usually supplemented by a performance-related bonus or commission.

Explore the recruitment consultant role and read our 7 tips for a successful recruitment career.

Sales executive

Operating within a business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-customer (B2C) environment, as a sales executive/consultant you could be selling products and services to clients in the UK or overseas. In addition to seeking new business, you'll also need to keep existing customers happy and maintain lasting relationships.

You'll require negotiation and numeracy skills and the ambition to meet or exceed your sales targets.

Basic salaries usually start at £25,000 to £28,000, although they may be higher on graduate schemes.

Explore whether the sales executive role is for you.

Sales promotion account executive

By using a number of incentives - from samples and point of sale displays to promotions and competitions - a sales promotion account executive works to increase the sales of a product or service.

You'll get to create and run promotional marketing campaigns that can reach the customer in various ways, such as websites, social media and press advertising, or by attending exhibitions and events.

To begin with you’ll start on a salary of £23,000 to £28,000.

Eventually, you may wish to progress to an account director and then a senior account director role. Read the job description of a sales promotion account executive.

Technical sales engineer

This job is ideal for those with sales skills accompanied by a strong technical knowledge of the products in question. Providing expert opinion, you'll typically get to work on bids and tenders for new business opportunities.

Available as the main contact for clients, you'll offer advice both before and after the sale, while dividing your time between the office and external meetings. In addition to the sales team and customers, you'll also need to interact with other departments, including design and development, as you look to keep your knowledge up to date.

Technical sales engineers at the start of their careers earn in the region of £25,000 to £35,000.

Find out more about working as a technical sales engineer.

Travel agency manager

Whether working in a small business or a large chain, as a travel agency manager, you'll be responsible for the promotion and sale of holidays and other travel products. Jobs are usually available across the UK.

You'll get to put your passion for travel to good use as you seek to meet the demands of your customer base. Specialising in an area such as business travel or a particular destination is common.

Travel agency managers earn in the region of £26,000 to £35,000, depending on the company's size, location and market.

If you've the relevant travel-related and managerial experience, explore what it's like to be a travel agency manager.

Find out more

• Search for sales jobs.
• Read all about the sales sector.
• Discover how to answer sales interview questions.