Have you ever been told that you can sell ice to Eskimos?
If you have the gift of the gab, a career in sales could be for you. While you are planning your career path, it is worth choosing a job that will allow you to maximize your earning potential.
While many jobs in sales pay minimum wage, there are plenty of high-paying sales jobs to be found. In many cases, the modest starting salary is topped up by very generous commission-based bonuses.
So, let’s take a look at the best paid sales jobs and the qualifications you need to secure them.
Careers Options
There are two main ways of finding one of the highest-paying sales jobs. You can either choose a particular type of sales or focus on working for a particular company. Let’s start by looking at some of the sales job categories that pay particularly well.
Real Estate Agent
If you are talented at painting a picture and creating demand, you are sure to excel as a real estate agent. These salespeople work closely with clients to sell their houses and obtain the best price possible. It is necessary to be available to properties to potential buyers and talk about the benefits.
The typical base salary for a real estate agent is around $50,000 per year. However, the commission is made on properties that are sold, which can boost the salary considerably. With commission, successful real estate agents can earn more than $100,000 per year.
Travel Agent
Working as a travel agent could be ideal if you have a passion for travel and strong communication skills. Travel agents work with a range of different service providers to find the best deals around. They are mainly responsible for booking all aspects of travel for clients, including flights, hotels, and car hire.
The average salary for a travel agent is $40,000 per year, although talented agents can make much more. Many companies offer travel agents special booking bonuses and other deals. This can easily boost the annual salary to at least $70,000 per year.
Insurance Sales Agent
This is a lucrative entry-level job for people who want to skip college and start making money straight away. Insurance agents are responsible for selling a wide range of insurance policies, while some choose to specialize in a certain area. The base salary for this role is typically $50,000 per year, which can soar to $125,000 per year with a commission.
Advertising Sales Representative
This role involves selling advertising space to various companies and helping companies to develop their ads. This can involve purchasing a spot on a website, launching a commercial radio station, and renting a billboard. The base salary for this role is typically $53,000 per year, which can increase to $118000 per year with a commission.
Services Sales Securities, Commodities, and Financial Agent
This role involves being part of the fast-paced financial world and connecting securities and commodities buyers with sellers. The job can also involve helping customers choose the right financial products and earning an impressive commission along the way. Many agents make around $62,000 per year, although particularly talented people can make around $200,000 per year.
Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representative
This role involves selling particular products and goods to agencies and other businesses. This job can involve a lot of time on the road, which is ideal for people who like to travel. The job is mainly composed of commission, and it is possible to earn between $63,000 and $125,000 per year.
Outside Sales Representative
While cold-calling can be daunting, some people thrive under the pressure and really rise to the challenge. Outside sales reps are responsible for finding new sales leads, arranging meetings, and selling the company’s products and services. This entry-level position offers the opportunity to earn around $60,000 per year for those who excel in the role.
Auto Salesperson
If you thrive under pressure and enjoy communicating with customers, this fast-paced job could be ideal. While working in a car lot can be very competitive, the thrill of the chase can be very exciting. The base salary for an auto salesperson is typically $46,000 per year, which can increase to over $61,000 per year with a commission.
Medical Device Sales Representative
This is one of the highest-paid medical sales jobs and involves selling products to healthcare companies. It is essential to be able to explain the products in detail and demonstrate how to use them. Medical device sales reps typically earn around $74,000 per year, although it is not unusual to earn over $100,000 per year.
Pharmaceutical Sales Representative
This role involves establishing and maintaining good connections with doctors and other healthcare professionals. It is necessary to schedule meetings and explain the merits of various products and treatments. The salary is based on success, and the top earners can stand to make around $83,000 per year.
Account Manager
This role combines sales with customer support. They help clients to find the right products and services and sell them additional products. Entry-level candidates typically make $57,000, which can rise to $126,000 with skill and experience.
Enterprise Software Sales Representative
People who have a good understanding of technology and can explain it clearly can excel in this role. Enterprise software sales reps usually work on selling a single product to a range of organizations. The salary for this highly technical role is typically between $93,000 and $108,000 per year.
Major Gifts Officer
This unconventional sales position offers a potential starting salary of $95,000 per year, which can easily rise to up to $140,000. Major gifts officers work for a non-profit organization and are responsible for securing donations. It is necessary to develop a strong sales pitch and plenty of confidence to convince people to part with their cash.
Business Development Representative
This is a highly strategic sales role that involves securing new business opportunities for clients. It is also possible to focus mainly on lead generation in this role. Business development reps usually make around $70,000 per year, while the highest earners can make up to $100,000 per year.
Regional Sales Manager
This role involves overseeing various sales activities within a specific part of the country. Regional sales managers are in charge of leading a team and helping each member reach their full potential. The average salary for a regional sales manager is $117,000 per year, although it is possible to reach $162,000.
Sales Manager
Talented salespeople can use their skills and experience to train a team and coach them to perform at the optimum level. They ensure that quotas and goals are met and ideally exceeded. The average salary for a sales manager is $126,000 per year, although it is possible to earn more than 200,000.
Recruiter
This role involves finding talented salespeople and convincing them to work for a particular company. Rather than selling a particular company, recruiters sell the virtues of the company to potential employees. It is fairly common for a recruiter to make $83,000 per year, although top earners can score more than $100,000.
The Best Companies To Work For
Most of the largest companies offer a range of highly paid sales roles. These companies are often looking for talented and experienced sales professionals who can help boost revenue. Here are some of the top companies where you can make a lot of money in sales.
Principal L7 Account Manager at Amazon Web Services
This high-paying role involves selling Amazon Web Services to a wide range of companies. In addition to having a talent for sales, it is also necessary to be familiar with a range of software and platforms. Account managers need to be able to explain the platforms clearly and present the key benefits.
Salary breakdown
The base salary for this role is $175,000 per year. However, the signing and stock bonus add $131,000 per year plus a commission of up to $116,000. This makes the total salary for a Principal Account Manager at Amazon Web Services around $422,000 per year.
Strategic Account Executive at Asana
This role involves working directly for Asana at its headquarters in San Francisco. It is necessary to call businesses and explain the virtues of the Asana platform to them. After establishing a rapport, account executives also regularly sell additional products and services.
Salary breakdown
The base salary for this role is $150,000 per year. However, the signing and stock bonus add $30,000 per year plus a commission of up to $150,000. This makes the total salary for a Strategic Account Executive at Asana around $330,000 per year.
Key Account Executive at Google Cloud
This role involves finding Fortune 500 companies to partner with to sell them products and services. The main task is helping companies to make the move to Google Cloud’s cloud infrastructure and cloud database.
Salary breakdown
The base salary for a Key Account Executive at Google Cloud is $150,000 per year. However, the signing and stock bonus add $78,000 per year plus a commission of up to $172,000. This brings the total salary to around $400,000 per year.
Strategic Regional Sales Manager at Splunk
Splunk account executives are responsible for convincing companies to move onto the Splunk platform. They also assist them with all aspects of their application management, including security and analytics. It is necessary to establish a rapport and sell new products and upgrades as they become available.
Salary breakdown
The base salary for a Strategic Regional Sales Manager at Splunk is $154,000 per year. However, the signing and stock bonus add $78,000per year plus a commission of up to $154,000. This brings the potential total salary to around $386,000 per year.
Strategic Account Executive at Salesforce
Salesforce is a recognized figure in many sectors of the technology industry. This role involves understanding a lot about different technology platforms and being able to explain them simply. While this job can be challenging, it comes with significant financial rewards.
Salary breakdown
The base salary for a Strategic Account Executive at Salesforce is $153,000 per year. However, the signing and stock bonus add $23,000 per year plus a commission of up to $153,000. This brings the potential total salary to around $329,000 per year.
Enterprise Account Executive at MongoDB
Nest on my rundown of the Top Highest Paying Sales Jobs, this is another role that involves contacting the leading Fortune 500 companies and establishing a rapport. The main aim is to convince these companies to use the MongoDB database.
Salary breakdown
The base salary for an Enterprise Account Executive at MongoDB is $133,000 per year. However, the signing and stock bonus add $51,000 per year plus a commission of up to $133,000. This brings the potential total salary to around $317,000 per year.
Enterprise Account Executive at Workday
Workday Enterprise Account Executives are responsible for selling one of the top solutions in the Human Capital Management (HCM) space. This role involves finding new clients and guiding them through the process of moving onto the platform.
Salary breakdown
The base salary for an Enterprise Account Executive at Workday is $123,000 per year. However, the signing and stock bonus add $35,000 per year plus a commission of up to $168,000. This brings the potential total salary to around $326,000 per year.
Enterprise Account Executive at New Relic
At New Relic, salespeople sell and promote one of the leading digital intelligence platforms. This role mainly involves presenting enterprise customers with the virtues of the cloud-based SaaS observability platform.
Salary breakdown
The base salary for an Enterprise Account Executive at New Relic is $136,000 per year. However, the signing and stock bonus add $43,000 per year plus a commission of up to $136,000. This brings the potential total salary to around $316,000 per year.
Enterprise Account Executive at Twilio
This role involves selling a range of innovative Twilio communication solutions. It is often necessary to find new customers and establish a lasting relationship with them.
Salary breakdown
The base salary for an Enterprise Account Executive at Twilio is $144,000 per year. However, the signing and stock bonus add $50,000 per year plus a commission of up to $116,000. This brings the potential total salary to around $310,000 per year.
Large Enterprise Account Executive at Box
This is one of the largest cloud content management, file sharing, and content collaboration companies. This role involves helping the company to promote and sell its applications.
Salary breakdown
The base salary for a Large Enterprise Account Executive at Box is $142,000 per year. However, the signing and stock bonus add $20,000 per year plus a commission of up to $142,000. This brings the potential total salary to around $305,000 per year.
Looking For More Sales Opportunities?
Great! I’ve put together more in-depth guides related to the real estate industry. So, check out my Real Estate Agent Job Description, Real Estate Assistant Job Description, Leasing Agent Job Description, Leasing Consultant Job Description, Assistant Property Manager Job Description, as well as my Property Manager Job Description.
Customer Service is essential in any sales job, so why not take a look at our Amazon’s Customer Service Experience, Customer Service & Its Significance: Learn And Grow, the Customer service representative Because Badass Miracle Worker Isn’t An Official Job Title, and also the Surviving Customer Service: Avoid Burnout, Develop Valuable Career Skills available online in 2023.
We’ve also got some great finds online to help you do your final sales research with the Every Job Is a Sales Job: How to Use the Art of Selling to Win at Work, How To Get A Sales Job, Sales Secrets: The World’s Top Salespeople Share Their Secrets to Success, Objections: The Ultimate Guide for Mastering the Art and Science of Getting past No, the LinkedIn Riches: How To Use LinkedIn For Business, Sales and Marketing! and The Sales Development Framework: How to Build and Scale a Highly Productive Sales Development Program available today.
Final Thoughts
If you choose your job carefully, a job in sales can be very lucrative. However, to be successful, you need to have plenty of confidence and the ability to read people. It is necessary to have a lot of tenacity and accept setbacks without becoming disparaged.
People who are successful in sales have excellent communication skills. They need to be able to get along well with people from all walks of life and win them over. Although many of the previously mentioned sales jobs require hard work, the huge paychecks they come with make it worthwhile.
Good luck getting those Sales!
