Corporate sales: a career in decline or a brilliant opportunity?

Date: 29th December

Corporate sales: a career in decline or a brilliant opportunity?

Ambitious, bright-eyed graduates of Generation Z are always looking for a rewarding, future-proof career. It’s strange therefore that an industry that offers some of the highest earning potential and most varied day-to-day challenges has such a bad reputation among young professionals.

Sales is the engine of corporate growth: it can be a deeply satisfying and lucrative specialism. Why are so many aspiring professionals suspicious of corporate sales? We think there are some outdated stereotypes and perceptions in play. We don’t believe these reflect the modern reality of this career path.

The perception problem

Studies comparing students in the US and Europe confirm that there’s a reduced appetite to pursuing a sales career that goes back quite a few years. Has sales ever had a high prestige reputation? It’s often looked down on today, and there are many widespread misconceptions about the role, as two detailed studies revealed (Avlonitis & Panagopoulos, 2010; Karakaya et al., 2014.)

For Gen Z, a career in sales often conjures up images of aggressive, transactional selling, or the instability of purely commission-based work. Many young people entering the workforce prioritise flexibility, stability, and work that aligns with a deeper sense of purpose over traditional, hard-push tactics. This is supported by our own recent workforce survey, as well as by the Inspiring Interns 2018 survey of 250 UK university students, which found that a major reason for avoiding sales was “not wanting to pester people” (34%) and avoiding the “high pressure” (13%) associated with the role. 65% of the students believed that salespeople typically make 100+ calls a day. This negative perception is a significant hurdle for corporate organisations looking to hire the next generation of sales leaders.

The shift to consultative selling

In our experience, corporate sales in the organisations we work with looks nothing like this stereotype. The focus has shifted to consultative selling, transforming the role into one of a knowledgeable strategic advisor and problem-solver.

A career in this modern discipline is challenging, varied, and enjoyable because it requires a high degree of intellectual and emotional intelligence. A consultative sales professional doesn’t just push a product, they:

Actively listen, to deeply understand a client’s specific business challenges and long-term goals
Offer expert insight and add value by drawing on their industry knowledge to inform the client
Customise solutions that address unique pain points, positioning themselves as a trusted advisor.

This approach builds robust, long-term relationships, leading to high customer satisfaction and increased referrals, which is a source of great job satisfaction. Reputable corporate organisations know the value of effective salespeople and prize their loyalty. They support sales teams with thorough training in their products, the industry and in the art of professional consultation.

Rewards in corporate sales

The perception of financial insecurity is a deterrent for those considering a sales career, where there’s a large commission element. The thought of an unstable income, where financial security hinges entirely on closing a deal, feels risky and stressful for a generation craving stability.

We say that a career in corporate sales can offer financial potential that often outpaces many other entry-level and mid-career professions. For example, in the lucrative US SaaS sector, the median annual On-Target Earnings (OTE) for experienced Account Executives (AEs) reached a massive $190,000 in 2024. For Enterprise AEs, the base salary alone often crosses the $100,000 mark. This potential for high reward is compelling, but it needs to be balanced with security to appeal to young professionals.

The total pay package needs better PR

This is where sales compensation strategy becomes critical. To attract and retain top Gen Z talent, organisations need to address the risk perception head-on by providing a compelling Total Pay package, then making sure that candidates and career entrants know what this really means.

The package must include a fair and competitive base salary that provides financial security and stability, insulating the professional from the volatility of sales cycles. The commission or incentive structure should then be challenging but genuinely rewarding, acting as a powerful motivator rather than a source of stress.

Today, thanks to modern compensation software, companies can incentivise a wide range of performance and behaviour metrics, far beyond just closed revenue. This means sales professionals know that they will be rewarded for:

Hard work and talent: hitting revenue targets.
Strategic excellence: advancing the sales pipeline or generating new leads.
Being great brand ambassadors: achieving high customer satisfaction scores
Supporting the organisation’s collective goals: shaping and successfully implementing team- or function-wide processes that support innovation and differentiation

By broadening the metrics and providing transparent, reliable compensation, companies ensure that sales professionals feel secure and are rewarded for every valuable contribution they make.

For Gen Z professionals looking for a financially lucrative, strategically engaging and highly professional career, we say it’s time to drop the outdated stereotypes. Corporate sales in a leading organisation is a rewarding specialism. Consultative selling skills are highly transferable and offer lots of opportunities to develop knowledge, interpersonal and commercial capabilities. As long as it’s backed by a smart, supportive compensation structure, corporate sales deserves to be recognised as a very attractive path to success.