Sales jobs and marketing careers are two occupations that will never go away. While other sectors of the economy including manufacturing and IT have seen entire professions outsourced to foreign countries, the selling and marketing of goods and services is a critical function in every company. So exactly what are the best jobs in sales and marketing? The answer lies in an intriguing mixture of traditional and non-traditional job roles.
Sales Director
One of the most interesting and lucrative sales jobs in the industry is that of a Director. In this career, the manager is responsible for recruiting a sales staff, setting and achieving sales goals, mentoring, training and generating new accounts. The goal is simple: bring more clients and thus more money to the company.
The benefits of a career as a Sales Director are many. Generally the job enjoys wide latitude in flexibility and growth. Because travel is typically around 50 percent or more, the work may bring the employee to exotic locations around the globe. If performance is stellar, the worker may move into a Vice President position. On the other hand if performance is weak, he or she may very well be shown the door.
Director of Communications
Because of higher pay and job satisfaction, Communications Directors are one of the best sales jobs. In this public relations role, the Director of Communications is responsible for going before the public and cultivating and maintaining a positive image of the company within the business community. Communications Directors can make up to $135,000 or more annually, though average salary is typically around $80,000.
Social Media and Online Marketing Manager
Because the internet has become such a large part of people's lives, some of the hottest sales jobs are those that focus on web marketing. The idea is to promote a company's products or services by pushing advertising to the places web surfers frequent most often with a particular focus on social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and MySpace.
The best jobs in online marketing management are Social Media Managers and Online Marketing Managers. Social Media Managers design, implement and maintain online campaigns and develop the company's communications strategy. They leverage social media internally and externally to build a competitive advantage over other companies who are also discovering the power in social media marketing. The job requires one to be comfortable in an IT role in addition to having advanced social media savvy.
Online Marketing Managers expand their role to the development, implementation and maintenance of an overall online strategy for publicizing a company's products or services. They are responsible for performance, analytics and effective keywording through search engine optimization (SEO) best practices. Experienced managers average around $75,000 per year.
Sales and marketing are two careers that will never fade. Though the overall economy may enter into a rough patch, companies will always have the need for enthusiastic, highly motivated individuals to sell and market their products or services.
Daniel Gansle - Daniel J. Gansle is the author of 2012: Day of Reckoning, graduate of Anthropological Studies and expert in ancient Mayan culture.
