Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Most Sales Professionals Happy with Management, Despite Stress and a Lack of Leads and Training

Our recent Sales Career Satisfaction Survey reveals the people who sell products and services for a living have conflicting feelings about their chosen career.

The survey, which asked questions on various job satisfaction issues, was sent to our subscribers. Over 2,000 salespeople responded. The survey found that, while most sales professionals are reasonably satisfied with their jobs, they consider high stress to be a significant occupational hazard. In fact, nearly six out of 10 respondents said they consider their jobs stressful.

Despite the job pressure, 70 percent of respondents reported being happy with their management, while 64 percent of those taking the survey said they felt adequately recognized for their achievements. A surprising 75 percent of respondents believe their management's sales expectations or quotas are realistic.

The survey revealed a number of significant job dissatisfaction issues as well.

Only half of the respondents expressed satisfaction with their compensation, while 52 percent felt their companies could provide better training. Fifty-five percent alse believed their companies could do a better job of providing sales leads.

"The survey findings suggest that most salespeople feel good about their chosen career despite the high stress levels," says Michael Dalton Johnson, founder and publisher of SalesDog.com. "Considering that lack of recognition is a common complaint of many employees in all types of jobs, we were surprised to learn the large number of salespeople who feel adequately recognized for their work."

Overall, the survey indicates enthusiasm for a sales career is strong, as witnessed by an overwhelming 83 percent of respondents saying they would recommend sales as a career for young people entering the workforce.

Survey results are available at http://www.salesdog.com/survey_1.asp

No comments: