High-Paying Sales Jobs Without a Degree

Are you passionate about sales career opportunities but don’t know where to start without a degree? Thankfully, there are many opportunities to get involved in high-paying sales jobs without a traditional four-year college degree. This guide takes you through how to land high-paying sales jobs without a degree. 

What Is a Sales Job?

Sales refer to every activity involved when selling a product or service to a customer or business. Though many people think that salespeople exclusively work within retail, there are actually many non-retail sales workers and positions, as well. This broad career field has multiple professional opportunities available with a higher base salary than other job descriptions for those without degrees. 

Although building a sales pipeline and enabling virtual selling is crucial for a company’s success, the main objective of sales is to ensure the consumer is satisfied. Therefore, sales focus on solving the customer’s problems or meeting their needs. That’s why sales involve sourcing prospects, establishing strong client relationships, and offering solutions. All these efforts result in a sale, satisfied clients, and revenue. 

What Do Sales Jobs Pay?

Your salary depends on the specific sales job you take. The highest-paying jobs demand vast experience in the sales industry and high educational requirements, while the low-paying sales roles demand much less. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average annual salary of sales representatives is $65,420.

Alternatively, BLS reports that the average annual salary of sales managers is $132,290. Some of the factors that determine your pay include the job’s responsibilities, academic requirements, and whether it’s an entry-level, intermediate-level, or senior-level position.

What Skills Do You Need to Land a Sales Job?

Communication 

To perform a sales duty effectively, you need to communicate professionally and productively. Remember, you have products or services to sell to prospective customers, which can’t be accomplished without communication skills. The sales industry fully relies on communication. 

Customer Service

Communication skills and customer service go hand in hand. However, customer service skills must convey more than a message. You need to understand the client’s needs and do your best to fulfill them. Customer service skills acknowledge that every customer is different and needs personalized service. Customer service jobs are among the best jobs that pay at least $15 an hour.

Commercial Awareness

Which company is selling the same product or service as your organization? What is the difference between your products or services and their substitutes in the market? Understanding the market and the competition level you are dealing with will help you position your products or services in a way that makes them superior. 

Teamwork

Working in sales requires you to be highly collaborative as you won’t be able to perform most duties on your own. You will need to collaborate with your colleagues and relay customer feedback to different teams or departments to ensure clients get an enhanced experience. 

Coachability 

Are you transitioning to sales jobs? As an entry-level employee, you will need to receive feedback and implement the different approaches highlighted by your leader. When hiring entry-level employees, the hiring manager wants to ensure you practice the necessary skills and strategies and are open to feedback. 

What Education Do You Need to Get a Sales Job?

Depending on the role you want to apply for, the educational requirements vary. For instance, to qualify for a sales representative job, you need to have a high school diploma. For more advanced positions, you might need an associate or bachelor’s degree. Some coursework that will help you in sales roles include accounting and finance, mathematics, and psychology. 

Why College Is Not for Everyone

College demands that you pay tuition fees, accommodation, and additional expenditures. Hence, it can be costly, especially if you don’t qualify for scholarships or grants. In this case, you may have to apply for a loan to complete your college education, which inevitably puts you in debt. Aside from the cost, not every career requires a bachelor’s degree. 

How to Get a Sales Job With a GED

Pick Your Desired Industry

Before you begin applying for sales jobs, you need to decide which industry you want to work in. There are a plethora of industries and companies that hire people for sales, so finding a job that’s perfect for you should’t be difficult.

Apply for an Entry-Level Sales Position

Once you’ve decided which industry you want to work in, search and apply for an entry-level job. You can apply for a sales representative role to help you develop essential skills such as communication and customer care skills. This period ensures you learn the industry and leverage the position to implement new sales strategies. 

On-the-Job Training

Most sales roles have on-the-job training, which is essential to scale your career. You should leverage such programs to ensure you are enhancing your skills to execute your duties effectively. With an entry-level position, you don’t need to worry about not having the knowledge or skills before starting, as you’ll likely receive complete training. 

Advance Your Education

If you want to build a career in sales, you need to further your education to secure sales executive positions. You can either pursue a bachelor’s or master’s degree in a relevant discipline to land high-paying jobs in sales. Alternatively, you can earn a postsecondary nondegree award in this field. 

Land a High-Paying Job in Sales

Now that you’ve gained experience in sales and advanced your education, you can apply and qualify for high-paying sales jobs. You can look for high-paying positions on job boards like Indeed, LinkedIn, or Glassdoor. You can also visit company websites to see if there are any positions available. 

High-Paying Sales Jobs Without a College Degree

Best Sales Jobs that Don’t Require a Degree: A Closer Look

Real Estate Agent

Also known as real estate brokers, real estate agents help clients buy, lease, or sell homes and properties. They help clients negotiate pricing, understand how the market operates, and guide them through their contracts. They also list, market, and show properties. Real estate agents have a high median salary and flexible work schedule, all with as little as a high school diploma and certifications.

When working for a company, you must grow its customer base, compare different market prices to develop a competitive price, and present different purchasing offers to sellers. When there is a trend, you need to ensure your client understands how it will affect their buying or selling process.

Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representative

Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives sell products on behalf of wholesalers and manufacturers to other businesses, organizations, and government agencies. These reps work under pressure as their salaries depend on the number of goods they sell. As a wholesale and manufacturing sales rep, you will contact potential customers, explain a product’s different features, negotiate prices, and answer questions.

Advertising Sales Agent

Advertising sales agents sell advertising spaces or airtime for broadcasting networks, trade journals, newspapers, magazines, and advertising companies. You will carry out duties such as persuading potential customers to buy advertising space, identifying their needs, researching competitors’ prices, and offering estimates of your company’s services to the customers. 

Some clients may not know what to do so that you will guide them. Agents may need to collaborate with them to determine what and how they advertise. You will also provide them with samples of your previous work. If they decide to work with you, you will create an advert and sign a contract. 

Store Manager

Also known as retail managers, store managers supervise the day-to-day operations in a store to ensure it runs efficiently. Some of the responsibilities you will execute include hiring and training cashiers and sales teams. You will manage inventory, motivate sales associates to accomplish the sales goals, address customers’ complaints, and answer their questions. 

Your employer expects you to keep the store compliant with health and safety standards, arrange in-store displays appropriately, and report to the general manager. You can get this career opportunity with a high school diploma and advance to senior levels through certifications and training. 

Sales Associate

A sales associate works in retail companies dealing with jewelry, sporting goods, office supplies, clothing, and other merchandise products. Some of your primary duties include greeting clients when they enter the store, assisting visitors with returns, complaints, and refunds. You will also help customers find the right products, operate cash registers, and handle credit or cash payments.

As a sales associate, you will assist clients in finding the specific item they need in the store. As such, you’ll need to converse with customers and listen to the client’s needs before appropriately explaining how the product can help them.

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Customer Service Representative

As a customer service rep, you will answer customers’ questions and handle orders. You will communicate with them over the phone and offer digital support to ensure they enjoy a great experience. Your employer will expect you to inform potential clients about their products or services. 

For instance, you may have to explain the items’ different features, pros, and cons. You can accomplish this in written or verbal communication. However, you must also document your conversation with the clients through customer relationship management software.

Travel Agent

Travel agents offer transportation, accommodation, and supportive services to people planning trips. They create a comprehensive and convenient package that will ensure travelers can easily reach their destination and enjoy an exhilarating experience. 

Travel agents’ services include booking hotel rooms, vacation packages, and transportation. You will consult your customer to understand what they need or want, then create a travel plan including where they will stay, what they will do, and how they will get there. You will also advise potential clients when and where to travel, resolve travel complaints, and issue refunds.

Leasing Agent

As a leasing agent, you will collaborate with the property owners to rent properties to potential tenants. Your key responsibilities are marketing properties, evaluating the current properties to inform the maintenance team of any damages, and screening potential clients to ensure they are fit for the property. 

You will complete lease applications, address and resolve tenants’ problems or concerns, and receive housing and property fees such as rental payments. Leasing agents also accept application fees and security deposits too. 

Insurance Agent

An insurance sales agent educates clients about various insurance policies and sells them. While doing this, they ensure it fits the customer’s needs. Once you’ve sold the policy, you are to regularly check whether the policy still fits the individual’s lifestyle or not. You don’t need a formal education besides a high school diploma to apply for this position. Nevertheless, you may pursue a bachelor’s degree to stand out from the rest of the candidates.

Some of your primary duties include calculating dividends, leveraging cold calling to build collaborative relationships, evaluating clients’ risk profiles and giving suggestions, and tracking insurance claims. You will also need to present reports on the progress of the proposed initiatives.

B2B Sales Representative

B2B sales reps build relationships with corporate decision-makers to sell products or services. They leverage different tools, techniques, and skills to gain the trust of their potential clients, then recommend suitable solutions. They usually use email, video, conferencing, and social media to encourage them to discover their products’ or services’ value.

As part of a B2B sales team, you need to execute tasks, daily workflows, and activities of sales workers to achieve the set sales goals. You should also follow the set sales process and stream of prospective clients known as a sales pipeline.

Companies that Offer Entry-Level Sales Jobs

• Platinum Supplemental Insurance: Platinum Supplemental Insurance offers numerous sales career opportunities, for instance, sales representatives. This company offers you a supportive environment to learn new things and feel appreciated. You also get exceptional training programs and a three-day weekend.  
• Momentum Solar: If you’re looking for an organization that will provide you with a conducive environment to grow in your sales career, Momentum Solar is the ideal organization for you. You get to learn how to kickstart your career in sales through their excellent training programs and receive support from your seniors and colleagues.
• Power Home Remodeling: Power Home Remodeling has an inclusive and supportive work environment. This company offers exceptional training, helpful management, and great colleagues to work alongside. Past sales professionals also praise the company for the great pay regardless of your working level.
• Total Quality Logistics: This company has a great working environment and culture that helps you kickstart and advance your career. They offer their workers excellent pay and supportive management if you need help with acquiring resources or are stuck in your entry-level duties.
• ADP: ADP provides you with a conducive environment to learn new things to grow in your sales career. It offers you time and location flexibility to find a remote position. The managerial team also appreciates your efforts and provides you with the necessary resources to enhance your skills.

Where to Find Sales Jobs that Don’t Require a Degree

Indeed

Indeed is a site that provides you with different career opportunities across the globe with essential details. For instance, Indeed can give you information regarding open jobs within the company and their median salary. This helps you evaluate whether you meet the requirements and guides you in the job application process. You also get to see the average annual salary to expect, making your salary negotiation effective.

FlexJobs

FlexJobs provides you with different career opportunities regardless of your location. Depending on your career choice, you can either choose remote or at the office sales positions. If you’re wondering why you should use FlexJobs, this site has a great customer support team that helps you maneuver your way through job hunting. You also get career coaching to help you accomplish your professional goals.

Glassdoor

Glassdoor offers you current sales jobs available in top companies and compares the salaries to provide you with the ideal career opportunity. For example, suppose you want an entry-level position that pays a salary range of $50,000 and above. You can key in the salary you expect and find sales job opportunities with that pay. Glassdoor also notifies you through your email address when companies post new job opportunities through their job alert feature. 

Consider a Sales Degree Later in Your Career

While securing a high-paying job without a degree is possible, you can enroll for a degree later to help you scale your sales career. Notably, online degrees are pretty convenient as you don’t have to attend classes within a restricted location. This program allows you to learn as you work, helping you accomplish your academic and career objectives. 

Sales Jobs Without a Degree FAQ