Business sales jobs rocket in the UK

Boosted by Sir Alan's apprentices, interest in business services sales jobs has rocketed in the UK.

1. The industry

Business services sales jobs involve selling services from one business to another, rather than selling products directly to consumers

A career in business services sales spans a huge variety of sub sectors, including accountancy, recruitment, legal services, management consultancy, marketing, property, office services and facilities management to name a few.

The business services sales industry in the UK is enormous. Management consultancy is one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK and is the largest outside of the US, estimated at £10billion. There are also 20,000 accountancy firms in the UK, and our recruitment industry is the oldest in Europe (valued at £3.51billion in 2007.)

What's more, the UK is one of the premier locations in the world for contact centres and shared service centres. It's estimated that by 2012 there will be over a million people employed in this industry.

2. What does a business sales job involve?

Business sales jobs can involve selling a conceptual service, where the client has to be able to visualise that service and the benefits that it will provide. Equally, business services sales can involve selling tangible products, like office consumables for example.

Conceptual sales are considered more difficult than a product sale and in recent years the term of 'Solution Sales' has often been appended to the business services sales sector.

Business services sales jobs often have a high element of new business generation and as such offer high levels of earning opportunity. Service selling can be highly complex, very high valued, competitive and won through a variety of bids, tenders and proposals.

3. The current climate

As a business sales job can be found in practically every sector - from financial and insurance markets to retail, publishing, telecoms, energy, utilities, marketing, healthcare and many, many more - it's difficult to establish what effect the recession may have had.

However, in terms of the skills set required for business sales jobs, much has changed over the last decade.

Traditional face-to-face selling and scripted sales pitches have all but vanished thanks to the Internet and eCommerce. Taking their place are direct mail and eMarketing tools, CRM databases and websites. It's also now more important than ever to build a relationship-repetition with a client so they know who to turn to if they need something.

Recent reports do suggest however that the franchises in the business services sales sector has been largely unaffected by the recession. The industry as a whole contributed £11.4bn to the UK economy last year according to statistics from NatWest and the British Franchise Association, and the number of franchises trading profitably has remained at 90%.

4. What do recruiters look for?

To succeed in business services sales you must have exceptional problem solving skills to enable you to fully understand the problems that your clients face - and find the right solution for them.

In business sales jobs, you will be responsible for selling to all types of clients and companies, as well as securing on-going business through negotiation and long term relationship building.

To be successful you will require strong motivation, presentation and planning skills, together with confidence, enthusiasm and tenacity.

What employers most look for in business sales jobs candidates is good communication - clear and concise, avoiding buzz words. Leadership skills are next; followed by integrity, being inspirational and having a willingness to develop in business sales jobs.

At Salestarget.co.uk, there are a huge range of business sales jobs for you to explore, spanning all skills and sectors. Search by location or keyword to browse the latest business services sales jobs, or upload your CV and let the top business sales jobs come straight to you.