Approximately 80% of Job-Seeking Students Desiring Sales Positions Answered That "Companies Promoting Sales DX Increase Their Desire to Work There." On the Other Hand, Field Sales Has Negative Images Such as "Quotas Are Tough."

UPWARD, Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Jo Eisuke) is pleased to announce that it has conducted a survey on the awareness of job-seeking students (expected to graduate in 2025-2027) regarding sales positions, targeting 102 students.

・Survey Summary

・Survey Overview

Survey Name: Survey on Job-Seeking Students' Awareness of Sales Positions
Survey Method: Internet survey using research data marketing "Resapi®" planned and provided by IDEATECH
Survey Period: August 13, 2024 to August 26, 2024
Valid Responses: 102 job-seeking students interested in sales positions (expected to graduate in 2025-2027)
*This survey was conducted by picking up 102 job-seeking students who answered that they were interested in "sales" from 5,219 job-seeking students in a screening survey.
*Ratios are rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent, so the totals may not add up to 100%.

Job hunters' desired job ranking: Medical and nursing care No. 1, sales No. 4

When asked "Q. What type of job are you interested in? (n=5,219 )" (n=5,219), 18.6% responded "medical/nursing care," followed by "office work/administration" at 15.7% and "planning/marketing" at 10.9%, while "sales" was selected by 9.5% of respondents.

・Medical and nursing care: 18.6%
・Office and administration: 15.7%
・Planning and marketing: 10.9%
・Sales: 9.5%
・Sales and service: 9.4%
・Engineering: 8.3%
・Research, development and design: 7.4%
・Creative: 6.8%
・Production, manufacturing and quality control: 5.3%
・Finance: 4.4%
・Construction and civil Design: 2.6%
・Others: 15.8%
・Not answered: 22.5

Reasons for applying for sales jobs: "Because I can relate to people" was selected by 65.7% of respondents, the most common reason.

When asked "Q1. Why do you want to work in sales? (n=102 )" (n=102), 65.7% responded "Because I can relate to people," 47.1% responded "Because it develops my communication skills," and 43.1% responded "Because I get direct satisfaction from customers.

.4%
・Because I can relate to people: 65.7% ・Because I can develop my communication skills: 47.1%
・Because customers are directly pleased with my work: 43.1%
・Because it helps my career development: 38.2%
・Because I can see results in numbers: 33.3%
・Because there is a good chance of making money: 31 .4%
・Because there are more jobs than other types of jobs: 23.5%
・Because of the networking opportunities: 22.5%
・Others: 0.0%
・Don't know/unable to answer: 2.9

Communication skills" was the most common skill respondents wanted to acquire through sales at 76.5%.

When asked "Q2. What skills would you like to acquire through sales? (n=102 )" (n=102), 76.5% responded "communication skills," 64.7% "negotiation skills," and 59.8% "ability to deal with problems.

-Communication skills: 76.5%
-Negotiation skills: 64.7%
-Ability to deal with problems, etc.: 59.8%
-Problem solving: 52.0%
-Presentation skills: 46.1%
-Ambition/tenacity: 40.2%
-Other: 0.0%
-Do not know/not able to answer: 1.0

Image of outside salespeople (outside salespeople, door-to-door salespeople, etc.): No. 1 "quotas are too strict" and No. 2 "meritocracy".

When asked "Q3. What is your image of outside sales (outside sales, door-to-door sales, etc.)?( n=102 )" (n=102), 52.9% responded "quotas are tough," 45.1% responded "meritocracy," and 39.2% responded "it looks like I can make money.

-Hard quotas: 52.9%
-Meritocracy: 45.1%
-Might make money: 39.2%
-Lots of overtime: 33.3%
-Muddled: 31.4%
-Flexible hours: 30.4%
-Increased interpersonal skills: 29.4%
-Extensive networking: 23.5%
-Easy sense of achievement: 22.5%
-Other: 0.0%
・Don't know/unable to answer: 1.0

The top responses were "physical strength and endurance required" and "high talking skills required.

When asked “Q4. What do you feel is different about field sales (sales visits, consulting sales, etc.) compared to other sales positions? (Multiple answers allowed)” (n=102), the responses were “Requires physical strength and stamina” at 59.8%, “Requires high communication skills” at 58.8%, and “Effort is directly linked to performance” at 38.2%.

・Requires physical strength and stamina: 59.8%
・Requires high communication skills: 58.8%
・Effort is directly linked to performance: 38.2%　
・Relatively free outside of sales visits: 31.4%
・Involves a lot of legwork: 30.4%
・Requires on-the-spot problem-solving: 25.5%
・Other: 0.0%
・Don't know/Cannot answer: 3.9%

・Some respondents indicated that field sales (sales visits, consulting sales, etc.) involves difficult travel and is exhausting.

To those who answered anything other than Don't know/Cannot answer in Q4, we asked, “Q5. Besides what you answered in Q4, if there is anything else you feel is different about field sales (sales visits, consulting sales, etc.) compared to other sales positions, please feel free to tell us. (Free response)” (n=98), and received 63 responses such as “Difficult travel” and “Exhausting.”

＜Excerpts from free responses＞
・21 years old: Difficult travel.
・21 years old: Exhausting.
・20 years old: You have to interact with people you don't know.
・22 years old: Basically, you make your own schedule for the day.
・27 years old: You can set your own hours.
・22 years old: It's good because you listen to each person's story.
・23 years old: Not always in the office.

・76.6% responded that their motivation increases when they know a company is promoting sales DX

When asked “Q6. Many companies are now working on DX. Does knowing that a company is promoting sales DX increase your motivation to join the company?” (n=102), the responses were “Increases significantly” at 34.4% and “Increases somewhat” at 42.2%.

・Increases significantly: 34.4%
・Increases somewhat: 42.2%
・Does not increase much: 12.7%
・Does not increase at all: 2.9%
・Don't know/Cannot answer: 7.8%

・Summary

This time, we conducted a survey on the awareness of job-seeking students (expected to graduate in 2025-2027) who aspire to sales positions, targeting 102 individuals.
First, the most common reason given by job-seeking students for aspiring to a sales position was Because I can be involved with people (65.7%), followed by Because I can improve my communication skills (47.1%). Next, the skills that job-seeking students want to acquire in a sales position were most commonly Communication skills (76.5%), followed by Negotiation skills (64.7%) and Ability to handle troubles (59.8%). On the other hand, negative opinions were also expressed regarding the image of field sales (sales visits, consulting sales, etc.), such as Strict quotas (52.9%), Long working hours (33.3%), and A lot of legwork (31.4%). Finally, 76.6% of job-seeking students answered that their motivation increases when they know a company is promoting sales DX, indicating that the promotion of DX is influencing their motivation to join a company. This survey clarified what job-seeking students who aspire to sales positions expect from sales positions and the image they hold of sales positions. There is a tendency to value interaction with people while also feeling apprehensive about the traditional image of sales, such as long working hours and quotas. On the other hand, there is a high level of interest in sales DX, which can be said to be an expression of expectations for improved operational efficiency and new sales styles through the use of technology. In fact, improvements in sales processes are progressing with the emergence of applications that streamline the recording and utilization of customer data specifically for field sales. Going forward, companies will likely be required to create more efficient and attractive sales environments by promoting sales DX.

▼Click here to download the report of this survey

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UPWARD is an application that streamlines the recording and utilization of customer data specifically for field sales. It supports reproducible sales activities with simple and intuitive functions based on maps, aiming to solve the issues of sales organizations such as centralized customer data management, de-personalization, and improved reproducibility.
Click here for details: https://www.upward.jp/