ABOUT 80% OF JOB HUNTERS WHO WANT TO WORK IN SALES SAY THAT COMPANIES THAT PROMOTE SALES DX WILL INCREASE THEIR LEVEL OF INTEREST. ON THE OTHER HAND, THERE IS A NEGATIVE IMAGE OF OUTSIDE SALESPEOPLE, SUCH AS "QUOTAS ARE TOO MUCH WORK.

(HEAD OFFICE: CHIYODA-KU, TOKYO; PRESIDENT AND CEO: RYUSUKE KANEKI) IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT IT CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF 102 JOB HUNTERS (EXPECTED TO GRADUATE BETWEEN 2025 AND 2027) WHO ARE INTERESTED IN SALES JOBS TO DETERMINE THEIR ATTITUDES TOWARD SALES JOBS.

Survey Summary

Survey Summary

Survey Title: Survey of Job Hunting Students' Attitudes Toward Sales
Survey Method: Internet survey planned by Lisapi ®︎, a research data marketing company provided by IDEATECH
Survey Period: August 13, 2024 to August 26, 2024
Valid Responses: Job hunting students (scheduled to graduate between 2025 and 2027) who are interested in a sales career 102 respondents
*From the 5,219 job hunters in the screening survey, 102 job hunters who responded that they were interested in "sales" were selected to proceed with this survey.
*Composition ratios are rounded to two decimal places, so the total does not necessarily equal 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 makes outside sales (outside sales, door-to-door sales, etc.) different from other sales jobs? (n=102 )" (n=102), 59.8% responded that "physical strength and endurance are necessary," 58.8% that "high talking skills are necessary," and 38.2% that "efforts are directly related to business performance.

・Need physical strength and endurance: 59.8%
・Need high talking ability: 58.8%
・Effort is directly related to performance: 38.2%
・Relatively free except during visits: 31.4%
・Muddled sales: 30.4%
・Immediate problem solving required in the field: 25.5%
・Other: 0.0%
・Do not know Don't know/unable to answer: 3.9% ・Don't know

Some respondents said that "traveling is hard" and "it looks tough" for outside sales (outside sales, door-to-door sales, etc.).

To those who answered "Don't know/unable to answer" in Q4, we asked "Q5. Other than the answer in Q4, please feel free to tell us if you feel that outside sales (outside sales, door-to-door sales, etc.) are different among other sales jobs. (Free answer)" (n=98), we obtained 63 responses such as "Moving around is hard" and "Seems tough.

・21years old: It is hard to move around.
21: It seems to be hard.
20: I have to negotiate with strangers.
22: Basically, I plan my day by myself.
27: I can set my own hours.
22: It is good because I hear each person's story.
23: I am not always in the office.

76.6% OF RESPONDENTS SAID THEY ARE "MORE LIKELY TO APPLY" IF A COMPANY IS PROMOTING SALES DX.

When asked "Q6. Many companies are working on DX these days, does knowing that a company is promoting sales DX in your job search increase your level of interest in the company? (n=102), 34.4% responded "considerably" and 42.2% "somewhat.

-Go up considerably: 34.4%
-Go up somewhat: 42.2%
-Go up not much: 12.7%
-Go up not at all: 2.9%
-Don't know/unable to answer: 7.8

Summary

This time, we conducted a survey of 102 job hunters (expected to graduate between 2025 and 2027) who are interested in sales jobs, to find out their attitudes toward sales jobs.
First, the most common reason given by job hunters for wanting to work in sales was "Because I can relate to people" (65.7%), followed by "Because it develops my communication skills" (47.1%). Next, "communication skills" (76.5%) was the most common skill job hunters wanted to acquire in a sales position, followed by "negotiation skills" (64.7%) and "ability to deal with problems" (59.8%). On the other hand, negative comments about the image of outside sales (outside sales, door-to-door sales, etc.) included "too many quotas" (52.9%), "too much overtime" (33.3%), and "muddy" (31.4%). Finally, 76.6% of job hunters said that their level of aspiration would increase if they knew that a company was promoting sales DX, clearly indicating that the promotion of DX has an impact on their level of aspiration for a company. This survey revealed what job hunters who want to work in sales expect from a sales position and the image they have of a sales position. While emphasizing the importance of relationships with people, at the same time they tend to have concerns about the traditional image of sales, such as long working hours and quotas. On the other hand, interest in sales DX is high, which may be an indication of their expectations for greater operational efficiency and a new sales style that leverages technology. In fact, sales processes are improving with the emergence of applications that streamline the recording and use of customer data specifically for outside sales. It is likely that companies will be increasingly required to develop a more efficient and attractive sales environment by promoting sales DX.

▼ Click here to download the report of this survey.

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FOR OUTSIDE SALES AND DOOR-TO-DOOR SALES DX, USE "UPWARD" MAP X CRM TO STORE AND UTILIZE CUSTOMER INFORMATION!

UPWARD is an application that streamlines the recording and utilization of customer data specialized for outside salespeople. UPWARD supports highly repeatable sales activities with simple and intuitive map-based functions, aiming to solve the issues faced by sales organizations aiming for centralized management of customer data, de-personalization, and improved repeatability.
For more information: https://www.upward.jp/