re: Can someone explain to me why sales can be a lucrative profession?

Human beings need to feel good about their buying decisions. A good relationship with a sales rep can do that . I managed a 4th of the State of Colorado for a Fortune 200 . I didn’t really “ sell “ I built new relationships. I was focused on market share. That means I had to persuade people to favor me and my company over another guy and his company. That put millions of dollars into my employers pockets. It also meant that I made triple what the technical guys made for working half the hours.

Now I work for myself.I created my own gig. I have no boss. I work 20-30 hours a week. I take 4-6 weeks a year vacation. I have not been on a payroll in thirteen years. I can work into my seventies if I want to. I cracked the code. It took me into my early 40s and a lot of eating shite and a lot of failing but I cracked the code. And now I have the life I want. Which for me is visiting clients in a 4 hour window 4 days a week.

And by the way it’s not really “ sales” at a certain level. It’s beneficial Persuasion. It’s being persuasive , informative and solving problems for people.You just make it really easy for them to do what they need to do.

Btw, I could write books on why I hate “ sales “ organizations “ , monthly quotas , rah rah corporate BS, and all that other soul- crushing crap. I LOATHE sales “ organizations “. Just the worst.

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What if company A is 25% more expensive and defect percentage is very small?

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I've got a pretty good example. My local bike shop sold Felt, Cervelo, and few other bike brands. Felt and Cervelo are easily the top two brands sold there. Cervelo is well known to be more expensive by more than a little. Felt is known as the brand that has the high end, but also knows how to remove the unnecessary stuff and sell a high end model at a good price point. Felt has been on the rise in the triathlon bike arena due to this. I went to the shop I've always bought from and inquired about the Felt......they no longer carry them. I asked why. The Felt sales rep who called on their store sucked so much they couldn't deal with him anymore. It was too much of a pain to keep them in their inventory. They weren't getting the service they got form Cervelo. Felt just lost a ton of revenue (this is a pretty high volume shop as far as bike shops go) because they didn't have a person who could keep the customer interested And they were already the cheaper option. Good salesman there would have obviously provided value.

FWIW, Felt and Cervelo are coming off the same lines every other road bike is in China. Just like apparel, footwear, jewelry, etc. marketing and branding is much more crucial than "selling" direct to consumer for these brands.

Consultant style sales don't operate in the manner you're describing. It's hard to explain, but valuable partnerships and providing advice based on years of experience in a specific industry is not something that can be replaced by tech.

You can't go online and research what you didn't realize you want or need. That's where a good salesman comes in.