Is a career in Sales and Marketing right for you? An exploration of the two fields

Sales & Marketing are a big part of every bigger company, they even decide on the success of a business. Because of that the sports industry offers plenty of careers in Sales and Marketing.
However, even though they collaborate, the two are far away from being the same – or even one field. If you feel that your Sales experience is enough to work in Marketing or the other way round or you feel like „you are good in selling“, so either career should be fine – you better know what you actually apply for!

Originally, Marketing developed in Sales, but turned to a new approach. In small companies one person often handles both – the reason is simply that, at first glimpse, both focus on clients and offer a possibility to increase Sales. But that’s a very superficial conclusion which doesn’t hold up to a conscious look.
A big part of the sports industry trends to separate both departments for the biggest possible success. Here’s why:

The impact of Marketing and Sales in a Sports Company

In one of our earlier Blogs in 2013, we wrote that the „main subject of sport jobs in marketing is planning and execution of advertising-activities with the aim to sell products“. Wait, sounds like Sales after all! Well, we have to admit that this definition is a little outdated. Nevertheless, it’s an idea which is still stuck in many minds – something to get rid of to truly understand the varying characters of the two fields.

Marketing is a strategical approach completely focused on the client. Through analysis, Marketing Manager define the peer group, its wants and needs. Understanding those helps the company to bend or turn to a direction which satisfies the segment long-term and thus, binding it to the brand. It might even define the complete identity and strategy of a company to fulfill the requirements (for products, the brand, customer service, logistics, communication, etc) of its clients continuously.

Sales is a tactical approach completely focused on selling products. It’s the approach to convince clients on buying the existing products in stock to make the maximum profit. It focuses on the recent products and a turnover rate of maximum volume in a short-term. A good Sales employee needs to prove a client that the product is what will satisfy his needs – not the other way round.

One doesn’t work without the other

We said before that Sales is focused on the „now“, which is just a part of the truth. Of course, operational it is, strategically though, the department also works on the development of new clients and new markets – in the future. That’s where the two come together. You might even say that Sales are the result from good Marketing: It is responsible for providing necessary information and tools to help the turnover rate grow – by giving details on new ways to reach (new and more) customers, simply a Market Research.

Interested in a job in Sales or Marketing in the sports business?

Now that you found out about both fields and their differences, you might want to right away jump into your new career in the sports industry. So here’s our most recent job offers from both departments:

Sport Jobs in Sales

Sport Jobs in Marketing

If you are looking for another position or want to individualise the offers by location, keywords or type, please use our Job Search.