Some headhunters will tell you that you must start in sales to be a success in business. Others will say that engineering is a dead end. Neither of these statements is true. Review the backgrounds of some of the most successful people in business: the Fortune 500 CEOs. You’ll find that some started in engineering, some in sales/marketing, some in manufacturing, some in general management, and some in finance…so it doesn’t matter where you start! The key to a successful corporate career is to join a healthy company in an industry with a future and to do a great job there. Over 90% of officers will transition into either an initial position in manufacturing, sales, engineering, or general management. This section is designed to give you a broad overview of each area.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing involves producing and distributing the goods we use. Many junior officers choose it as a career because it’s similar to what they did in the military. In the military, you may have spent your time coordinating personnel and equipment to achieve the goal of increasing readiness. In manufacturing, you would be getting personnel and machines to produce some tangible product. In both arenas, you’re dealing with maintenance issues, scheduling, training, and motivating. Manufacturing, like the military, usually runs “around-the-clock” so you’d probably be working in some type of shift schedule (rotating or set shifts).

Manufacturing career paths are structured so that there are 2 to 4 steps between the entry position in management to the peak position in management. That peak position is the Plant Manager. A Plant Manager supervises hundreds or thousands of people, usually is compensated well into a 6 figure income and has profit and loss responsibility. A typical manufacturing plant is organized like this:

Production is the area where products are made in a plant environment (that environment can vary widely in terms of size, cleanliness and staffing). Production can be extremely technical (high tech automation is used extensively today) in which case engineering degrees are required. Some Production isn’t as technical and general technical knowledge will suffice. Officers with strong backgrounds in engineering operations and who have significant leadership experience typically excel in Production.

Distribution involves the storage and movement of products. Effective distribution can take advantage of surging demand. Distribution can either be the prime mission of a company or a support function for major retailers or manufacturers. The standard process is for products to be shipped from a manufacturing plant to centrally located distribution centers and then stored or shipped directly to stores or customers based on demand. A distribution center is similar to a military supply depot. Workers there move palletized material on forklifts while clerks input requisitions and issue documents into a computerized inventory management system. Most modern distribution facilities are very automated and are located in large, well-lighted warehouse facilities. Strong backgrounds in logistics, warehousing, inventory management and material management are usually required for entry into Distribution.

Maintenance is an area that fares particularly well in adverse economic periods as companies avoid purchasing new capital equipment and try to maintain existing equipment. Maintenance supervisors typically manage 15 to 50 mechanics and electricians who require training to upgrade their skills as technology advances. Military preventive and corrective maintenance experience as well as significant leadership experience is required for entry into Maintenance.

Sales

Sales is tough, but a great opportunity for those officers who are competitive and want a chance at higher levels of compensation. Successful sales representatives always make more money than their counterparts in management. Their job security in tough economic times is also better (sales reps are the last people companies cut in a downsizing. In sales, you will be held accountable for the results of your efforts. If you are listed at the top of the sales report (where all the sales reps are ranked), you can take the credit. If you’re at the bottom, there’s only one person you can blame. That excites some people and scares others. Which are you?

Debunking Sales Myths

Ask JOs what they think of when you say "salesman" and most will say "a guy selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door" or "Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman" or "Al Bundy selling shoes on Married With Children" or the like. It's usually not a very positive image. In fact, one JO headhunter even plays on JOs' fears of sales proudly proclaiming "We do not place candidates into sales" as if sales were something dirty and really nasty!

There are certainly some sleazy salesmen out there (we've all had unpleasant experiences at car lots and with telemarketers). But business-to-business corporate sales can, in fact, be an extremely rewarding, professionally enhancing, and personally satisfying profession for some officers. And starting in sales can lead you to great professional success! Some noteworthy captains of industry who started their corporate careers in sales after their military time include John Akers (former Navy aviator to CEO of IBM), Ross Perot (former Navy SWO), Roger Enrico (former Navy supply officer to CEO of Pepsico), and many others.

•"But isn't sales risky?" The failure rate for officers entering into sales is no higher than for those in other positions. And talk about risky; how would you like for your career and compensation progression to be purely based on how your supervisor "feels" about you? . . . . that's what you've faced in the military and that's what you would face in a management or engineering job. But in sales, you are evaluated based on results, not what someone "thinks" about you.

•"Being on commissions seems scary and unpredictable." Professional corporate sales opportunities pay significant base salaries. But when we're screening corporate sales opportunities, we also check for significant commissions . . . there should be significant "up-side compensation potential" so we want opportunities with commissions. Interestingly, those former officers engaged in successful sales careers focus less and less on their base salaries as those salaries become a smaller and smaller part of their overall compensation.

•"Don't people in sales travel a lot?" No . . . most sales positions do not involve overnight travel. If there is travel involved, it's usually isolated to a metro area and you're given a car or car allowance.

•"If you're going to be successful in sales, don't you have to learn how to manipulate people and get them to do things they don't want to do?" Some people think successful salespeople learn some kind of mystical mind control . . . that they can maneuver people into doing things against their will. Nothing could be further from the truth for corporate sales. The ONLY sales corporate salespeople make are the ones that add significant value to what a company is trying to accomplish. As a salesrep, you won't sell anybody ANYTHING unless you understand their needs and solve problems. So the MOST important personal skill successful salesreps have is LISTENING ABILITY.

Types of Sales Include:

ªIndustrial/Technical. This includes chemicals, electronics, heavy equipment, etc. and usually requires a technical degree. Tech sales reps also can serve as consultants to their clients, diagnosing problems and making design change recommendations. Base salaries range from $50K to $65K plus bonuses/commissions plus a car (worth $5K - $7K per year because everything is paid for).

•Pharmaceutical. Not real hard core sales because it involves educating doctors about the benefits of particular drugs. You never really close a deal, but instead hope the doctors prescribe your products. Base salaries range from $45K to $55K plus bonuses plus a car.

•Medical. Some reps sell major pieces of equipment (CAT scan and MRI machines) and some sell consumables (sutures, IVs, etc.). They call on administrators and doctors in HMOs and hospitals. Base salaries range from $35K to $65K plus bonuses/commissions plus a car.

•Financial (Insurance, Stock Brokers). Lee Cohen does not place officers into 100% commission sales positions, nor does he place officers into positions with very high failure rates. Consequently, he rarely place officers into financial sales.

•Most officers who start in sales do aspire to eventually get into management. The management track in sales goes from Sales Rep to District Manager to Regional Manager to Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Why do some officers choose sales when most are afraid of it?

•Solid track into management. Corporations view time spent as a sales rep as very valuable experience (sales reps have spent the most time dealing with customers).

•Independence. Once assigned to a territory, self-management and good judgement are the primary tools used practicing your trade. Guidance and training are provided by management, but you are responsible for day-to-day scheduling and activities. You have the freedom to do the job the way you think it should be done.

•Pay and Promotions Based On Performance. In sales, income is significantly supplemented by incentive bonuses and commissions. Promotions are based on bottom line measurable performance, so achievers are promoted rapidly.

•Corporate Exposure. Sales reps work with virtually every department of their client companies to maximize the level of service. Consequently, those reps get great exposure to most levels and departments of corporations.

Who does well in sales?

•Officers who are persistent. Most sales attempts fail, which is what makes sales difficult. Successful sales reps have the persistence to drive on towards their goals despite rejection.

•Officers with high energy and stamina. A professional sales rep’s day is long and requires continuous effort. Interviewers will look for candidates who can maintain their energy level after a long series of interviews. One of the things the best sales reps do to beat their competition is to just plain work harder.

•Officers who are competitive. Everyone likes to win, but good sales reps seem to need it. They thrive on competition because it gives them a chance to measure their performance. Some companies actually look specifically for athletes to hire because of this.

•Officers who are organized and disciplined. Unlike a manufacturing position where your schedule is set and you know what to expect each day, a sales rep’s job is rarely the same from day to day. In sales, you must be able to organize your activities to efficiently accomplish your objectives. Furthermore, your boss typically works in another city, so you must be able to work independently, setting your own schedule and planning your day without instructions.

Engineering

Years ago, individuals who would start in Engineering would retire still doing very technical work. That’s no longer true due to the advent of unstructured career pathing (changing types of positions throughout one’s career). The ratio of engineering tasks to management tasks you perform shifts as you progress through an engineering career. By the time you become a senior executive, you’re doing very little or no actual engineering work.

Process Engineers establish and monitor ongoing industrial processes. They check process and product parameters to maintain particular specifications and optimize efficiencies. Often part of the production team, a Process Engineer is the resident expert for a production line…if something goes wrong that is not easily fixed, he or she is usually the first to get “paged.” If assigned to a single plant, Process Engineers seldom travel except to trade fairs and other professional gatherings. If assigned to a region, they can travel a great deal to different facilities. Process Engineers can typically choose one of two career paths: Production or Engineering. In Production, they follow the path of Production Supervisor/Shift Manager/Production Manager/Plant Manager. In Engineering, the path is Plant Engineer/Regional Engineering Director/VP of Engineering. An understanding of plant dynamics and system interaction is very important. Engineering degrees are required.

Quality Control (QC)/Quality Assurance (QA) Engineers – Two key endeavors in all Process Engineering as well as some Manufacturing are QC and QA. There is a difference between QA and QC. QC uses statistical analysis and control to make sure that there is as little variation as possible in the product produced. QA is a system to make sure the products produced meet set standards.

Project Engineers are assigned to different tasks that can take anywhere from a few days to a few years to complete. Their jobs change dramatically and can sometimes require significant travel (over 25%). Working solo or sometimes as part of a team, Project Engineers work on plant and line modifications/upgrades, new facility construction and other engineering projects that involve jobs of a transient nature. They are also involved in the cost estimation, budgeting, and scheduling of projects. To be a successful Project Engineer, you have to have strong people skills as you would also be negotiating and working with vendors. Base salaries range from $50K to $80K.

High Technology Engineering & Operations

Lee Cohen has worked very hard to open up technology based opportunities for junior officers. High technology areas that now hire officers include: telecommunications, information technology (IT), management information technology (MIS), computer hardware, and software. Starting positions specific to hi tech include:

Materials Engineers/Managers provide component and material engineering support to the production floor. They evaluate potential risks of components identified during new product design and introduction and are prepared to execute risk mitigation plans. They also evaluate, recommend, and select suppliers while performing detailed assessments and failure analysis on various types of components. They generate procurement specifications to define and protect the design requirements for specific components. Providing early input and feedback to design in order to realize significant cost improvement through the management of key technologies, Materials Engineers/Managers also partner with world class suppliers. Effective interaction with suppliers, purchasing, new product engineering, design and other internal organizations are all key parts of the position.

Applications Engineer interface with marketing and design engineers in order to define the next generation of products, provide technical support on existing products, perform technical interface to customers and field applications in order to provide technical assistance and training, and provide front-end support to the design of new products.

New Product Introduction Engineers drive the introduction of new products from conceptualization in R&D all the way to the marketplace.

Product Marketing Engineers are internal experts about products who work closely with sales reps to configure systems that are marketed to major corporate clients. They work directly with customers and design engineers to define roadmap products and generate product proposals to justify new development. They must be able to participate and contribute to technical discussions with customer engineers. Other responsibilities include product management, forecasting, customer presentations and contract negotiations.

Product Support Engineers follow the systems when shipped to customers and are product experts who make sure installed systems are successful and work as advertised. They also serve as experts for customer support after installation.

Software Development Engineers evolve current software systems to support customer needs. They modify and react to problems uncovered during testing and trails of the software. Responsibilities often span beyond design, implementation and testing to large scale project management.

Network Managers are responsible for various combinations of configuration management, hardware/software installation, fault location and repair, security issues, performance management, and accounting.

Telecommunications Systems Engineers are responsible for providing pre and post sales technical support including: product presentations and demonstrations, analysis of customer network operational requirements, on-site training and consulting support, installation of evaluation equipment, written detailed network specification proposals, product trials with customers, and solutions for application problems. These positions require extensive backgrounds in the design, installation, operation, maintenance, and management of medium to large-scale data networks. Hands-on experience with networking hardware is also required.

General Mangement & Operations

You may have been in tough environments out in the field or at sea and now are ready to work in a nice office, sit at a desk, and “just make decisions.” Are there jobs out there like that? Yes. Examples include Commercial Property Manager (running multi-million dollar properties for corporations), Business Forecast Manager, Area Manager (geographic area coordinator for purchasing, personnel, logistics), Buyer (opposite of a sales rep), Management Consultant (analyze business operations, advise executives and draft business recommendations) and Business Analyst (track market trends to make strategic decisions).