The best entry-level sales jobs are sales development rep (SDR), inside sales rep, B2B field sales rep, retail sales associate and insurance agent. You don’t need sales experience for any of them: pick one that pays a base salary and trains you, then show the selling you already do with numbers.
This guide is for anyone moving into sales: a restaurant server in Denver, a new graduate, or a retail worker who keeps beating their store targets. It covers each type of first sales job, what it pays, how commission works and how to get hired.
The entry-level sales cheat sheet
| Job type | What you do | How you’re paid | Typical pay | What you need |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales development rep (SDR) | Call and email businesses to book meetings | Base plus commission | $60,000 base, $90,000 at quota | Phone confidence; degree often preferred |
| Inside sales rep | Close smaller deals by phone and video | Base plus commission | Varies by company | Comfort on the phone |
| B2B field sales rep | Visit local businesses in a territory | Base plus commission or bonus | $72,080 median | Driver’s license, often a degree |
| Retail sales associate | Help shoppers choose and buy in a store | Hourly, sometimes commission | $17.03 an hour median | No experience or degree |
| Insurance agent | Sell auto, home, life or health policies | Often commission-heavy | $62,280 median | A state license |
| Leasing, car and real estate sales | Sign leases, sell cars or homes | Hourly plus bonus, or commission | Varies widely | A license for real estate |
| Medical sales | Sell devices or drugs to clinics and hospitals | Base plus bonus, then commission | Varies by company | A degree and B2B sales results |
Pay figures come from RepVue’s verified SDR salaries and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for May 2025. BLS figures are medians for all experience levels, so first-year pay is usually lower (BLS, 2026).
Three rules that matter more than any job title
1. Take a job with a base salary and training. A base pays you while you learn, and a training programme teaches you the product and the process. Under US law, inside sales reps who sell by phone or online must get at least minimum wage; commission-only pay is legal mainly for outside sales reps who sell away from the office (U.S. Department of Labor). Skip ads with no base and “unlimited earning potential”, any fee to start, or a pitch to recruit friends. The FTC is clear that honest employers never ask you to pay to get a job (FTC), and that recruiting-focused offers are often multi-level marketing (FTC).
2. Your service experience counts. Upselling, reading people, handling complaints and hitting targets are the core of sales. Write them as results with numbers, not duties.
3. Apply early, on the company’s own website. Sales hiring is tighter than hiring overall. Indeed’s index of US sales job postings was 92.3 in late October 2026, against a pre-pandemic baseline of 100 (Indeed Hiring Lab via FRED, 2026). Teams hire in batches and fill roles fast.
Sales development rep (SDR)
This is the classic first job in tech and B2B sales. You research companies, send emails, make calls and book meetings for account executives (AEs), who close the deals. The same role is often called business development rep (BDR).
What’s different: pay is split between base and commission. RepVue’s verified salary data puts the median SDR at $60,000 base and $90,000 on-target earnings (OTE), the total if you hit 100% of quota, and 56.9% of SDRs hit quota (RepVue, 2026). Here’s how that works:
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Base salary (paid no matter what) | $60,000 |
| Commission at 100% of quota | $30,000 |
| On-target earnings (OTE) | $90,000 |
| At 60% of quota (simple plan) | about $78,000 |
Example: a software company’s SDR team books meetings that its AEs then try to close. The Bridge Group’s 2025 study of 351 B2B companies found SDRs stay about 1.9 years on average, and promotions made up 16% of SDRs leaving their role in 2024, down from 34% in 2020 (Bridge Group, 2025). The move up to AE is real but slower than many courses promise. AEs earn a median $105,000 base and $200,000 OTE (RepVue, 2026).
Common mistake: going to the interview without proof you can prospect. Bring a list of 10 companies you’d target for them and one sample outreach email.
Inside sales rep
This is sales without cold calling all day. You work inbound leads and existing customers, run demos and close smaller deals by phone, video and email.
What’s different: you talk to people who already showed interest, so it’s less rejection than SDR work. Because you sell from an office or home, you must be paid at least minimum wage, whatever the commission plan.
Example: software, telecom and business services companies hire inside sales reps to handle sign-ups and upgrades from their website.
Common mistake: ignoring the quota question. Ask what share of the team hit quota last quarter and what new reps earn in their first year.
B2B field sales rep
This is a training ground many sales managers recommend. You visit local businesses in a territory to sell services such as payroll, uniforms, building supplies or office equipment.
What’s different: you drive to customers, so you need a license and a car, and you manage your own day. The BLS median for sales reps selling non-technical products is $72,080 a year (BLS, 2026). Many companies run formal training programmes for new reps.
Example: sales reps on Reddit often point beginners to payroll, uniform and building supply companies, which hire new reps in classes and train them. It’s also the usual first step toward medical sales.
Common mistake: taking a commission-only field job as your first role. Outside sales can legally be commission-only, so check for a base before you accept.
Retail sales associate
This is the easiest sales job to get. You help shoppers choose products, answer questions and close the sale in a store.
What’s different: you’re paid by the hour, sometimes with commission or bonuses. The BLS median for retail salespersons is $17.03 an hour (BLS, 2026).
Example: stores with high-ticket products (phones, mattresses, furniture, appliances) teach the most selling, because customers ask real questions and push back on price.
Common mistake: not tracking your numbers. Sales per hour, add-on rate and store rank are what your next employer will ask about.
Insurance agent
This is a sales job you can start with a license instead of a degree. You sell auto, home, life or health policies to people and small businesses.
What’s different: you need a state license, which means a short course and an exam, and agents must be licensed in each state where they sell. Pay is often commission-heavy, though some employers pay a salary while you build your book. The BLS median is $62,280 a year (BLS, 2026).
Example: some insurers and agencies hire new agents before they’re licensed and help them prepare for the exam.
Common mistake: taking a commission-only role before you have any clients. Ask whether new agents get a salary or a draw in their first months.
Leasing, car and real estate sales
These are quick ways into sales for people who like meeting customers face to face. Leasing consultants show apartments and sign leases, car salespeople help buyers choose and finance cars, and real estate agents help people buy and sell homes.
What’s different: pay structures vary the most here. Leasing usually pays hourly plus a bonus per lease. Car sales is mostly commission, sometimes with a draw. Real estate agents usually work on commission only, and need a state license. The BLS median for real estate sales agents is $52,830 (BLS, 2026).
Example: a leasing consultant job at a large property manager is often the steadiest of the three, with a base wage and set hours.
Common mistake: expecting real estate to replace a paycheck quickly. Commission-only work can take months before the first sale closes.
Medical sales
This is where many people want to end up, but rarely where they start. You sell medical devices or drugs to clinics, surgeons and hospitals.
What’s different: most associate sales rep postings ask for a bachelor’s degree, one to two years of B2B sales results and a driver’s license. Recruiters ask for a brag book: a short file of your rankings, quota reports, reviews and a 30-60-90 day plan.
Example: Philips’ talent team says the usual path into medical device sales starts with an entry-level B2B role with formal training, and warns that changing jobs every few months hurts you (Philips).
Common mistake: paying for a certificate that promises to get you in. A record of B2B sales results matters more to hiring managers.
What fits your situation
| Your situation | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant server or bartender | Inside sales or SDR | Upselling and reading people carry over directly |
| Retail worker who beats targets | B2B field sales | Your store numbers prove you can sell |
| New graduate | SDR | Structured training and a clear path to AE |
| No degree | Retail, insurance or leasing | Hired on skills or a license, not a degree |
| You want medical sales eventually | B2B field sales first | The route medical device recruiters expect |
| You need steady pay now | Retail or leasing | Hourly pay while you learn to sell |
How to actually do it
- Pick one lane from the cheat sheet. Tech SDR, B2B field sales, retail and insurance each want slightly different things.
- Turn your current job into sales results. Use your real numbers:
| Instead of this | Write this |
|---|---|
| Served customers in a busy restaurant | Served 120+ guests a shift; raised average check 18% by recommending wine pairings and desserts |
| Responsible for handling complaints | Turned around 3-5 unhappy guests a week; several became regulars who asked for my section |
| Retail associate | Ranked #2 of 14 associates for credit card sign-ups in Q3 |
| Trained new staff | Trained 6 new servers on the menu and upselling |
- Build your resume around those results. Our resume builder has a template called Closer made for sales resumes and can tailor your resume to a specific job ad. It checks every rewritten line against your original resume and reverts any line that adds a tool, skill, number or duty you didn’t list. The ATS-friendly resume guide covers formatting.
- Search jobs from company websites. Browse entry-level sales jobs on JobUnlocked, where every job links to the company’s own posting. Filter to sales jobs that list pay, sales jobs posted today or remote sales jobs.
- Check the pay structure in each posting: base, commission and whether training is paid.
- Apply within a day or two, on the company’s own posting.
- Practise the classic interview. Expect “Sell me this pen”, “How do you handle rejection?” and “Why sales?“. Answer with a real story from your job.
- Follow up the same day with a short thank-you email. It shows the habit they’re hiring for.
Want steadier pay first? Customer service jobs build the same skills, and our guide to remote customer service jobs covers what they pay and who hires.
Bottom line: The best first sales job pays a base salary, trains you and fits the experience you already have. For the server in Denver, that’s an inside sales or SDR role, a resume full of check averages and upsell results, and applications to entry-level sales jobs on company websites the day they go up.
