The Best Job In The World

Sales in 2026

Sales is Harder Than Any Other Job

OK. I’m overly dramatic, but I am not far off. Sales is the worst career for 90% of people today. Sounds harsh, but it’s true. Most people get into sales for the commissions, the fancy titles, and the million dollar plus compensation packages of top earners.

What people who get into sales always forget about is the stress, the constant rejection, and the daily reinvention this job demands (especially in the AI age).

Sales will eat you alive. To succeed in 2026 you need to be determined. You need to be focused, ambitious and willing to work hard. If not, you will be like the rest of the low performers not hitting quota and getting <1% email response rates but still pumping them out like email is a gift from the Gods.Sales is trying to kill you, but it still might be the best career in the world.

There is no career that has created more millionaires from nothing. No career that rewards grit, intelligence, and genuine human connection as fast or as generously.

There is no career where anyone from anywhere, with no pedigree and no connections, can outwork and outthink someone with an MBA and a corner office and win.

Most sales people I know went to school for history or geography or psychology. The courses you take in school matter very little in my opinion on your ability to crush at sales.

The Gap Between the Hype and the Heat

Most people don’t go to school and say “I want to be a salesperson.” They often just fall into it. They see the highlight reels and they think, that could be me. Or, they didn’t get the job they really wanted and their Uncle’s best friend needs a cold caller and next thing they know they are making dials and thickening their skin.

What they didn’t see when they first considered getting into sales is everything underneath it.

Here is what they don’t see;

• The 47 emails a day that got no response.

• The hang ups.

• The ones who say yes and fake interest mostly due to their lack of courage to just say “no”.

• The deal that died with a two-sentence email with no reason.

• The comp plan that increased quota because the CEO thinks larger targets equals harder work

• The manager who tells you to “be authentic” and “stick to the script” in the same breath.

• The rep who spent weeks building a real relationship with a buyer, who genuinely cared about solving their problem, only to lose to a competitor who undercut them on price by 5% and the buyer went for it.

That gap, between what sales looks like from the outside and what it feels like from the inside, has never been wider.

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2026 Is Different

I’ve been in B2B sales for over two decades. I’ve watched the job change more in the last three years than it did in the seventeen before that.

Depending on the company you work for here is just a small list of what reps today are expected to do; hit quota, run polished demos, qualify every lead against a seven-part framework, do discovery and get all information even when the other person doesn’t want to share it, forecast accurately, build genuine relationships, update the CRM, learn 7 new GTM tools, figure out this whole AI thing, and do it all remotely without ever shaking the hand of the customer. .

To top if off, the market itself is no picnic; the noise is louder than ever before, crappy AI has flooded every inbox and prospective buyers are doing their own research and don’t want to talk to sales in the first place. And, the most exciting and the scariest part of the market is that 24 hours ago it was different. It has never changed as fast as it is today.

This is not me being negative about sales. This is reality people. This is what sales people face today.

And, I’m here for it all. I love it! I feel like I am one of the 10% made for it all.

The Job Eats People. Even Good Ones.

I know this personally. When COVID hit, I was serving as a Chief Revenue Officer. The business changed overnight. The priorities of every buyer on the planet shifted in a matter of weeks. Leadership made a decision and we parted ways. It’s business. I didn’t take it personally. But I’d be lying if I told you it didn’t suck.

That experience is not unusual in sales. It’s a rite of passage. The average tenure of a Chief Revenue Officer today is around 18 months. Think about that. These are generally exceptional senior executives who don’t last even two years. It’s not because they all suck. It’s because the role sits at the intersection of every pressure in the company.

Sales teams are expensive and they are one of the few areas that are very clearly measurable. Which means when the company hits a wall, when funding gets tight or growth slows or a new CEO or CRO comes in with a different philosophy, salespeople are frequently the first to feel it.

10% of people are built for sales.

Here’s what separates the people who thrive in this environment from the people who burn out.

The top 10% are not the loudest or the hardest working or have “natural charm”. They have these five attributes;

1 - They give a shit and it shows. They care about their team, the customer, what they say, what they send and how they show up. Trust matters more than ever.

2 - They do their research and they understand the business and the customer. They can talk finance, operations, and strategy with a CFO. They can read a room and adjust in real time. They ask questions that make buyers stop and think.

3 - They are self-learners. This job requires daily reinvention and they get pumped by trying new things, practicing and striving to keep improving. Their north star is “Constant Improvement”. Oh, and they NEVER wait for anyone to tell them to improve.

4 - They EXECUTE and know how to get sh!t done. They don’t wait for tomorrow, they do as much as they can as quickly as they can. Speed and responsiveness matters. They drive a sense of urgency throughout the company and their customers love them for it.

5 - They are kind and add value. Not sure I need to say much more on this one. I am sick of hearing people say they don’t buy from people they like. If there are multiple options to solve your problem and the differences are negligible (as they often are), kindness wins. Helping others win. Being a good person wins. In a world drowning in automation and manufactured personalization, the human being who shows up like a human being wins. I will bet on good people every day.

Why do I love sales?

I feel like I am one of the 10% and I believe sales is one of the most extraordinary careers in the world. The intellectual challenge, solving complex business problems, building real human relationships that often turn into friendships. Plus, the financial upside for the people who are great at it remains unlike almost any other profession.

But you have to want it real bad.

You need to have super uncomfortable conversations. You need to be ok with tough feedback and constant learning.

That's the trade off. Sales forces you to be uncomfortable regularly. If you aren’t a little uncomfortable you might not be pushing yourself enough. If you are constantly uncomfortable and still love it, DM me, I probably want to hire you.

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P.S Get sh!t done.

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Why GTM or GTFO Exists: The GTM is bar is low - big talkers, best practices and bullshit. Being elite is your moat. Do the work that matters and get sh!t done.

If this was valuable, please share it , post it, comment on it, or DM me. GTM or GTFO comes out every Sunday. See you next week.

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