Training

From salesman to leader: why sales is the first school of successful entrepreneurs

Sales experience develops key interpersonal and strategic skills, fostering professional growth and adaptation to an evolving market, including in the digital age

by Luca Brambilla*

26 March 2026

Quali sono i profili e competenze decisive nel nuovo mondo del lavoro?

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Michele Ferrero, Giorgio Armani, Silvio Berlusconi, Sergio Marchionne: these are four examples of successful Italian entrepreneurs and managers who, before becoming leaders, were also young (and capable) salesmen. Over time, they used sales not as a simple transaction, but as a strategic and relational skill that would later become fundamental to the fortunes of their companies.

Sales is an educational discipline: an essential step in professional growth that should be recommended, along with academic study, to the many young people entering the world of work. Why? Because by selling one learns how to act in the field, how to handle 'no's' and the resulting frustrations. One practices humility and listening. One tests one's embryonic ability to negotiate and pick up on trends. Ultimately, you gather feedback to do better and better and try to turn those "no's" into future "yeses".

The data. Small and big sellers grow

According to LinkedIn's labour market report, sales roles in Italia grew by 32.6% in the five-year period 2018-2022. This is a boom in 'sales development workers', which captures a profession on the move: even with the wide spread of platforms, AI and chatbots, customers like to buy from humans. Not only that. There is a historic overtaking: 54% of sales figures in Italia are women. The world of sales, with due exceptions, has always been male-dominated. But this data shows a passing of the baton, with Neurovendita (an Italian company specialising in the application of neuroscience to the commercial world) claiming that women on average are now better at sales than men.

In Italia, one in three salespeople work remotely (over 36% of these functions involve smartworking) and LinkedIn anticipates that sales figures will continue to grow in the coming years.

From study to field

Aside from market data, academic training remains essential because it provides a mental approach, a modus operandi, and opens one's vision to the world; however, experience in the field can make all the difference. That is why we always suggest a junior to gain experience in sales, as this function is a constant need for every company everywhere: no company will ever turn down the chance to sell more or improve its margins.

Paradoxically, however, the first thing to do when selling is to 'buy' the company mission, choosing a product or service in which one believes to align one's values with those of the business. Selling, then, should not be understood as a single act, but as a complex process that requires study, scouting, analysis and the ability not to be egoriferous. It enhances the 'language of you', shifting the focus from the seller to how the product can enhance and make the other better through listening and co-planning. This approach not only increases the chances of sales, but also facilitates the consolidation of an ongoing relationship with the customer. Since acquiring new ones is difficult, it is often strategically more advantageous to maintain and nurture the relationship with current customers, 'the ones who come back'.

Mrs. Valeria

Many great entrepreneurial figures started or distinguished themselves as salesmen. Michele Ferrero, in particular, was obsessed with respect for the customer, personified in the figure of 'Mrs. Valeria', i.e. the shopping mum, the grandmother, the aunt, the woman of the 1950s who decided every day what to put on the table. That's why she always looked for 'the right product for the right person'. Underlying this approach was also a scientific vision: to hone this salesmanship and market understanding, Ferrero used the best psychologists and marketing scholars of the time.

A concrete mindset

To sum up, sales experience is to be considered a fundamental step in the growth of a young person, as it allows one to develop a concrete and relationship-oriented mindset. Sales emerges as an irreplaceable skill that teaches one to deeply understand the needs of others and to navigate the challenges of the market, even in the age of AI.

As the founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, used to say: 'You have to start from the customer experience and work your way back to the technology, not the other way around'.

*Director Strategic Communication Academy