Pros
looks great on your resume in sales if you can get into a profitable territory you can do very well GREAT learning experience for a hard worker just out of college or if you're a pretty girl
Cons
don't let the long list of cons discourage you, if you are prepared to dedicate the time to hard work and playing politics, you can do very well in experience and pay in sales - if you are "too" smart they'll put you into a crappy territory because you'll fail a lot less than a dumber person- they are more concerned with the bottom line than with their people. You'll see a lot of turnover with experienced sales people who see through the game Your manager may throw you under the bus when things don't go well- and take credit for coaching you when things do go well. poor work/life balance- be prepared to spend a great deal of time in your cubicle (in respect to their fort myers sales operation) it is "inside" sales so get ready to dedicate a big piece of your life to sitting on your ass. if you are not a technology person it can be difficult to match up your clients' needs to the Gartner solution. If your client realizes that they can use that position against you in contract negotiations My colleague was given her quarterly bonus when she did not make her number. She went to mgmt in tears, claiming she already spent the money. That was years ago, and now she is a regional mgr. Point being, rewards were often based upon being part of the "club" so be prepared to comform or look the other way when you see undue rewards / favoritism displayed Fort Myers is not known as the social capital of the country, be prepared to spend your commission checks just getting the hell out of the SW Florida every weekend. You'll find local Gartner sales managers are mostly old sales people who, for some reason or another, can't move on. The result is your boss may be a veteran order- taker who plays the game but is of very little value as a coach. Regional sales managers across the country have the real authority. Be prepared to take direction from them, even if it conflicts with your goals The technology and sales tools available to reps are a joke, the systems and processes were embarrassingly old for a company that is supposed to be predicting trends. They have made, over the years, several (that I know of) technology investments that clearly bombed and cost the company millions. I think the big technology players know this and barely give Gartner analysts the time of day. How can you advise others when you're a hot mess yourself?