How much does Sales & Trading pigeonhole you?

Well, for starters, don't be a sales guy on a flow desk. If you want to make any real money and be able to stay in this business for more than a few years then you need some deriv/structured work. That said, even though exit opps for traders are more "clear", as you put it, exit opps for sales are probably a little more broad, especially as you get to the more structured products. The reason is that on a more structured desk the sales person is in control of the deal, so they have to have a working knowledge of every aspect of complex deals: structuring the bespoke product, knowing how the traders will hedge the product, knowing the legal and credit aspects of the trade and the counterparty, etc. So you have your hands in everything, so as a result you have more exit opps. Using commodities as an example, a sales person there can exit into a hedge fund, private equity, or industry. And probably consulting if for some reason you wanted to. All that said, if you are a sales guy on a pure, vanilla flow desk, then I'm not too sure what your exit opps are. But I came into S&T out of an MBA program, so 99% of the people I am familiar with that went into sales went to more complex desks.

Keeping clients happy
The main role of an investment banking sales person is to keep clients up to date with the latest research and ideas produced by the bank. Typically, each asset class - such as equities, bonds and derivatives - will have its own sales force and these tend to be further split on a geographical and sector basis.

Starting out
Sales teams tend to work in small units with new recruits likely to join a particular team as the desk assistant.

Newcomers are likely to be given many of the mundane tasks to do - but rest assured, that will not last forever. On the plus side it gives new recruits the opportunity to learn about a particular area before speaking directly to clients. For example, to join an equity sales team, it is necessary to be knowledgeable about the 200 to 300 companies typically covered by the research department. Also during this period it may be necessary to undertake regulatory exams, such as the SFA (Securities and Futures Authority).

A typical day
Sales staff are normally the earliest starters at the bank - arriving between 0630 and 0700. They are likely to have already scanned the newspapers on the way into the office and then once at their desk use the electronic news services to obtain updates on the latest news stories.

Most investment banks hold a morning meeting for the sales force, typically around 0730. At this meeting, analysts will update the sales force on their latest thoughts, reviewing economic and company information that has been released overnight and giving their opinion on data expected later in the day.

Having picked out the salient points from the morning meeting, the sales force will start phoning around clients giving them a rundown of the day's news. As information is announced during the day, clients will need to be kept informed of changes.

In the afternoon, things will typically be quieter, giving sales staff the chance to catch up on reading some of the new research produced by analysts. In addition, there will often be sales meetings at which analysts give the sales force a more detailed update on their latest research ideas. Increasingly, sales is becoming more about account management, so staff will spend a lot of time arranging meetings between clients and analysts for example.

What makes a good sales person?
As with all sales jobs, excellent communication skills are obviously a prerequisite for the role. Since the client base is both highly sophisticated and has a good understanding of the issues involved, sales staff must be able to present ideas clearly and concisely.

The best sales people tend to be those with a real enthusiasm for the role and who build a real rapport with their clients. They will also need to handle pressure well, since both colleagues and clients will expect questions to be answered and problems resolved quickly.

A banking sales job will appeal to those with an active interest in financial markets, but who would prefer a role with a bias towards personal contact - in contrast to the more analytically orientated areas such as research and corporate finance.