Remote Sales

Sales is what drives revenue for nearly every business, but not every company has great salespeople on their team—or any at all. As a remote sales professional, you help businesses generate leads, build relationships with prospects, and close deals, all from your laptop and phone.

For digital nomads, remote sales is one of the most lucrative location-independent careers. Sales calls happen over Zoom and phone, follow-ups happen via email, and CRM tools work from anywhere. Many companies specifically hire remote sales reps to cover different time zones or reach new markets. Your performance speaks for itself—when you close deals, everyone wins.

The Sales Career Ladder

Role	Focus	Typical Comp	Experience Needed
SDR/BDR	Prospecting, qualifying, booking meetings	$50-80K	Entry level
Account Executive	Full sales cycle, closing deals	$80-150K+	1-2 years
Senior AE	Larger accounts, complex deals	$120-250K+	3-5 years
Sales Manager	Leading a team	$150-300K+	5+ years

Most people start as SDRs, learn the fundamentals, then move to closing roles. The jump from SDR to AE typically takes 12-24 months of strong performance.

How Remote Sales Works

SDR/BDR Daily Work:

• Research prospects and build lists
• Send outreach emails and LinkedIn messages
• Make cold calls to schedule meetings
• Qualify inbound leads
• Book demos for Account Executives

Account Executive Daily Work:

• Run discovery calls to understand needs
• Present demos and proposals
• Handle objections and negotiate
• Close deals and hit quota
• Manage pipeline in CRM

Both roles are highly measurable—your activity and results are tracked. This creates pressure but also clear paths to advancement.

Finding Remote Sales Jobs

Job Boards:

• Built In, AngelList/Wellfound for startup roles
• LinkedIn (filter for remote)
• WeWorkRemotely, Remote OK
• Company career pages directly

Industries Hiring Remote:

• SaaS (software as a service) - most remote-friendly
• Tech companies of all types
• Digital marketing agencies
• Financial services
• E-commerce platforms

SaaS sales is particularly nomad-friendly because everything happens digitally—no physical products, no in-person meetings required.

Commission Structures Explained

Structure	How It Works	Risk Level
Base + Commission	Salary plus % of deals closed	Lower
Draw vs Commission	Advance on future commissions	Medium
Commission Only	100% commission, no base	Highest

Most SDR roles offer 70-80% base, 20-30% variable. AE roles often split 50/50 or 60/40 between base and commission. "OTE" (On Target Earnings) is what you'd make hitting 100% of quota.

Be cautious of pure commission roles unless you're experienced—they're high reward but high risk.

Skills That Make Good Salespeople

Learnable Skills:

• CRM proficiency (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive)
• Outreach tools (Outreach, Salesloft, Apollo)
• Discovery questioning techniques
• Objection handling frameworks
• Pipeline management

Personality Traits:

• Resilience (you'll hear "no" constantly)
• Curiosity about customer problems
• Coachability and willingness to learn
• Comfortable with rejection
• Goal-oriented mindset

Sales is equal parts skill and mindset. The best salespeople genuinely want to solve customer problems, not just hit quota.

The Nomad Reality

Remote sales works well for travel, with considerations:

Time Zone Management:

• Most roles expect availability during customer business hours
• Selling to US market from Europe works; from Asia is harder
• Some companies allow async work; others expect real-time calls

Internet and Environment:

• Sales calls need reliable connections
• Background noise is unprofessional
• Have backup options for important calls

Schedule:

• Consistent availability builds trust
• Most successful nomad salespeople maintain regular schedules
• Can be challenging during active travel weeks

Income Expectations

Role & Performance	Annual Earnings
SDR hitting quota	$50-80K
SDR exceeding quota	$70-100K
AE hitting quota	$100-150K
Top-performing AE	$150-300K+

Sales has genuine earning potential that most careers don't offer. Top performers in SaaS can earn $300K+ while working remotely from anywhere.

What This Pairs Well With

Sales experience connects naturally to digital marketing consulting—understanding customer acquisition. The business skills support small business consulting. If you focus on hiring, talent recruitment is a related field.

Use Notion or Google Drive for personal organization alongside company CRM tools.

Getting started: Develop your sales skills through courses, books, and practice. Learn a CRM platform like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Pipedrive. Look for remote SDR (Sales Development Representative) or BDR (Business Development Representative) roles to build experience. Consider industries you're passionate about—authenticity helps you sell. Track your metrics obsessively and continuously improve your process.