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What’s the Deal With Sales Jobs that Expect Everything?
Lol… So today, I had a rant bubbling up about how broken most “sales” jobs are these days — especially in industries like MCA and financial services. So I opened ChatGPT and just said what was on my mind. The conversation that followed perfectly captured what I’ve seen for years in this space… and how to fix it.
Posting the full chat below — raw and unfiltered — because it says everything that needs to be said.
Sean: what’s up with these sales jobs that want a sales closer who also prospects, gets leads and then closes them. do they not understand how to differentiate sales from marketing and is this a problem in the specific business owners head in terms of not understanding that?
ChatGPT: You’re 100% right to be skeptical — and you’re not imagining it. When a sales job asks you to generate your own leads AND close them, it’s usually a red flag about how the business is structured (or not structured).
Here’s what’s really going on behind those job posts:
1. The Owner Doesn’t Understand the Difference Between Marketing and Sales
They think “sales” includes everything from cold outreach to closing the deal, because they’ve never run a proper sales/marketing pipeline before.
If they’re lumping everything together? It’s probably because no one has ever explained the distinction to them — or they don’t want to spend the money to do it right.
2. They Want Free Marketing With Zero Risk
Translation:
It’s a way for the business owner to outsource risk to the salesperson. That might be okay for a startup if they’re transparent about it and giving a massive upside (equity, big commissions, etc.), but most of the time it’s just cheap labor disguised as opportunity.
3. They Don’t Have a Working Offer or Inbound System
If a company had:
They would never ask closers to also prospect — they’d just pay for a setter or run paid ads.
So what you’re seeing is often a sign that:
4. It’s a Band-Aid for Bad Leadership
Inexperienced founders or agency owners often try to “solve” their lead gen issues by hiring a unicorn — someone who can cold email, cold call, run ads, follow up, close deals, AND manage the CRM.
But:
Trying to combine both usually ends up in burnout and mediocre results on both ends.
5. They Can’t Afford a Full Sales Team
Sometimes it’s a cashflow issue. They want a sales team and a marketing team, but can’t afford either — so they try to combine them into one “commission-only closer” role.
Unless they’re offering equity or huge upside, this is usually not worth your time, especially if:
When Is This Setup Acceptable?
Only if:
Otherwise, you’re being hired to do the business owner’s job of building a lead gen system — but getting paid like a closer.
Sean: This problem seems to plague industries like MCA and financial services as well as other business models that have certain types of people operating the business. why is that?
ChatGPT: Great insight — and yes, this issue does plague the MCA (Merchant Cash Advance) industry and similar sectors like insurance, solar, real estate, credit repair, high-ticket coaching, etc.
These industries attract a certain type of operator and tend to have low barriers to entry, which creates a perfect storm for this “one-man-army” sales job problem.
Here’s why it’s so common in these spaces:
Read more: https://lendnet.io/blog/mca-sales-jo...ct-everything/
Posting the full chat below — raw and unfiltered — because it says everything that needs to be said.
Sean: what’s up with these sales jobs that want a sales closer who also prospects, gets leads and then closes them. do they not understand how to differentiate sales from marketing and is this a problem in the specific business owners head in terms of not understanding that?
ChatGPT: You’re 100% right to be skeptical — and you’re not imagining it. When a sales job asks you to generate your own leads AND close them, it’s usually a red flag about how the business is structured (or not structured).
Here’s what’s really going on behind those job posts:
1. The Owner Doesn’t Understand the Difference Between Marketing and Sales
They think “sales” includes everything from cold outreach to closing the deal, because they’ve never run a proper sales/marketing pipeline before.
- Marketing is supposed to generate interest and leads.
- Sales is supposed to qualify, pitch, handle objections, and close.
If they’re lumping everything together? It’s probably because no one has ever explained the distinction to them — or they don’t want to spend the money to do it right.
2. They Want Free Marketing With Zero Risk
Translation:
“We want you to go hustle for your own leads, and if you bring in deals, we’ll cut you a commission. If not, we lose nothing.”
It’s a way for the business owner to outsource risk to the salesperson. That might be okay for a startup if they’re transparent about it and giving a massive upside (equity, big commissions, etc.), but most of the time it’s just cheap labor disguised as opportunity.
3. They Don’t Have a Working Offer or Inbound System
If a company had:
- A proven offer
- Product–market fit
- Traffic or inbound interest
They would never ask closers to also prospect — they’d just pay for a setter or run paid ads.
So what you’re seeing is often a sign that:
❌ The company isn’t ready to scale
❌ The offer doesn’t convert reliably
❌ They’re stuck in “grind” mode with no system in place
❌ The offer doesn’t convert reliably
❌ They’re stuck in “grind” mode with no system in place
4. It’s a Band-Aid for Bad Leadership
Inexperienced founders or agency owners often try to “solve” their lead gen issues by hiring a unicorn — someone who can cold email, cold call, run ads, follow up, close deals, AND manage the CRM.
But:
Good salespeople don’t prospect. Good prospectors don’t close.
The skillsets are different. The personalities are different. The workflows are different.
The skillsets are different. The personalities are different. The workflows are different.
Trying to combine both usually ends up in burnout and mediocre results on both ends.
5. They Can’t Afford a Full Sales Team
Sometimes it’s a cashflow issue. They want a sales team and a marketing team, but can’t afford either — so they try to combine them into one “commission-only closer” role.
Unless they’re offering equity or huge upside, this is usually not worth your time, especially if:
- They have no inbound leads
- They expect daily cold outreach
- They pay only after deals close (with long sales cycles)
When Is This Setup Acceptable?
Only if:
- They’re upfront about the grind and risk
- You get high commissions (25–40%+)
- You have full control over how you run outreach
- The offer is already proven to convert when you get someone interested
Otherwise, you’re being hired to do the business owner’s job of building a lead gen system — but getting paid like a closer.
Sean: This problem seems to plague industries like MCA and financial services as well as other business models that have certain types of people operating the business. why is that?
ChatGPT: Great insight — and yes, this issue does plague the MCA (Merchant Cash Advance) industry and similar sectors like insurance, solar, real estate, credit repair, high-ticket coaching, etc.
These industries attract a certain type of operator and tend to have low barriers to entry, which creates a perfect storm for this “one-man-army” sales job problem.
Here’s why it’s so common in these spaces:
Read more: https://lendnet.io/blog/mca-sales-jo...ct-everything/
