I don't think I would do very well at any sales position. I do know that people with the right skills as well as kind of thick skin can make an absolute killing in sales... probably hot with vacuum cleaners but I know a guy that does something with optician supplies and while it took years for him to get to that point he now pulls down over $200,000 a year just in renewed commissions, these happy existing customers lead to other customers as well and the very top people in his company make millions a year in sales commission. There are also scores of people with the same job that barely make minimum wage. It's all about the right person and the amount of time they are willing to put into it.

For me I would only be able to make a sale if the person genuinely needed the product and it was for a fair price and unfortunately I think that the sales game is mostly the opposite of that just like the snakes you described in your post that would intentionally go after people they know do not need the item and cannot afford it.