Sales representatives are the people responsible for pitching a particular product or service to a prospective client with the aim of getting them interested in the product as well as completing the proposed sale. Sales representative work is the term used for all procedures and methods used by these professionals in order to achieve product sales for the benefit of an organization.
The achieved sales figures of a company are figurative of its position in the market and the growth opportunities that will surface in the near future. While traditional sales pitching is done in person, using telephones or the Internet as a medium has greatly increased over the last few decades. Owing to the importance of sales in the overall makeup of an organization, sales representative work will keep on progressing in future and will create newer job opportunities for the general population.
Description
Most sales representatives work for manufacturing companies or wholesalers who have to sell their goods to retailers, other businesses and organizations. Sales representatives are different from retail representatives as they do not sell products to end customers. The specific goods that sales representatives deal with may differ from person to person. Pharmaceuticals, computer goods, mechanical equipment, food items and clothing are some of the products that they may deal with.
In some cases where a sales representative does not have enough information about a technical product, he/she may be trained on it by a technical expert so that the representative has comprehensive knowledge about it and does not falter while making a sales pitch to a prospective client. Depending upon their specific role, they may have to either travel to clients' offices and locations or work in an office and respond to interested customers or make telephone calls to potential parties. Sales representatives also have to provide after sales support to clients in order to retain them for future deals.
Skills
A sales representative should be an excellent communicator and have the ability to convince a person who is disinterested in or doubtful about a product to buy the product based on how it will be beneficial to him. Thus, possessing excellent communication, organizational and interpersonal skills are extremely vital traits that should be present in any sales representative. Having a thorough and in-depth knowledge about the products or services that they are dealing with is another key feature of a successful sales representative. They should have a confident appearance, good problem-solving skills and be goal oriented in their work.
Requirements
In most cases, a high school diploma is the minimum education required for this job position. However, when it comes to the sales of pharmaceutical or technical products, a bachelor's degree in the specific field may be required. Prior experience in the field is generally considered to be of greater value than educational qualifications in this line of work. Most new employees are trained on the job by assigned trainers, mentors or senior employees in the company. Some companies also conduct full fledged formal training programs for new as well as existing employees in order to sharpen various aspects of their sales skills.
Career Advancement
Promotion in this line of work is received in the form of greater job responsibilities or working in supervisory roles. These opportunities are available to those who perform well on the job and have a good amount of experience in the organization. Those who possess the desirable qualifications may also be promoted to the position of a sales manager or vice president in due time.
Salary and Benefits
Depending upon the specific industry, sales representatives can earn large amounts of money if they perform well. Those working in medical and information technology related fields can earn above $80,000. Representatives working in other commercial industries earn anywhere between $45,000 and $65,000. Exceptional performers also receive additional earnings in the form of bonus and commissions per completed sale.
Thus, for those who have good skills in the field of sales, the job of a sales representative can be a lucrative career option which has a wide scope of job opportunities and career advancement possibilities.