Sales Representative Career Guide

A sales representative is responsible for selling a businesses products, or services, to an organization or government agency. Their skills, dedication and confidence is needed in nearly every industry worldwide!

If this is a position that fits your personality and has sparked your interest, then check out the career profiles below. You can read about the opinions and experiences of actual sales representatives to get an insider’s view on this career.

Sales Representative Career Ratings

(What these ratings mean)

Income

Career
Growth

Personal Growth

Contribution

Influence

Job Profiles

Real-Life Sales Representative Job Profiles

Below is a list of links to anonymous job profiles of REAL PEOPLE who have filled out our survey and offered to share their insights with our users about their job in the Sales Representative field.

ID	Job Title	Gender	Age	Earnings	City & State	Date
33984	Sales Specialist	Female	23	$25,000	fort wayne, IN	01/01/2010
33936	Window Clerk/ Sales Associate	Female	40	$30,000	liverpool, NY	01/01/2010
33948	Sales Representative	Female	47	$42,000	Tucson, AZ	01/01/2010
33907	Sr. Quality Analyst	Male	26	$53,000	West Haven, CT	01/01/2010
33842	I Am Assistant Sales Supervisor.	Male	24	$50,000	South Richmond Hill, NY	01/01/2010

Overview

What a sales worker does

A sales representative is responsible for selling goods, normally for wholesalers or manufacturers, to businesses, government agencies and other organizations. There are sales representatives for everything: from pharmaceutical drugs, to makeup, to snacks and baby products.

These individuals play a vital role in the success of a product or service. All available products and services need to be sold to the potential consumers, and sales representative do this. Due to the demand, there are a variety of industries for sales representatives to get involved in. Regardless of the industry they work in, their typical duties and responsibilities include:

Identifying prospective customers by using business directories, following leads, and attending trade shows and conferences
Contacting new and existing customers to discuss their needs
Helping customers select products to meet customers’ needs, product specifications, and regulations
Emphasizing product features that will meet a customers’ needs
Answering customers’ questions about the prices, availability, and uses of the products they are selling
Negotiating prices and terms of sales and service agreements
Preparing sales contracts and submitting orders for processing
Collaborating with colleagues to exchange information
Following up with customers to make sure that they are satisfied with their purchases

Why they are needed

Sales representatives showcase and sell products to businesses, organizations and government agencies. They are needed for many reasons, such as:

Sales lead conversions: as they bridge the gap between customer needs and the product/service that fulfils that need.
Business growth: as they play a key role in the building of loyalty and trust between customer and business
Customer retention: as they focus on the personal interaction between one human and another, which creates a positive relationship

Pros and cons of being a sales representative

Pros:

You can make good money as a sales representative
Hard work pays off, which makes it very rewarding!
You can work for different companies, which creates lots of variety
It is a sociable role
There is no physical labor involved

Cons:

It can be a very cut-throat and competitive field to work in
Salary can vary and be quite hit and miss
You may have to sell things that you might not believe in
There is poor job security
The hours can be long, with overtime being common
There are strict targets and goals that must be met

Employability

Job market

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of sales representatives is projected to grow 2 percent from 2019 to 2029, which is slower than the average for all occupations. There will be a slight employment growth because a wider range of products and technologies is expected to lead to an increased demand for sales representative. Although the online presence of sales will increase over the coming years, these are expected to compliment the work of face-to-face sales workers, opposed to inhibit.

Employment growth is expected to be stronger for sales representatives working at independent sales agencies, because companies often shift their sales activities to independent agencies as ways to cut costs and boost revenue.

Career paths

To become a sales representative, a high school diploma is typically required. However, for roles that involve selling technical or scientific products (e.g., pharmaceuticals, medial instruments, industrial equipment), a bachelors degree is usually required. As a further step, a degree in a field related to the product sold, such as chemistry, biology, or engineering, is sometimes required. On top of this, many sales representatives attend seminars in sales techniques or take courses in marketing, economics, communication, or even a foreign language to improve their ability to make sales.

After landing that first job, most companies will offer new sales representatives formal training program, which may last up to 1 year. In some, trainees rotate among jobs in plants and offices in order to learn all phases of producing, installing, and distributing the product. In others, trainees receive formal technical instruction at the plant, followed by on-the-job training under the supervision of a field sales manager.

In order to advance, sales representative will have the responsibility of accounting for a territory, for which commissions are likely to be greater. Those who have good sales records and leadership ability may advance to higher level positions, such as sales manager, sales supervisor, district manager, or vice president of sales.

Example Job Titles for Sales Representative

Below is a list of common job titles in the Sales Representative field. Click the links below for more information about these job titles, or view the next section for actual real-life job profiles.

Inside Sales Representative

Benefits & Conditions

Income and benefits

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for sales representative in the United States was $62,070 in 2020. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $31,950 annum and the highest 10 percent earned more than $129,200. For those who can sell technical and scientific products, the median annual wage was $86,650 in 2020.

The top paying industries, for both technical and nontechnical sales representatives, includes: wholesale electronic markets and agents and brokers, manufacturing, merchant wholesales and durable goods.

Autonomy and Flexibility

Sales representatives will feel autonomy to a certain level. They will often be in charge of following leads, contacting clients and following up post-sale. However, they will always be responsible for meeting sales targets and must report to sales managers, as a result, their autonomy is limited.

Similarly, although sales representative will have some flexibility over their decisions and how they plan day, they will ultimately have to work as many hours as it takes to meet sales targets.

Locations and commute

According to Zippia, the best states to be a sales representative, based on average annual salary and the number of jobs available, are:

Pennsylvania, where the average annual salary is $69,679
New Jersey, where the average annual salary is $73,282
Massachusetts, where the average annual salary is $74,534
Rhode Island, where the average annual salary is $66,925
New Hampshire, where the average annual salary is $71,264

The worst states to be a sales representative, according to Zippia, are Utah, West Virginia, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

Work environment

Sales representative who cannot sell technical or scientific products held about 1.4 million jobs in the United States in 2019. The top paying industry was merchant wholesalers and durable goods, which employed 32% of nontechnical and nonscientific sales representatives. For technical and scientific sales representatives, they held around 321,000 jobs in 2019. Their largest employer was professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesales, which employed 19% of all technical and scientific sale representatives.

Some sales representatives will have large territories to cover and will travel a lot, this may mean that they are away from home a lot. Other sales representatives may spend a lot of time sat at their desk in an office or at their home, where they are on the phone selling goods or handling complaints. Whichever work environment a sales representative works in, they will find that they are under a considerable amount of stress. Their income and job security often depend on their ability to set goals and sell products, which is not suited to everyone.

Career Satisfaction

Common Matching Personality Types

Which personalities tend to succeed and thrive in Sales Representative careers? Based on our research, there is a relatively strong positive correlation between the following personality types and Sales Representative career satisfaction. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t many exceptions, of course, but if you fit into one of the following personality types then we suggest you give strong consideration to a career in Sales Representative.

Holland Codes (RIASEC)

Personality types

It is likely that successful sales representatives will be an ENTJ personality type. The ENTJ or otherwise known as ‘the Commander’ is decisive, confident and firm. They tend to work tirelessly to achieve their goals, which is essential for a sales representative whose salary and job prospects relies heavily on their ability to achieve their goals. They also have the ability to spot inefficiency and come up with new solutions to overcome this.

Accomplishment and mastery

Typically, sales representative must achieve either a high school diploma or a bachelor’s degree. Once they have these things, they will land a sales representative job – and only then does the hard work, dedication and graft begin. Throughout their entire career, sales representatives will have to work tirelessly to meet goals, seal deals and keep customers. As a result, successful sales representative are likely to always feel accomplished and a sense of mastery throughout their career.

Meaning and contribution

Sales representatives play a very important role in many businesses. They work to ensure that customers retention remains strong, sales remain high and, as a result, the economy continues to boom. Although their work will not directly save the lives of children in poverty, their work does have high meaning and contribution to the economy, organizations and its customers.

Life fit

Most sales representatives will work full time. When approaching deadlines, or working really hard to meet targets, they may have to work additional hours, which includes evenings and weekends. Therefore, it is a busy career that can sometimes provide a difficult life fit.

Who will thrive in this career?

You will thrive as a sales representative if:

You are confident interacting with others
You are persistent: sales representatives are likely to hear no all the time and they need to be able to turn this into a yes
You are able to work a flexible schedule, as the role will have non-traditional hours and travel
You are business-minded and productivity and sale focused
You can be polite, calm and understanding when faced with adversity
You are an excellent decision maker

Who will struggle in this career?

If you are not authoritative or confident when interactive with others, then you may struggle as a sales manager. This is because their main focus is to confidently and persuasively interact with others to convince them to buy the product or service.

Those who are not competitive and cannot work under pressure may struggle as a sales representative, whose purpose is to smash targets and goals. If you are a quieter, less competitive, person then you may struggle to keep up with the hectic and busy sales representative role.

Requirements

Quick Glance

Skills

Skills and talents

As well as the relevant education, sales representatives will need skills and talents such as:

Verbal communication skills, as this will allow sales representatives to communicate clearly with colleagues and customers.
Negotiation and persuasion skills, as sales representatives need to persuade people to buy their product
Physical stamina, as sales representative may be on their feet for long periods of time
Confidence, as sales representatives need to be confident in their abilities and be able to show this when persuading others
Customer service skills, as the main focus of a sales representatives role is to be able to communicate and work closely with clients

Education

Some sales representative positions may only require a high school diploma. However, for more technical and scientific positions, a bachelors degree in a related field (e.g., business management, marketing, law or finance) is required. In general those with bachelors degrees will have the best job prospects. On top of this, most sales representatives will receive company training when they land their first job.

Certifications

Sales representatives may consider taking The Certified Professional Manufacturers’ Representative (CPMR) certification or the Certified Sales Professional (CSP) certification, which are both offered by the Manufacturers’ Representatives Educational Research Foundation (MRERF). Certification typically involves completing formal technical training and passing an exam. In addition, the CPMR requires 10 hours of continuing education every year in order to maintain certification.

How to Become

Summary

A career as a sales representative is a fast-paced, exciting, competitve and highly pressured one. It is centered around productivity and meeting targets and, as a result, can sometimes provide poor job security and an unstable income. A sales representative is responsible for selling a businesses products, or services, to an organization or government agency. Their skills, dedication and confidence is needed in nearly every industry worldwide!

Immediate action

If becoming a sales representative sounds like the career for you, then we recommend deciding what relevant degree most appeals to you – especially if you want to go into science or technical sales. We then recommend seeking out some relevant work experience in sales. If you are younger, then a Saturday job as a store assistant will provide you with excellent opportunities. If you are a bit older/post degree level, then it is worth seeking full time employment in an entry level sales role.

Education and learning

Some sales representative positions may only require a high school diploma and a bit of confidence and determination. However, many positions are starting to require a bachelors degree in a related field (e.g., business management, marketing or finance). In general those with bachelors degrees will have the best job prospects.

Skill development

Sales representative will learn and develop all their skills through their education and on-the-job training. They may also continue to get additional training throughout their career, which will continue their skill development.

FAQs

Ask a Question

Have a question about Sales Representative careers? If so, our mentors would love to help! Just click on a mentor’s profile below and then fill out the “Ask a Question” form on that page. Your question will then be emailed to the mentor, who can then email you a reply.

ID	Job Title	Gender	Age	Earnings	City & State	Date
33984	Sales Specialist	Female	23	$25,000	fort wayne, IN	01/01/2010
33936	Window Clerk/ Sales Associate	Female	40	$30,000	liverpool, NY	01/01/2010
33948	Sales Representative	Female	47	$42,000	Tucson, AZ	01/01/2010
33907	Sr. Quality Analyst	Male	26	$53,000	West Haven, CT	01/01/2010
33842	I Am Assistant Sales Supervisor.	Male	24	$50,000	South Richmond Hill, NY	01/01/2010

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