Sales Representative Job Description Template

Sales Representative Job Description

Intro Paragraph: Begin with a concise overview of the open position and a brief description of your ideal candidate. Writing this summary will help you focus on the most critical qualities you seek in a sales representative. You might phrase it: “We are looking for a sales representative with customer focus and drive to join our sales team. The ideal candidate is passionate about serving clients’ needs and has a team mentality.”

About Our Workplace: Use this section to “sell” your business to prospective sales representatives by highlighting what makes your company culture and work environment unique and sets your company apart from your competitors. Are you hiring for a large corporation or a regional business with close ties to the community? Does your organization favor a team approach to sales, or do you encourage autonomy and individuality?

One of the best ways to craft this section of your sales representative job description is to ask current members of your sales team to write their own short summation of what they like best about working for your organization. This is also the perfect place to share your organizational mission and values.

Sales Representative Job Responsibilities: The following list of day-to-day job responsibilities may differ significantly depending on the size of your staff, the scope of your operations, and the sales area the position will focus on. Some responsibilities you might include in your sales representative job description are:

• Serves customers by selling products and services and meeting customer needs.
• Services existing accounts and establishes new accounts by planning and organizing a daily work schedule to call on existing or potential sales outlets.
• Greets potential customers, listens to their needs and problems, and steers them toward products and services that can help them to address their needs.
• Adjusts the sales presentations by studying the type of sales outlet and needs of the potential customer.
• Focuses sales efforts by studying existing and potential volume of dealers.
• Submits orders by referring to price lists and product literature.
• Keeps management informed by submitting activity and results reports, such as daily call reports, weekly work plans, and monthly and annual territory analyses.
• Monitors competition by gathering current marketplace information on pricing, products, new products, delivery schedules, and merchandising techniques.
• Recommends changes in products, services, and policies by evaluating results and competitive developments.
• Resolves customer complaints by investigating problems, developing solutions, preparing reports, and making recommendations to management.
• Works with marketing and other departments to constantly improve customer-facing communications and product information by sharing client feedback gained in the field.
• Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing publications, establishing personal networks, and participating in professional societies.

Work Hours and Benefits: This is an excellent spot in your sales representative job description to highlight your company’s work hours and list any benefits and perks that set your workplace apart, such as commissions, sales bonuses, commuting and travel credits, and paid time off. To determine a fair offer for your city or town, you can use a salary tool like Monster’s, which allows you to input job titles and locations to calculate estimates for low, median, and high salaries.

Sales Representative Qualifications and Skills: Consider limiting the required skills or dividing requirements between “required” and “preferred” qualifications. Be aware that exhaustive lists of required skills and experiences can harm your diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, since women applicants and candidates from underrepresented groups are less likely to apply for positions if they don’t think they have every listed qualification. Some desired skills you might list for sales representatives include:

• Familiarity with customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, inventory databases, and other sales and fulfillment software
• The ability to understand and utilize a large volume of product information and sector expertise to solve client inquiries and close sales
• Lead generation
• Customer focus
• Active listening skills
• Meeting sales goals
• Closing skills
• Territory management
• Prospecting skills
• Negotiation
• Self-confidence
• Product knowledge
• Presentation skills
• Client relations
• Relationship-building
• Interpersonal skills
• Communication skills
• Problem solving
• Basic math skills
• Budgeting and expense recording
• Collegiality and collaboration

Education, Experience, and Licensing Requirements:

• BA/BS degree with a concentration in marketing, promotions, advertising sales, or business administration or an associate’s degree with similar concentration and 3-5 years of sales experience preferred

Call to Action: Now that prospective sales reps are familiar with your company and the job requirements, you need a compelling “call to action” to encourage applicants to “apply now” and providing them with instructions on how to proceed with their applications.