The work

Job titles are changing. Nowadays the term rep is retained in the pharmaceutical industry; elsewhere, increasingly, the term is sales person or sales professional, or, in the industrial and IT sectors, sales engineers or technical sales.

Salespersons persuade people to buy their products and services. Direct sales people sell to individuals, demonstrating products or leaving samples or catalogues for customers to choose from. Goods sold in this way include household utensils, books, toys, financial services (such as insurance schemes) or systems for cutting the phone bill.

Retail sales persons sell stock to shops for resale.

Technical sales persons sell industrial equipment and components, pharmaceutical goods or IT networks to non-retail organisations, such as hospitals and factories. They must be knowledgeable enough to act as an adviser.

Salespersons operate within a specific territory, dropping leaflets or making appointments by phone and then calling round to show their products or services. They try to win an order by persuading the customer of the products value for money. They must constantly identify new customers, while ensuring the loyalty of existing customers.

Salespersons must note customers reactions to new products and of what sells well, try to forecast future trends and relay this information back to their employer.

They discuss prices, payment plans, accessories, after-sales customer service, guarantees and delivery schedules with customers.

Necessary paperwork includes orders and invoices, records of calls and book-keeping.

Hours and Environment

Working hours for sales people can be long and irregular, and may include evening work, for example, to do administrative work.

Skills and Interests

A sales person needs to be:

• enthusiastic, ambitious and self-confident
• a natural extrovert, good at networking
• smart in appearance and polite in manner
• charming, persuasive, and good at negotiations
• a shrewd judge of character
• able to take rejection
• knowledgeable about products and those of competitors
• able to troubleshoot most technical problems
• well motivated and persistent
• able to work alone and on their own initiative
• well organised enough to plan a schedule and keep to it
• quick at calculations and good at book-keeping
• skilled in IT and, if overseas work is involved, languages
• in possession of a clean driving licence.

Entry

There is no maximum age for entry to sales. Many sales people join from other careers. However, entrants must have experience and knowledge of people, and have enough stamina and energy for long hours and travelling. The job is not usually considered suitable for school leavers.

Training

• There are no standard entry qualifications for sales people. Many sales people are promoted out of clerical or sales assistant posts within their own company.
• However, increasing numbers of applicants do have qualifications. A degree or an HND in a subject related to sales, marketing or business administration would be relevant.
• Entry into professional training courses is usually with a minimum of Olevels grades at A-C/1-3 in English and maths. Higher qualifications or experience is usually needed to take a higher-level course. Some courses have minimum age limits.
• A job in technical sales normally requires an HND or a degree in a relevant subject - for example, computing, science or engineering. For those who enter sales from a technical job in design or production, qualifications may not be as important as product knowledge.
• New entrants may be trained by an experienced sales person until they learn the basics. Many companies provide training (at head office or a training centre) on their products, organisation and the sales methods.

Opportunities

Employers are manufacturers or wholesale distributors in all sectors - from computer games to printing services. Progress will depend on achieving sales targets than on passing more exams.

About 14% of sales persons are self-employed or work freelance, often on a commission-only basis.

Annual Income

Further information

Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)
http://www.cim.co.uk

Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM)
http://www.ismm.co.uk