Introduction
A sales representative is not a new position and has been on the labor market for quite a long time. Almost every company that sells goods and services has sales representatives. Many of you have thought about this position, but you probably also have questions: what are the job responsibilities of a sales representative, how to become a sales representative, what you need to know to do this, what competencies to have, what character qualities are valuable in this position. In this article we will highlight the main aspects of the activities of a sales representative.
TOP 10 requirements for the position of sales representative
Employer requirements for applicants for the position of sales representative:
- Higher education. The overwhelming majority of vacancies require a completed higher education. At the same time, very often they do not specify which university. It can be medical, economic, pedagogical, engineering, legal; a higher education diploma is sufficient. The presence of a diploma indicates that a person is trainable, has a good training base, profession, appropriate mentality and certain competencies. Nowadays, it is not easy for everyone to get a higher education; this requires perseverance, patience and self-organization. In some vacancies, as a rule, from “small” employers, a secondary specialized education is sufficient. With secondary specialized education, as a rule, conditions are slightly worse and income from work is lower. In any case, having a higher education will be your advantage in an interview.
- Experience in sales. As a rule, it is a prerequisite in reputable companies with high salaries. It is important for the employer that the specialist understands the sales structure, knows how to work with objections and establish positive contact with the client, understands the essence of the work of a sales representative, his main goals and objectives.
- Correct oral and written language. A sales representative is the “face of the company”; it is very important for the employer how the employee can represent the company and the goods or services it promotes. How competently and concisely does he express his thoughts and whether he correctly conveys information to the client. Speech must be clear, structured, and correct.
- Communication skills and learning ability. Ability to set up and maintain relationships with regular and new clients, ability to quickly change taking into account new conditions. It is important not only to be able to speak but also to listen to the client, understand his basic needs and be able to present the product to the client’s needs.
- Stress resistance. The job of a sales representative is to communicate with people, and they are all different in character, perception, and behavior. This work will always be difficult, it is important not to take everything personally, to be able to distinguish work moments from personal ones.
- Attentiveness, organization, responsibility, diligence.
- Having a car. In many companies, a mandatory requirement is the presence of a personal car or a relative’s car, which the representative can use (power of attorney). The work of a sales representative is very mobile, the daily task is to visit from 6 to 15 clients in different parts of the city; in order to cope with the frequency of visits, a car is needed.
- Availability of an established client base. This condition is not always mandatory, but will certainly be an advantage if there is competition for a vacancy. When the applicant has established connections, a well-formed relationship, the employer can count on good sales figures in the first months.
- Computer skills, with office programs, possibly 1C. As a rule, this is the ability to work in WORD, Excel, Internet, email. Some companies have introduced the 1C program, with which employees can enter shipments, track accounts receivable, see sales volumes, and more.
- And other requirements
Sales representative resume example
A sales representative is the face of an enterprise, so competition for this vacancy is always high (especially in foreign companies). And the first stage, mandatory for all applicants, is a well-written resume, without which you will not even be invited for an interview. There is no template resume for this position, but there is a certain structure with a number of sections.
So, in your sales representative resume, please include the following information in the following order:
Personal information - first and last name, age. Attach a photo of you smiling and looking presentable. No matter how the personnel department employees claim that they do not evaluate appearance, for a sales representative, a winning smile and a pleasant appearance are important.
Please indicate the position you are interested in – sales representative. Here, newcomers often make a mistake and do not indicate their position. “I responded to this vacancy, why duplicate it again,” they think. And at the end of the working day, the HR department employee has a stack of resumes on her desk, and first of all, she will consider those that indicate the position for which the candidate responded.
At the very beginning of your resume, indicate: willingness to travel and work irregular hours. These are the qualities employers value in sales representatives. This does not mean that you will work until nightfall every day, or regularly travel to other cities. But your very readiness for this will say a lot.
Algorithm for choosing a company-employer
It is better to search for an employer on large federal platforms for posting vacancies, such as: hh.ru, rabota.yandex.ru, SuperJob.ru, zarplata.ru and others. It is on these platforms that reputable large companies post their vacancies. Jobs with high salaries and a good benefits package. During the job search process, a candidate usually undergoes a large number of interviews. At the interview stage, not only do companies choose you, but you also choose a good employer. It would be a good idea to draw up a comparative table of organizations for yourself; by further analyzing it, you will be able to select for yourself the one that provides you with the best working conditions.
How to understand what is important to you in a company and work? An example of filling out the table below:
Criterion | Company 1 | Company 2 | Company 3 |
Office work | |||
Work from home | |||
Flexible schedule (plan your own office visits) | |||
Part time | |||
VHI | |||
international company | |||
Private company | |||
Wage level | |||
And others |
If you are a specialist without work experience, in this case, choose the company that is ready to accept you to start and gain experience; after working in this company and if you have work experience, you will be able to apply for other vacancies with better conditions.
If experience is required everywhere, you can get experience without getting a job under an employment contract. Under a civil law contract, or talk to friends and acquaintances who already work in this field and can tell you about the specifics of the activity and can give you recommendations. How to work as a sales representative, you can read about the specifics of the work in the article “How to work as a sales representative.”
Creating a resume for a job search
A resume is a kind of presentation sheet of a candidate for a position. In this document you must reflect all your advantages over other participants in the competition for the vacancy. Show your best sides, skills, competencies, literacy. At the stage of selecting candidates based on resumes, many candidates are eliminated due to incompleteness of the resume, lack of structure, and lack of necessary knowledge and competencies. Therefore, when writing a resume, it is important to look at the list of company requirements for a candidate and compose it in such a way that for each requirement an advantage is offered when choosing your candidacy. Requirement to have a higher education - in your resume indicate, for example, I have a higher education from UrFU named after. B. N. Yeltsin – Ural Federal University named after. B. N. Yeltsin, which ranks 15th in the ranking of Russian universities. Advertise yourself, advertise your place of education/place of work. Requirement: experience in sales - worked at Lemonad LLC, the company is among the TOP 5 leading trade organizations in terms of turnover. Next, describe your job functions:
- active work with the existing customer base (chain stores/stores/kiosks/other outlets)
- conducting negotiations with responsible persons regarding the purchase of goods/services
- Conducting product presentations based on customer needs
- maintaining daily reports on work performed
- merchandising of goods according to company standards
- rotation of goods and availability of current price tags
- launching and tracking promotions, etc.
A very important part, at the end of each work experience in the company, is to indicate your achievements: For example, “During the period of work at Lemonad LLC, I attracted 60 new clients for cooperation, new contracts were concluded, was repeatedly rewarded by the company for achieving planned indicators, during the period of work rose through the ranks from Merchandiser, to Sales Representative, then Leading Representative.
The requirement is communication skills - competent, structured speech, I have knowledge of conducting business dialogue, I can competently present the product and the company. I easily find contact with new clients.
Sales Representative Responsibilities for Resume
In this section, we will consider the basic rights and responsibilities of a sales representative, on which success in finding a job depends. A sales representative is an intermediary between the employer (manufacturer/distributor/dealer) and retail outlets (stores, supermarkets, kiosks and other clients. The representative is a direct participant in the development of the company's customer base. Increases it through individual visits to new customers, by maintaining and developing relationships with regular customers.
Responsibilities:
- Promotion of products through the distribution channel, through supermarkets, shops and other retail outlets;
- collecting orders in a designated territory and selling products to retail outlets based on pre-orders;
- representing the interests of the company and/or distributor in the assigned territory;
- working with chain stores, shops and clients;
- cooperation in developing a sales strategy;
- tracking development trends in the field;
- conducting independent market research;
- maintaining and developing relationships with dealers and retail outlets;
- monitoring compliance with merchandising standards in retail outlets;
- performing tasks to increase the visibility, accessibility and recognition of the company’s brands;
- price control in online and offline channels;
- searching for potential clients;
- conclusion of contracts;
- monitoring the availability and relevance of concluded contracts;
- organization and control of orders and deliveries of goods to customers;
- analysis of the work of promoters;
- increasing product sales and fulfilling the plan;
- conducting advertising campaigns to stimulate sales, trade marketing campaigns, promotional events;
- promotion of assorted products, launch of new products to the market;
- performing special tasks;
- maintaining an assortment matrix in stores;
- keeping the client database up to date;
- increasing the customer base;
- Negotiation;
- working with the existing customer base and attracting new ones;
- Active sales of products;
- Full support of transactions;
- business trips;
- tracking and control of accounts receivable;
- working with a PDA;
- individual visits, visiting the client;
- identifying customer needs;
- Handling complaints;
- Conducting training for distributors and organizing events related to product support and sales;
- Participation in the preparation and holding of exhibitions;
- Distribution and maintenance of promotional materials in retail outlets;
- demonstration and presentation of the product according to the client’s needs;
- generation of primary reporting;
- carrying out planned manufacturer promotions;
- reporting to management on issues related to work results, quality of task completion;
- participation in tenders for the sale of products;
Sales representative: responsibilities, functions, skills
- For social guarantees provided for by law and the employment contract.
- To make rationalization proposals aimed at improving the quality of work and improving working conditions.
- To receive assistance from management in performing job duties or exercising rights.
- To study draft decisions and decisions of the manager related to the work of the sales representative.
- To ensure satisfactory working conditions that comply with legislation, sanitary standards and safety regulations.
- To study documents directly related to the performance of official duties.
- To cover expenses associated with medical, professional and social rehabilitation in the event of health impairment during the performance of official duties.
- For advanced training.
- Availability of higher education. As a rule, a diploma in management or marketing is required.
- Possession of a driver's license. Moreover, for many companies, one of the main requirements for a sales representative is to have his own vehicle.
- Experience. As a rule, the applicant must have at least one year of experience in trading.
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Sales Representative Achievements for Resume
An important attractive point in a resume is the candidate’s achievements. This part best “advertises” the applicant for an open vacancy; the better they are disclosed, the greater the likelihood of a call to you. Let's figure out what can be added as achievements.
- Attracted 10 large wholesale clients from the city of Romashka;
- increased sales volume from 150,000 rubles to 500,000 rubles;
- achieved a reduction in accounts receivable by 30%;
- Gained experience in the market (furniture, tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, etc.);
- Achieved a quantitative increase in exhibitions by 30%;
- achieved a 30% increase in dealer sales through retail and wholesale channels;
- Gained experience in sales through a distributor channel;
- Carried out qualitative and quantitative development of an active client base;
- developed a database from scratch, attracted 30 clients, 15 of them active;
- Brought trade turnover from 0 to 1.8 million rubles. per month;
- Attracted and transferred 8 active clients to the sales manager;
- Increased turnover in its direction by 15%;
- Achieved planned indicators at a level of 80 to 115%;
- Gained an understanding of the structure of the construction market. Compilation and work with a database of construction projects in the Sverdlovsk region;
- Gained knowledge in presenting a product to the client's needs;
- learned to competently identify client needs and present products according to the need;
- acquired skills in handling client objections
- and other.
Requirements for a sales representative
Here is a list of basic requirements for applicants:
- higher education;
- communication skills;
- PC knowledge;
Sometimes requirements for a sales representative include:
- having a personal car;
- 1 year of experience in sales.
Resume sample.