An outside sales representative is a professional whose job profile involves sales through face-to-face interaction with the customer, acting as an interface between the company and its clients. They are also responsible for collecting feedback from customers. This type of professional is always in demand
If you love interacting with people and feel you have it in you, you should aspire for this career. To start with, let us begin with these three sample resume formats.
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Job duties of an outside sales representative
Outside sales representatives are the link between the organization and its customers. They conduct direct promotions and, thereby, sell products and services to achieve given sales targets. Their primary job responsibilities include:
Creating, developing and implementing sales strategies in coordination with peers and colleagues.
Forecast sales estimates and help the organization to prepare sales targets.
Visiting customers, conducting face-to-face meetings with potential and existing customers.
Organizing and attending various sales seminars, meetings and training.
Generating sales leads and taking appropriate steps to convert them into actual sales. Monitoring leads and supporting colleagues by sharing those related to their territories.
Strategically dealing and negotiating with customers to secure orders.
Helping the production and operations team to understand the actual requirements of the clients.
Supporting the marketing team in planning, organizing and executing promotional activities.
Collecting data regarding market situations and competitors’ marketing strategies.
Analyzing customers and their feedback.
Supporting the organization in sales service-related activities.
Helping the organization in creating and promoting brand presence in the market.
Outside sales representative median salary
According to PayScale.com, the median annual wage of an outside sales representative is $50,028. Most companies also pay hefty incentives apart from regular wages to outside sales representatives.
Top skills for outside sales representative
An outside sales representative is an expert in closing deals and maintaining customer relationships even after closing the sale. For this purpose, an outside sales representative requires a good amount of behavioral and technical skills. Some of the major skills necessary to do the job are:
- Enterprising person approach: An outside sales representative should be very aggressive in his dealings and work schedule. He should always be focused on achieving the sales targets assigned to him. He should prepare specific strategies to keep pace with the market. For such a fantastic attitude, a candidate must have an enterprising approach assimilated into their personality.
- Self-driven and self-motivated: It is expected that an outside sales representative takes self-initiatives to channel sales. He should be keen in his dealings with the customers and be able to guide and provide input to the entire sales domain.
- Excellent organizing prowess: An outside sales representative should be organized in his day-to-day work schedule. He should plan his schedule for the day properly. He should prepare to-do lists and task lists and update them regularly.
- A plethora of patience: Patience is the key to success in this profession. There will be instances when targets seem challenging to achieve or when things are not going as planned. However, one should not be disheartened, instead, have patience and wait for things to start moving as planned. One should be ready to accept failures and be prepared to learn from the mistakes.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal proficiency: Dealing with customers’ needs requires some special interpersonal skills, which come with practice. There should never be any communication gap with the customers or peers and colleagues. An outside sales representative must be transparent as well as calm and composed in his dealings.
- Negotiation techniques: While dealing with customers, it is necessary to have excellent negotiation skills. Customers will always want the best quality at the lowest possible price. Good negotiation skills can help seal the deal with the best possible terms and conditions. Therefore, a candidate must have excellent negotiation skills to achieve the ultimate sales targets.
Outside sales representatives education and certifications
Academics are the key to becoming a professional in life. Even though there are no prescribed formal education requirements for an outside sales representative, there are some unsaid rules in the industry regarding the academic excellence of an outside sales representative. Let us look deeply into the educational proficiency needed:
Degree:
Many employers prefer to hire a candidate with a bachelor's or associate's degree in a specific related industry. For example, a software company wants to hire a candidate with some software expertise; likewise, a medical company wants a candidate with knowledge in science or a medical-related field. You can choose to opt for the area that suits your preference as per your choice and convenience.
You may choose any accredited traditional college of your choice to earn these degrees. To list down a few, the candidate can choose between Princeton University, Yale University or North Michigan University.Certifications:
Even if there are no minimum academic requirements for an outside sales representative, some certifications are helpful. Such credentials can be obtained from many educational institutions after a short-term study program. These study programs are designed to give you in-depth knowledge in the chosen field of your choice. Have a look at the options you can opt for:Universities and colleges:
Several universities in the U.S. offer short-term educational programs in respective fields of sales. These colleges have some professional certification programs as well. However, if you want to go for a particular niche, you can choose a course such as Business Management Certificate by Foster School of Business, a Sales Certificate program by Washington State University and many more.Member associations:
The American Marketing Association offers some professional certificates in marketing. In these programs, you can go for a Sales Management certificate to boost your skills. Apart from this, you can choose an SMEI and NASP certification too.For-profit educational companies:
To upscale your skills like negotiation skills, customer service, the art of sales and strategic sales, you can go for many certification study programs offered by various educational institutes. Some of these academic companies are Coursera, Udemy, Edx and many more. These for-profit educational companies have tie-ups and are affiliated with various universities.
Outside sales representative resume-writing tips
A resume is like a written snapshot of a profile. We are here to bring the best out of your profile matched with the desired job position. Therefore, here are some important tips to keep in mind before developing a perfect resume for you.
- Start with a definitive objective statement. In general, no recruiter spends more than 12-15 seconds on a resume and, in such a short period, the employer checks most of the headings of the respective sections. Therefore, with a definitive objective statement, you can wow the recruiter instantly. Let's take a look at examples of an objective statement:
- Ambitious and enthusiastic individual seeking an outside sales representative position in XYZ Company to utilize my sales expertise and knowledge of paper goods.
- Excellent in maintaining b2b sales and relationships, an energetic salesperson looking for an opportunity in XYZ company to utilize my three years experience in dealing in the video gaming industry.
- Optimize it for ATS. There are many resumes for one position due to high competition in the sales industry. In such scenarios, most companies get help from different application tracking systems (ATS) to screen applied resumes. To get through ATS, make your resume SEO optimized. You can do this by inserting some keywords in your resume. Some of these keywords can be: CRM, account management, deal closure, B2B sales, B2C sales, customer service excellence, etc.
- Boast your key certifications and achievements. For a position like outside sales representative, where many educational degrees are not required, you should have earned several skills and certifications. Make sure to mention these carefully. It should be relevant and accurate enough to boost your marketability according to the applied job profile.
FAQ
What is the difference between the profiles of an inside sales representative and an outside sales representative?
An inside sales representative mainly consists of an in-house job profile, while an outside sales representative has extensive traveling and face-to-face interactions. Outside sales representatives rely more on interpersonal and negotiation skills, whereas inside sales representatives rely more on digital, problem-solving and analytical skills. Inside sales representatives support the outside sales representatives in cracking deals and achieving sales targets.
What is the effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the outside sales representative profile?
Though the COVID-19 Pandemic has hit the job market for outside sales representatives, in the long term, the prospects for them are bright. This is because customers always feel comfortable discussing face-to-face before making a purchase decision, whatever may be the case. Organizations also continuously look for professionals who can make the actual sales. In the end, inside sales representatives can play the supporting role to help outside sales representatives in their dealings.
What are the prospects of an outside sales representative?
Sales professionals always have a good growth graph in any organization, as their achievements are visible. They always get the best of the benefits in any company. An outside sales representative can grow to the position of a sales manager and then to a regional sales head. For this to happen, continuous efforts and consistent performance are required.