Sales Job Description Example
Nearly every career requires personal selling skills. The abilities you learn in a sales job can be carried into different industries, leadership roles, job interviews and business negotiations. While sales director, vice-president (VP) and other senior management roles require formal training and experience, most entry-level sales jobs are open to high school and college graduates.
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Function
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Sales jobs involve selling and promoting products and services to companies and consumers. Depending on the industry, companies break down sales departments into telemarketing, business development or outside sales. While some entry- and junior-level professionals focus on qualifying sales leads, explaining product features and providing customer service to clients, sales managers and directors are responsible for overseeing sales activity and distribution across an entire territory. More senior roles involve analyzing forecast and win reports, inventory requirements, competitor activity and customer intelligence.
Skills
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Sales professionals need a variety of skills, including excellent listening, presentation and business networking skills. Working well with people and forming strong business connections are also helpful skills in the sales field. Since sales professionals frequently work with numbers, strong math and statistics abilities are beneficial.
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Work Environment
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The work environment for sales professionals can be busy and hectic due to frequent schedule changes, tight deadlines and the pressure to meet quarterly and annual sales quotas. Sales representative and management professionals travel frequently to meet face-to-face with clients, prospects, suppliers and business partners. Workers often put in long hours during evening hours and weekends. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics "Occupational Handbook, 2010-11 Edition," 80 percent or more of sales managers work more than 40 hours per week.
Salary
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The average and median salaries for sales professionals vary based on industry, employer, years of experience and location. A May 2010 PayScale report places the average total pay for sales representatives in the United States between $32,140 and $52,445 per year. PayScale also states that the average total pay for sales managers ranges between $69,129 and $124,538 as of May 2010. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the median annual wages for sales representatives in the manufacturing, technical and science industries were $70,200 in May 2008.
Potential
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The BLS expects that job opportunities will be best for sales professionals with a college degree, technical training in their chosen industry and excellent personal selling skills. Sales representative occupations are projected to increase by 7 percent between 2008 and 2018 due to economic expansion. The BLS also predicts that sales management positions will grow by 15 percent during the same period.
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References
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