Inside Sales Representative Job Description
An inside sales representative position is exactly what it sounds like: selling products to potential customers from within a sales office. This means that as an inside sales representative you will primarily be speaking to potential customers, or leads, over the phone by calling phone numbers from a computer-generated list of contacts. This is done by following pre-written scripts prepared by sales writers hired by the company for which the sales representative sells products.
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Education and Training
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Most inside sales positions don't require much more than a high school diploma, although some tech-based or medical-based sales offices might require four-year degree or extensive experience in a certain industry. Most sales training is completed on-the-job.
Skills
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Inside sales representatives must be able to communicate effectively and persuasively to a high volume of people throughout the workday. Since most of an inside sales representative's job is spent talking on the phone, he must be able to apply his communication skills over the phone. She must also have experience typing and entering data into database applications and operating basic word processing applications. An inside sales representative must have the ability to repetitively overcome rejection from sales leads.
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Work Environment
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Call center sales offices are fast-paced and high-stress work environments. Not only does the inside salesperson have daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly quotas to meet, but often so does the sales office. Additionally, dealing with angry or disgruntled people over the phone is a daily reality for the inside sales representative.
Salary
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According to Glassdoor.com, the salary for an inside sales representative ranges from $27,000 to more than $100,000 annually. These figures vary greatly from industry to industry, but the earning potential for an inside sales representative is vast.
Outlook
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Job opportunities for inside sales representatives are expected to decline sharply through 2018, according to the 2010-2011 edition of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupation Outlook Handbook.
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References
- Photo Credit sales office sign image by Brett Mulcahy from Fotolia.com
