What does a business sales representative do?

A business sales representative's role is to develop strategies in identifying leads and opportunities to secure sales. Their responsibilities revolve around reaching out to clients to offer products and services, discussing the pricing and specifications of products, processing payments, and gathering necessary client information. They may also arrange appointments with clients to negotiate and sign contracts. Furthermore, as a business sales representative, it is essential to produce progress reports and presentations, handle issues and complaints, maintain records of all transactions, and regularly update databases.
Business sales representative responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real business sales representative resumes:
- Lead recruitment and marketing efforts via social media channels such as LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook, etc.
- Generate qualify leads through B2B telemarketing services specialize in identifying and nurturing prospects for computer hardware, software and technology services.
- Assist with coordinating and organizing marketing projects such as direct mail and team telemarketing initiatives.
- Generate qualify leads through B2B telemarketing services specialize in identifying and nurturing prospects for computer hardware, software and technology services.
- Assist in the training of newly hire salespeople on technical aspects of CCTV camera systems.
- Maintain a neat display kiosk that are up to par with Costco's standards
- Utilize negotiation and influencing abilities by offering customers solutions using products and services from MCI portfolio.
Business sales representative skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Business Sales Representatives are proficient in Business Sales, Customer Accounts, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Interpersonal skills, and Physical stamina.
We break down the percentage of Business Sales Representatives that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Business Sales, 13%
Established, maintained and expanded direct business-to-business sales of wireless telecommunications products and service to small- and medium-sized accounts.
- Customer Accounts, 12%
Analyze customer accounts and provide solutions to promote efficient and effective telecommunication services based on business needs.
- Customer Service, 11%
Focused on providing excellent customer service while up-selling products and solving general customer inquires regarding billing, products and service.
- Business Relationships, 11%
Developed and maintained personal and business relationships with the local community.
- Lead Generation, 11%
Honed in on opportunities for new business development and expanded customer database to 500+ business professionals through self-lead generation.
- Security Industry, 6%
Learn and implement various IT solutions related to the security industry and sales arena.
Most business sales representatives use their skills in "business sales," "customer accounts," and "customer service" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential business sales representative responsibilities here:
Customer-service skills. The most essential soft skill for a business sales representative to carry out their responsibilities is customer-service skills. This skill is important for the role because "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be able to listen to the customer’s needs and concerns before and after the sale." Additionally, a business sales representative resume shows how their duties depend on customer-service skills: "help train new hires with sales techniques, day to day procedures and allow them to shadow me during customer transactions. "
Interpersonal skills. Many business sales representative duties rely on interpersonal skills. "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be able to work well with many types of people," so a business sales representative will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways business sales representative responsibilities rely on interpersonal skills: "used interpersonal skills to achieve weekly sales quotas * planned, organized, and initiated successful sales tactics. "
Physical stamina. This is an important skill for business sales representatives to perform their duties. For an example of how business sales representative responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives are often on their feet for a long time and may carry heavy sample products." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a business sales representative: "manage physical inventory for a $24 million per year account including order entry, work flow management and delivery. ".
Self-confidence. business sales representative responsibilities often require "self-confidence." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be confident and persuasive when making sales presentations." This resume example shows what business sales representatives do with self-confidence on a typical day: "settle billing discrepancies, customer complaints, product issues in a timely manner to ensure customer confidence in the company. "
The three companies that hire the most business sales representatives are:
- ADT Security Services59 business sales representatives jobs
- Paychex31 business sales representatives jobs
- Spectrum22 business sales representatives jobs
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Business sales representative vs. Sales development representative
A sales development representative qualifies leads at the sales funnel's initial stages. Sales development representatives need to conduct research for prospective clients and qualify the leads before handing them to the sales team. They develop sales strategies to attract buyers or solicit potential customers. They need to build relationships with their customers to determine their needs and qualify the viability of interests to drive sales. Also, they collaborate with the sales executives making certain that corporate targets and goals are met.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, business sales representative responsibilities require skills like "business sales," "customer accounts," "strong presentation," and "adt." Meanwhile a typical sales development representative has skills in areas such as "sdr," "account executives," "linkedin," and "saas." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Sales development representatives tend to reach similar levels of education than business sales representatives. In fact, sales development representatives are 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Business sales representative vs. Sales representative internship
In a sales representative internship, an intern's duties depend on the directives of a supervising staff or manager. Typically, they are responsible for gaining industry insights while performing clerical tasks such as preparing and processing documents, greeting visitors, disseminating and organizing files, and running errands as needed. They may also participate in communicating with clients through calls and appointments to offer products and services, ensuring client satisfaction. Furthermore, as an intern, it is essential to familiarize and abide by the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real business sales representative resumes. While business sales representative responsibilities can utilize skills like "business sales," "business relationships," "lead generation," and "strong presentation," sales representative interns use skills like "kids," "market research," "press releases," and "sales reps."
Sales representative interns earn similar levels of education than business sales representatives in general. They're 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for business sales representatives in the next 3-5 years?
Assistant Professor, Baylor University
Business sales representative vs. Sales support representative
A sales support representative is responsible for assisting the complex operations of sales departments, performing administrative duties under the supervision of a direct manager. Sales support representatives' tasks include acknowledging and encoding customers' orders in the system, processing payments, responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns about the products, writing sales reports, and updating the customer of the shipment details. They also support the sales representatives on selling goods and services to potential customers by creating marketing materials and communicating with customers over the phone and e-mail to generate revenues and increase profits.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from business sales representative resumes include skills like "business sales," "business relationships," "lead generation," and "strong presentation," whereas a sales support representative is more likely to list skills in "sales support," "phone calls," "pos," and "good communication. "
When it comes to education, sales support representatives tend to earn similar degree levels compared to business sales representatives. In fact, they're 1.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Business sales representative vs. Business sales associate
A business sales associate's primary goal is to secure sales and reach sales targets. To make this possible, a business sales associate conducts market research and analyses to identify new business and client opportunities, generates leads, and develops sales strategies. They usually reach out to potential clients or representatives through calls or correspondence, arrange appointments, discuss product or service specifications, organize payment plans, and negotiate contracts, building positive business relationships along the way. Moreover, they produce progress reports and coordinate with managers regularly.
Types of business sales representative
Updated January 8, 2025











