How To Become A Consultant And Sales Representative: What It Is and Career Path

What is a consultant and sales representative and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Frederik Beuk,

John Cicala Ph.D.

Consultant and sales representatives often have to combine two different but related job roles. Business consultants are experts in a particular business industry or product line. They use their expertise to guide individuals and businesses. Sales representatives, on the other hand, sell products to consumers based on their needs.

Consultant and sales representatives may work in mobile phone stores or similar settings. They use their expertise to advise customers on the right products and then switch to a representative's role where they sell. Most professionals in this role work in retail, where they interact with customers.

Consultant and sales representatives may work on commission or have a base salary with additional benefits. A day in the life mostly includes meeting customers and discussing their various products. They may also undergo training and get acquainted with the products they sell.

To become a consultant and sales representative, you need a minimum of a high school diploma. Employers often offer on-the-job training.

What general advice would you give to a consultant and sales representative?

Frederik Beuk

Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Akron

The key consideration is whether you really want to maximize your initial salary. For instance, envision two job opportunities: one offering a salary of $50,000 per year, where you'd be the most junior team member, and the other providing $75,000 per year, with the caveat that you would be the sole sales representative for the firm. The optimal choice is to prioritize learning opportunities. In this context, being the lone salesperson for a company that compensates its highest-earning sales professional $75,000 might not be your superior option. Instead, seek a position that offers the greatest potential for learning. Subsequently, demonstrate your negotiating prowess, a critical sales skill, by securing a slightly higher salary. However, it's essential not to fixate on maximizing your starting salary. Your career requires a long-term strategy, and you have several decades ahead of you to maximize income.

ScoreConsultant And Sales RepresentativeUS Average

Salary

10.0

Avg. Salary $225,832

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 5.16%

Black or African American 3.85%

Hispanic or Latino 14.32%

Unknown 3.71%

White 72.72%

Gender

female 45.53%

male 54.47%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a consultant and sales representative

Explore consultant and sales representative education requirements

Most common consultant and sales representative degrees

Bachelor's

60.6 %

Associate

13.9 %

High School Diploma

11.6 %

Start to develop specific consultant and sales representative skills

Skills	Percentages
Business Relationships	49.83%
Strong Presentation	23.95%
Product Knowledge	6.51%
CRM	6.08%
Lead Generation	3.96%

Complete relevant consultant and sales representative training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New consultants and sales representative learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a consultant and sales representative based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real consultant and sales representative resumes.

Research consultant and sales representative duties and responsibilities

Manage RFP's and pricing, direct marketing message, identify and launch new products, services and maintain senior-level relationships.
Organize and assist medical professional in establishing protocols for testing and managing patients using narcotic pain medications.
Generate leads and evangelize product to physicians in orthopedics, hematology, internal medicine, surgery, critical care and cardiology.
Implement workflows within ERP systems.

Prepare your consultant and sales representative resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your consultant and sales representative resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a consultant and sales representative resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable consultant and sales representative resume templates

Build a professional consultant and sales representative resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your consultant and sales representative resume.

Apply for consultant and sales representative jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a consultant and sales representative job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average consultant and sales representative salary

The average consultant and sales representative salary in the United States is $225,832 per year or $109 per hour. Consultant and sales representative salaries range between $143,000 and $356,000 per year.

Average consultant and sales representative salary

$225,832 Yearly

$108.57 hourly

How do consultants and sales representative rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Consultant and sales representative reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2021

Pros

Dealing with other professional engineers and managers that show higher levels of integrity when discussing requirements or a problem to solve.

Cons

The constant program delays and slow manufactures in support of opportunities that could be won with quicker responses.

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020

Pros

Innovating a business model is key for a profitable business and growth. Without a proper and sustainable business model, even the best product or technology innovations will not flourish. Learn the skills and knowledge needed to start improving your business as you learn through real-life examples from fellow entrepreneurs, innovators and leading experts on business model innovation. Benefit business owners, entrepreneurs, business consultants or business developers who seek better understanding of business models and the tools to develop them.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020

Pros

Communicating and helping my clients.

Cons

The travel was extensive. Sometimes. It took more than month to close a deaĺ.

What is a consultant and sales representative and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a consultant and sales representative?

Consultant and sales representative career paths

Key steps to become a consultant and sales representative

Explore consultant and sales representative education requirements

Most common consultant and sales representative degrees

Start to develop specific consultant and sales representative skills

Complete relevant consultant and sales representative training and internships

Research consultant and sales representative duties and responsibilities

Prepare your consultant and sales representative resume

Choose from 10+ customizable consultant and sales representative resume templates

Apply for consultant and sales representative jobs

How did you land your first consultant and sales representative job

Average consultant and sales representative salary

How do consultants and sales representative rate their job?

Consultant and sales representative reviews

Consultant and sales representative jobs by state