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Direct sales agent skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Frederik Beuk,

Linda Hajec

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical direct sales agent skills. We ranked the top skills for direct sales agents based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 25.5% of direct sales agent resumes contained customer service as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a direct sales agent needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 direct sales agent skills for your resume and career

1. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how direct sales agents use customer service:

Processed orders and demonstrated effective problem solving skills in a high volume customer service capacity for Clorox Delivery Exceptions Team.
Configured server station charts to assure high degree of cost-efficient customer service: focused on customer problem-identification and resolution

2. Medicare

Medicare is a federal government insurance program that offers health care coverage to people who are 65 and above. In some cases, younger people with disabilities whose status is identified by the SSA can also avail the insurance program. Medicare covers the health expenses of people who are not able to afford it plus it protects the payee from rising health care costs.

Here's how direct sales agents use medicare:

Qualified, educated and enrolled Medicare prospects into SCAN Medicare Advantage plans.
Provided Telesales to Inbound and Outbound Medicare recipient Callers.

3. Health Insurance

Here's how direct sales agents use health insurance:

Responded to inbound callers inquiring about purchasing individual medical health insurance.
Designed health insurance solutions to fit the needs of the client, educating the client about options and closing the sale.

4. Direct Sales

Here's how direct sales agents use direct sales:

Direct sales, inventory control, visual merchandising, housekeeping, security, administration and compliance to company policies/procedures.
Direct sales and retention/development of domestic and global small package transportation services business.

5. Underwriting Process

Here's how direct sales agents use underwriting process:

Cultivate positive, personal relationships with insurers to ensure understanding and comfort with underwriting process.
Maintain efficient record keeping system and ensures all business is tracked throughout the underwriting process.

6. Product Knowledge

Product knowledge is the skill of having better information and knowledge about the product you are selling. Product knowledge is essential for the employees of the companies so they can communicate and inform the customers about the product. Having great product knowledge is essential for a better sales pitch and to give the customer a better and complete idea of the product that will influence him to buy the product eventually.

Here's how direct sales agents use product knowledge:

Performed new hire certifications upon completion of training determine comprehension of product knowledge and department procedures.
Demonstrated strong product knowledge by timely and accurately answering customer questions.

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7. Sales Tools

Sales Tools, especially in today's digital day and age, are diverse and many, and one might find that different tools fit them and their companies differently. Much of sales nowadays is about information, statistics, and research, and those are all respective tools and are both a part of larger Sales Tools.

Here's how direct sales agents use sales tools:

Maintain comprehensive working knowledge of all client products and services while optimizing closing opportunities utilizing all sales tools and skills available.
Provide customers with oral and written information as well as optimizing closing opportunities utilizing all sales tools and skills available.

8. Work Ethic

Here's how direct sales agents use work ethic:

Have a good work ethic.
Utilized interpersonal communication skills and professional work ethic to deliver high quality sales.

9. CRM

CRM stands for Customer relationship management and it is a complete process through which a business or organization monitors and administers its interactions with the customers. A process in which large amounts of data are collected through marketing via a company's website, polls, surveys, and other social media applications. The basic goal of CRM is to target the right audience for their product, and then fulfill their needs, to increase the sales and revenue of the company.

Here's how direct sales agents use crm:

Create sales reports using CRM and Excel.
Worked closely with editors and Utilized CRM database tools publishers

10. Inbound Calls

Here's how direct sales agents use inbound calls:

Received inbound calls for direct television satellite department.
Maintain inbound calls from customers to verify eligibility for services, and collect profile information and support for services.

11. Smartphones

Here's how direct sales agents use smartphones:

Utilized technology such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops to demonstrate product knowledge and give sales presentations.

12. Sales Presentations

Here's how direct sales agents use sales presentations:

Supported senior management to develop sales presentations and strategies.
Communicate directly with consultants and prospects for proposals and rate quotes which determine needs of the group to develop sales presentations.

13. Develop Rapport

Here's how direct sales agents use develop rapport:

Develop rapport with customers by expertly matching Comcast products with customer needs.
Develop rapport with former customers evaluating customers' existing and potential needs.

14. Sales Quota

Here's how direct sales agents use sales quota:

Maintain minimum sales quotas while managing customer relations.
Achieved sales quota and excelled in all metrics measured by call center management.

15. Broadband

Here's how direct sales agents use broadband:

service provider to the broadband communications industry EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Supported COO, CFO, and four remote sales managers.
Achieve and maintain high-volume sales output, for cell phones and broadband products to stay employed with company.

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What skills help Direct Sales Agents find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What direct sales agent skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Frederik Beuk

Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Akron

Digital Literacy and AI are obviously on everybody's mind. The benefit for early career professionals is that these are skills they can use to differentiate themselves from more established professionals. Embrace these tools. At the same time, being an authentic storyteller that helps buyers envision the potential of your solutions can be an extremely powerful skill.

What technical skills for a direct sales agent stand out to employers?

Linda Hajec

Assistant Teaching Professor of Accounting, Associate Chair, Student Recruitment, Retention and Outreach, Penn State Behrend

I think the basics are still important - the feedback from employers still says that they want to see excellent skills in Excel - but if we are talking about changes as a result of the pandemic, job candidates that can also show a comfort level with remote meeting software will feel more natural and less awkward going forward. If you are going to meet on Zoom, make sure you know where to find the features on the screen and if you need to, practice with someone who knows you are just needing to mess around with the settings.

The last thing you would want to do is accidentally exit your interview halfway through because you didn't know where the "share screen" button was. Being familiar with other online collaboration software such as Teams or GoogleDocs is important, too. Even companies that are not working 100% remote are finding great use for these kind of sites, even just to house documents such as policy manuals that they want to share with a group of employees. The fact that a group can work together an collaborate asynchronously is a reality that many companies had not faced before, so the employee needs to be prepared to remember to follow up on team projects instead of waiting for a meeting to see where everything stands.

What soft skills should all direct sales agents possess?

Sonya DiPalma Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Chair, Academic Policies Committee, Director of MCOM Internship Program, University of North Carolina at Asheville

Be personable and a person someone wants to talk with and work with on a continuing basis. Listening and note-taking skills will be critical. Great employees listen well and ask good follow up questions. Be versatile and adaptable. If you find some downtime between projects, ask how you may help with another project.

Do you want to know more?

List of direct sales agent skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a direct sales agent resume and required skills for a direct sales agent to have include:

Customer Service
Medicare
Health Insurance
Direct Sales
Underwriting Process
Product Knowledge
Sales Tools
Work Ethic
CRM
Inbound Calls
Smartphones
Sales Presentations
Develop Rapport
Sales Quota
Broadband
Insurance Products

Door Sales
Funnel Management
Casualty Insurance
Outbound Calls
AAA
Insurance Policies
Credit Card
Sales Process
Sales Techniques
Inbound Sales
Comcast
Life Insurance
Cold Calls
Customer Inquiries
Customer Accounts
Telephone Calls

Customer Relations
Trade Shows
Inventory Control
Customer Retention
Product Availability
Customer Complaints
Sales Reports
Product Line
Motorcycle
Phone Services
Underwriting Data
Sales Orders
RV
Credit Checks

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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