What is a Direct Sales Representative?

Direct sales representatives are responsible for creating customer awareness of the company's products and services. They present these products and services to potential customers to aid in closing sales. Some of their duties include researching the products of competitors and identifying opportunities to increase sales. They assist in developing and executing sales and marketing plans. As a direct sales rep, you will answer customers' inquiries about product pricing, availability, features, and benefits. You'll help management in finding viable marketing and pricing strategies.

The minimum educational requirement for this role is a high school diploma or GED. However, having a bachelor's degree in marketing, business administration, or a related field can be advantageous. Candidates must have proven sales experience. You must possess selling, networking, negotiation, customer service, and communication skills. You must be able to retain important information. Direct sales reps make an average annual salary of $38,759. This varies between $20,000 and $74,000.

What Does a Direct Sales Representative Do

There are certain skills that many direct sales representatives have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed interpersonal skills, physical stamina and self-confidence.

Learn more about what a Direct Sales Representative does

How To Become a Direct Sales Representative

If you're interested in becoming a direct sales representative, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 53.4% of direct sales representatives have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.2% of direct sales representatives have master's degrees. Even though most direct sales representatives have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Direct Sales Representative
Top Direct Sales Representative Jobs Near You

Direct Sales Representative Career Paths

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of account executive you might progress to a role such as account manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title director, inside sales.

Direct Sales Representative

Average Salary for a Direct Sales Representative

Direct Sales Representatives in America make an average salary of $43,527 per year or $21 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $69,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $27,000 per year.
Average Direct Sales Representative Salary
$43,527 Yearly
$20.93 hourly
See More Salary Information

What Am I Worth?

salary-calculator

Roles and Types of Direct Sales Representative

The role of a direct sales representative includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general direct sales representative responsibilities:

  • Canvass assigned and approved territory to solicit potential customers. Demonstrates strong understanding of bright house products, promoting
  • Conduct quality face to face in-home sales presentations to new time warner cable customers. Identify customer needs, wants,
  • Sell mediacom services in local neighborhoods

There are several types of direct sales representative, including:

Sales Representative

Role:

As the sole point of contact, sales representatives are responsible for all business matters when it comes to their clients. They ensure the right products are delivered, follow customer leads, and pitch prospective customers.

Probably the most important aspect of a sales representative's job is closing on sales. That's what keeps the business running and your paycheck coming. There are some times when you'll have to deal with tough situations, like customer complaints, and you'll have to know how to fix the situation.

The majority of sales representatives spend about 47 hours a week at work. From travel time to breaks and interacting with customers, you've got some long days ahead. Although, it's not a bad gig, especially since you only need a high school diploma. The majority of your education in your career will come from on-the-job training - nothing beats hands-on experience.

  • Average Salary: $56,591
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Inside Sales Representative

Role:

An inside sales representative is responsible for generating sales. As opposed to outside salespeople, who travel to broker sales on location and face-to-face, an inside sales rep works remotely.

Inside sales reps typically communicate with potential clients over the phone or via email. They research and identify leads and do their best to create hype for a product, all while building fruitful relations with customers. They also contribute to creating marketing strategies.

Inside sales reps generally work for commission, so the more you work, the more you make, and working hours are pretty much up to you. This is a job that can be done from home, which may or may not result in higher productivity.

Your salary will vary significantly, though, depending on where you work, what industry you work for, and whether you have that sales DNA or not. Or call it skills. It is up to your temperament, whichever makes you feel more comfortable.

  • Average Salary: $44,413
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Outside Sales Representative

Role:

Outside sales representatives are responsible for increasing sales by maintaining and developing relationships with clients and customers. To do this, you will need to identify potential clients, follow up on the potential clients, and also maintain relationships with the existing clients. After identifying potential clients, you are expected to meet their sales needs to ensure a lasting relationship. You will also sometimes need to travel to meet clients and inform them of new products and their features so you can negotiate sales contracts.

In the process of identifying potential clients, you will have to schedule and perform product demonstrations to the new clients in a convincing manner. Other duties involve generating and submitting sales reports to management and recommending a marketing strategy for specific regions. One of the major secrets to succeeding as a sales representative is to learn to sustain relationships.

Excellent communication skills, outstanding marketing strategy skills, and consumer psychology are crucial to succeeding as an outside sales representative. Apart from this, you must enjoy traveling and must be proficient with presentation software, spreadsheet, and word processing. The annual salary of an outside sales representative is $71,145, and the educational background is a bachelor's degree in business management or other related disciplines.

  • Average Salary: $60,443
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
View More

States With The Most Direct Sales Representative Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active direct sales representative jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where direct sales representatives earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Direct Sales Representative Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California8,783$55,674
2Texas4,915$56,185
3Florida4,729$50,187
4Pennsylvania4,390$49,044
5New York3,799$57,087
6Ohio2,999$52,074
7New Jersey2,882$53,384
8Illinois2,755$59,252
9Massachusetts2,488$56,334
10North Carolina2,256$51,485
11Georgia2,169$53,063
12Virginia2,169$51,767
13Minnesota1,825$63,662
14Arizona1,710$49,003
15Wisconsin1,631$56,169
16Indiana1,570$60,319
17Washington1,546$63,617
18Michigan1,468$54,397
19Tennessee1,465$45,299
20Maryland1,464$47,952
21Colorado1,301$50,408
22Missouri1,207$49,503
23Oregon1,098$60,943
24South Carolina1,054$39,540
25Alabama1,025$46,790
26Connecticut1,020$57,578
27Utah893$49,968
28Iowa887$57,463
29Kentucky778$53,813
30Kansas658$51,465
31Arkansas623$45,700
32Louisiana595$39,184
33Oklahoma567$36,303
34Nebraska485$41,538
35Nevada477$50,432
36Rhode Island392$58,409
37Idaho392$52,175
38West Virginia370$36,206
39Mississippi359$35,492
40New Hampshire356$52,266
41Maine353$69,856
42Delaware346$44,570
43New Mexico317$44,562
44Montana300$47,058
45Vermont220$53,393
46North Dakota208$56,478
47South Dakota184$53,330
48Alaska152$54,503
49Hawaii145$34,915
50Wyoming142$54,016

Direct Sales Representative Education

Direct Sales Representative Majors

Business
34.9 %
Communication
7.6 %
Marketing
7.1 %

Direct Sales Representative Degrees

Bachelors

53.4 %

Associate

18.8 %

High School Diploma

16.1 %

Top Colleges for Direct Sales Representatives

1. SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Alfred, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,570

Enrollment

3,721

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

3. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

4. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

5. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

6. Baylor University

Waco, TX • Private

In-State Tuition

$45,542

Enrollment

14,159

7. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

8. University of Wisconsin - Madison

Madison, WI • Private

In-State Tuition

$10,555

Enrollment

30,360

9. SUNY College of Technology at Delhi

Delhi, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,360

Enrollment

3,142

10. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$49,880

Enrollment

4,177

Top Skills For a Direct Sales Representative

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 33.4% of direct sales representatives listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as interpersonal skills and physical stamina are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Direct Sales Representative Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Direct Sales Representative templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Direct Sales Representative resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Direct Sales Representative Resume
Direct Sales Representative Resume
Direct Sales Representative Resume
Direct Sales Representative Resume
Direct Sales Representative Resume
Direct Sales Representative Resume
Direct Sales Representative Resume
Direct Sales Representative Resume
Direct Sales Representative Resume
Direct Sales Representative Resume
Direct Sales Representative Resume
Direct Sales Representative Resume
Direct Sales Representative Resume
Direct Sales Representative Resume
Direct Sales Representative Resume
Direct Sales Representative Resume

Direct Sales Representative diversity

Direct Sales Representative Gender Distribution

Male
Male
68%
Female
Female
32%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among direct sales representatives, 31.6% of them are women, while 68.4% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among direct sales representatives is White, which makes up 72.9% of all direct sales representatives.

  • The most common foreign language among direct sales representatives is Spanish at 69.1%.

Online Courses For Direct Sales Representative That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure  

1. HubSpot Sales Representative

coursera

Whether you're completely new to sales and looking to start a new career, or you want to grow in your current sales role, this five-course career training program from the inbound sales experts at HubSpot can help you reach your career goals.\n\nYou’ll start by learning the basics of sales enablement and how sales and marketing teams can collaborate to create and keep relationships with their targeted buyers. You’ll develop data-driven sales goals and influential content to enable you to...

2. Salesforce Sales Development Representative

coursera

If you’ve always wanted a rewarding career, the tech sales industry may be the path for you. If you’re an ambitious problem-solver who likes to win, you’ll find tech sales not only fulfilling, but lucrative as well. As the tech industry continuously introduces innovative services and products, tech sales roles have become more crucial than ever. SDRs are in the front lines of the tech biz, connecting with customers and clients, and coming up with the smartest solutions for their problems. Sales...

3. The Complete B2B Sales Masterclass: 6 Courses in 1

udemy
4.2
(363)

1. Generate Leads, 2. Pitch, 3. Close & Handle Any Objection: Get Certified in Cutting Edge, Non-Pushy B2B Sales System...

Show More Online Courses For Direct Sales Representative
Job type you want
Full Time
Part Time
Internship
Temporary

Best States For a Direct Sales Representative

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a direct sales representative. The best states for people in this position are Maine, Minnesota, Washington, and Oregon. Direct sales representatives make the most in Maine with an average salary of $69,856. Whereas in Minnesota and Washington, they would average $63,662 and $63,617, respectively. While direct sales representatives would only make an average of $60,943 in Oregon, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Maine

Total Direct Sales Representative Jobs: 353
Highest 10% Earn:
$101,000
Location Quotient:
1.02

$69,856

Avg. Salary

View 353 Direct Sales Representative Jobs In ME

2. Rhode Island

Total Direct Sales Representative Jobs: 392
Highest 10% Earn:
$89,000
Location Quotient:
1.24

$58,409

Avg. Salary

View 392 Direct Sales Representative Jobs In RI

3. Minnesota

Total Direct Sales Representative Jobs: 1,825
Highest 10% Earn:
$89,000
Location Quotient:
1.06

$63,662

Avg. Salary

View 1,825 Direct Sales Representative Jobs In MN
Full List Of Best States For Direct Sales Representatives

How Do Direct Sales Representatives Rate Their Jobs?

Working as a Direct Sales Representative? Share your experience anonymously.
Overall Rating*
Career Growth
Work/Life balance
Pay/Salary

Top Direct Sales Representative Employers

Most Common Employers For Direct Sales Representative

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Standard Chartered$75,509$36.3024
2Progressive$50,187$24.13113
3Mediacom Communications$47,828$22.99115
4Cable ONE$47,070$22.6322
5Comcast Technology Solutions$46,461$22.34377
6DISH Network$43,701$21.0130
7Allstate$43,165$20.7558
8PepsiCo$42,605$20.4828
9Knology$42,267$20.3236
10Cablevision$41,569$19.9940
Show More

Direct Sales Representative Videos

Working with PhoneWatch - Direct Sales Rep

Direct Sales Representative Related Careers

Direct Sales Representative Related Jobs

What Similar Roles Do

Resume For Related Jobs

Updated April 6, 2023