How To Become a Direct Sales Representative
Summary. We reviewed real candidate profiles to learn the best path to become a direct sales representative. We'll guide you through the education, experiences, and skills hiring managers look for in a direct sales representative.
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Most companies require a direct sales representative to have a bachelor's degree degree in a related field, such as business or communication.
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It's important to have relevant work experience, with typical job requirements ranging from 2-4 years in related fields.
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Common job titles before becoming a direct sales representative include customer service representative, sales representative, and sales associate.
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Hiring managers expect a direct sales representative to have soft skills such as interpersonal skills, physical stamina, and self-confidence.
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Once you have all the required skills and experience, it takes an average of less than 1 month of job training to become a direct sales representative.
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Getting a certification as a Certified Sales Professional (CSP) will help you to earn more as a direct sales representative.
We've found that 53.4% of direct sales representatives have earned a bachelor's degree. Furthermore, 4.2% earned their master's degrees before becoming a direct sales representative. While it's true that most direct sales representatives have a college degree, it's generally possible to become one with only a high school degree. In fact, one out of every six direct sales representatives did not spend the extra money to attend college.
The direct sales representatives who went onto college to earn a more in-depth education generally studied business and communication, while a small population of direct sales representatives studied marketing and psychology.
How to become a Direct Sales Representative in 5 steps:
- Step 1: Explore direct sales representative education
- Step 2: Develop direct sales representative skills
- Step 3: Complete relevent training/internship
- Step 4: Research direct sales representative duties
- Step 5: Prepare your resume
Key Steps To Become a Direct Sales Representative
Explore Direct Sales Representative Education
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.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a direct sales representative. When we researched the most common majors for a direct sales representative, we found that they most commonly have business, communication and marketing.
Direct Sales Representative Major Percentages Business 34.90% Communication 7.60% Marketing 7.10% Psychology 5.30% Other Degrees 45.20% Develop Direct Sales Representative Skills
It'll be a good idea to develop direct sales representative skills before applying for a job. Here are some skills commonly requested in direct sales representative job descriptions:
Skills Percentages Customer Service 33.39% Direct Sales 20.11% TV 15.07% Work Ethic 4.03% Technical Troubleshooting 3.23% Complete Relevent Training/Internship
Direct sales representatives spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. During this time, new direct sales representatives learn the skills and techniques required for their specific job and employer. The chart below shows how much time it takes to gain competency as a direct sales representative based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real direct sales representative resumes.
Average Amount Of Time At Training
Research Direct Sales Representative Duties
When you decide to become a direct sales representative, It's important to know what duties and responsibilities are required for this position. Some common responsibilities are a part of most direct sales representative jobs. Here is a list of the main duties that define the role:
- Manage accounts and create invoices via QuickBooks.
- Achieve and maintain high-volume sales output, for cell phones and broadband products to stay employ with company.
- Contact medicare eligible recipients to sell medicare advantage plans through in-home meetings, community seminars and direct telesales.
- Canvass assigned sales territory and solicit orders for new or upgrade cable, broadband and digital phone services.
- Generate revenue by selling and upselling services while developing client base throughout territory.
- Prospect and generate sales revenue by adding new program residential customers and cross selling and upselling current residential customers.
Prepare Your Resume
Finally, when you already have checked the skills and responsibilities for this role, you can start creating your resume. Everything that goes into creating a perfect resume can take hours, days, or even weeks. No worries, we created a resume builder to make this process as easy as possible with tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and a summary.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Direct Sales Representative Resume templates
Build a professional Direct 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 Direct Sales Representative resume.Apply For a Direct Sales Representative Job
Direct Sales Representative Jobs
