Summary. We reviewed real candidate profiles to learn the best path to become a marketing/sales representative. We'll guide you through the education, experiences, and skills hiring managers look for in a marketing/sales representative.
Most companies require a marketing/sales representative to have a bachelor's degree degree in a related field, such as business or marketing.
It's important to have relevant work experience, with typical job requirements ranging from 2-4 years in related fields.
Common job titles before becoming a marketing/sales representative include sales representative, sales associate, and customer service representative.
Hiring managers expect a marketing/sales representative to have soft skills such as customer-service skills, interpersonal skills, and physical stamina.
Once you have all the required skills and experience, it takes an average of less than 1 month of job training to become a marketing/sales representative.
Getting a certification as a Certified Sales Professional (CSP) will help you to earn more as a marketing/sales representative.
We've found that 66.5% of marketing/sales representatives have earned a bachelor's degree. Furthermore, 5.2% earned their master's degrees before becoming a marketing/sales representative. While it's true that most marketing/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 seven marketing/sales representatives did not spend the extra money to attend college.
Those marketing/sales representatives who do attend college, typically earn either business degrees or marketing degrees. Less commonly earned degrees for marketing/sales representatives include communication degrees or management degrees.
If you're interested in becoming a marketing/sales representative, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 66.5% of marketing/sales representatives have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 5.2% of marketing/sales representatives have master's degrees. Even though most marketing/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 marketing/sales representative. When we researched the most common majors for a marketing/sales representative, we found that they most commonly have business, marketing and communication.
Marketing/Sales Representative Major | Percentages |
---|---|
Business | 30.50% |
Marketing | 14.20% |
Communication | 9.40% |
Management | 5.10% |
Other Degrees | 40.70% |
It'll be a good idea to develop marketing/sales representative skills before applying for a job. Here are some skills commonly requested in marketing/sales representative job descriptions:
Skills | Percentages |
---|---|
Customer Relations | 16.35% |
Business Relationships | 15.32% |
Sales REP | 11.47% |
Product Knowledge | 10.84% |
Customer Service | 8.36% |
Marketing/sales representatives spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. During this time, new marketing/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 marketing/sales representative based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real marketing/sales representative resumes.
When you decide to become a marketing/sales representative, It's important to know what duties and responsibilities are required for this position. Some common responsibilities are a part of most marketing/sales representative jobs. Here is a list of the main duties that define the role:
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.