What Does an Outside Sales Representative Do?

Q: How much do outside sales reps make?

Outside sales reps make approximately $77,600 per year. This salary fluctuates with the experience of the sales representative as well as the pay structure of their company. Experienced sales representatives are able to command a higher salary or better commission percentages, and their salaries can exceed $350,000 per year. The average tenure of a sales representative is one to three years.

An Outside Sales Representative specializes in customer service and relations, focusing on reaching sales targets through selling and networking with clients. Among the duties revolve around reaching out to customers through calls, email, or even arranging appointments, monitoring and keeping an organized record of sales, communicating with managers or supervisors, adhering to the company's policies and regulations, and keeping extensive knowledge about the brand and the trends. Besides building rapport with customers, it is also essential for an Outside Sales Representative to be proactive and create strategies to help meet the sales target.

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Outside Sales Representative Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real outside sales representative resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

Manage and maintain a weekly quota for broadband, and other wireless products.
Utilize CRM database to manage and track prospect interaction to ensure accurate documentation of window requirements and ongoing communication.
Web dev, SEO, PPC etc . )
Participate in the launching and marketing of broadband internet in Orlando with great success.
Provide care, materials, and essential tools for doctors and nurses working on patients in the E.R.
Create and maintain successful business partnerships with customers by analyzing, meeting and understanding their needs and patients needs.
Perform demonstrations of company products and quoted product packages and home projects including roofing, windows, decks, and fences.
Communicate activities to external and internal audiences utilizing a CRM system.
Prepare and deliver sales proposals/presentations and follow up with key decision makers.
Communicate and educate referral sources on Medicare, Medi-Cal and private insurance guidelines.
Perform regular sales visits throughout assign territory to develop relationship with independent grocery and convenient stores.
Create and maintain a database for tracking and maintaining patients' Medicare eligibility for ambulance transport.
Provide merchandising assistance to customers by building displays, negotiating placement, replenishing permanent secondary displays and using POS materials effectively.
Experience using saving analysis document, sales tracking systems and salesforce.com
Market and develop new business using cold canvassing, networking, telemarketing, and direct mail campaigns.

Outside Sales Representative Job Description

Between the years 2018 and 2028, outside sales representative jobs are expected to undergo a growth rate described as "slower than average" at 2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So if the thought "should I become an outside sales representative?" Has crossed your mind, maybe you should take the growth rate into account. In addition, the number of outside sales representative opportunities that are projected to become available by 2028 is 35,400.

An outside sales representative annual salary averages $60,443, which breaks down to $29.06 an hour. However, outside sales representatives can earn anywhere from upwards of $41,000 to $87,000 a year. This means that the top-earning outside sales representatives make $45,000 more than the lowest-earning ones.

As is the case with most jobs, it takes work to become an outside sales representative. Sometimes people change their minds about their career after working in the profession. That's why we looked into some other professions that might help you find your next opportunity. These professions include an outside sales, business development representative, outside sales consultant, and sales development representative.

Learn More About Outside Sales Representative Job Descriptions

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12 Outside Sales Representative Resume Examples

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Anthony Willis Outside Sales Representative Contact Information New York, NY (950) 555-3028 awillis@example.com Skills Makeup Stock Room Spa Services Skin Care Cloud Business Development Perms Sales Floor Potential Customers Product Knowledge Employment History Outside Sales Representative 2020 - Present Macy's New York, NY Assisted customers with product knowledge instruction. Ensured quick and efficient check out experience with POS Inside Sales Associate 2019 - 2020 J. C. Penney New York, NY Clear oral/written communication Team building All ABout Flagging LLC, 8383 NE Sandy Blvd Portland, OR Clerical support Assisted on the sales floor and maintained sizing, colorization and organization of merchandise. Monitor and keep sales floor stocked with merchandise Cosmetologist 2015 - 2019 J. C. Penney New York, NY Performed Cosmetology Services with very strong time management. Performed beauty services including shampooing, cutting, coloring, and styling hair. Practice cosmetology in the field of hair and beauty in a team environment. Organized retail products on the shelves. Maintained top status and was a Senior Hairstylist Received numerous awards Kept up with competitive sales environment Education Bachelor's Degree Business 2012 - 2015 Pennsylvania State University Main, PA


Dorothy Bennett Outside Sales Representative Contact Info Kansas City, MO (510) 555-8901 dbennett@example.com Skills Customer ServiceSales InternPowerpointDirectvVerizonRetail SalesCustomer BaseSales ConsultantsCustomer ConfidenceSales Contracts Employment History Outside Sales Representative 2020 - Present ADT Kansas City, MO Completed corporate training course for business to business sales. Generated new customers through cold calling and door-to-door soliciting. Perform security reviews for current and new customers. Canvass door to door throughout metro Detroit to reach potential customers and close business for residential fire and security monitoring. Inside Sales Internship 2019 - 2020 Sprint Overland Park, KS Analyzed communication needs of customer and consulted with specialist regarding technical problems. Lead a repair team of 8 to 10 Technical Consultants. Assist new trainees adjust to sales floor. Maintained solid product knowledge and all other aspects of customer service. Obtain and exceed sales goals while providing excellent customer service. Managed a team of 30+ employees to perform excellent customer service and up selling. Retail Sales Consultant (Part-Time) 2018 - 2019 AT&T Oakbrook Terrace, IL Preform as a Retail Sales Consultant by providing excellent customer service as per company guidelines. Created new clientele for U-Verse cable provider Demonstrated products and showed multiple features available to new customers Retail Sales Consultant Promoted new products and services. Mentor new sales consultants to increase sales and improve customer satisfaction. Retail sales clerk known for exemplary customer service, team player mindset and exceptional cash-handling accuracy. Education Bachelor's Degree Business 2016 - 2019 DeVry University Oakbrook Terrace, IL


Lauren Ellis Outside Sales Representative Bellingham, WA (520) 555-5620 lellis@example.com Experience Outside Sales Representative2019 - Present Comcast•Bellingham, WA Resulted in generated incremental revenue growth of 10% per year for 7 consecutive years. Prospected aggressively and presented products to residential areas during cold calls,. Experienced with Strata, Qualitap, Saleslook, and CRM programs. Supported local advertising sales team, which includes Local Sales Manager and 5 account executives. Account Executive2014 - 2019 Comcast•Bellingham, WA Direct sales to residential customers for internet, cable television and voice/data services. Handled customer accounts; responded to cable and Internet inquiries; provided support to the sales team; verified sales accounts. Achieved over 200% of internet sales quota, a top company initiative. Manager Trainee (Part-Time)2012 - 2014 Welcome Home Realty•Bellingham, WA Scheduled and received shipments Handled cash transactions while maintaining professional customer service Synchronized delivery and assortment of customer orders. Generated repeat business through exceptional customer service. Followed company meal compliance as well as loss prevention policies. Skills Sales ProcessProduct PlacementManagement Training ProgramPowerpointCRMRetail SalesMROBusiness OwnersInfrastructureMenards Education Bachelor's Degree Business2011 - 2014 Western Washington University•Bellingham, WA

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Outside Sales Representative Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 17% of Outside Sales Representatives are proficient in Customer Service, Work Ethic, and Sales Process. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Interpersonal skills, and Physical stamina.

We break down the percentage of Outside Sales Representatives that have these skills listed on their resume here:

Customer Service, 17%
Established relationships with commercial landscaping accounts and built entire customer base by providing excellent communication, customer service and product knowledge.
Work Ethic, 8%
Established new major accounts through aggressive work ethics and repairing previously strained relationships with existing accounts.
Sales Process, 4%
Handled personal customer information and paperwork to provide professionalism throughout entire sales process from contract negotiations to product delivery.
Business Sales, 4%
Direct Sales representative, business-to-business sales of data communications and two-way radio products with top sales performance in territory.
Cold Calls, 4%
Serviced and managed existing account base and generated accounts through assertive prospecting, telemarketing, cold calling and referral development.
Product Knowledge, 4%
Interacted with diverse clientele in competitive environment, performing sales presentations and applying technical product knowledge to achieve customer expectations.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Outside Sales Representative Resume templates

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"customer service," "work ethic," and "sales process" aren't the only skills we found outside sales representatives list on their resumes. In fact, there's a whole list of outside sales representative responsibilities that we found, including:

The most important skills for an outside sales representative to have in this position are customer-service skills. In this excerpt that we gathered from a outside sales representative resume, you'll understand why: "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be able to listen to the customer’s needs and concerns before and after the sale." According to resumes we found, customer-service skills can be used by a outside sales representative in order to "assisted small businesses and financial institutions utilizing various sales techniques to fulfill product needs and provide an exceptional customer experience. "

Another commonly found skill for being able to perform outside sales representative duties is the following: interpersonal skills. According to a outside sales representative resume, "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be able to work well with many types of people." Check out this example of how outside sales representatives use interpersonal skills: "maintain and actively seek new accounts in my area of responsibility thru interpersonal communication and aggressive and passive sales techniques. "

Another skill that is quite popular among outside sales representatives is physical stamina. This skill is very critical to fulfilling every day responsibilities as is shown in this example from a outside sales representative resume: "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives are often on their feet for a long time and may carry heavy sample products." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "conduct sales presentations by physical visits to customer locations. "

An outside sales representative responsibilities sometimes require "self-confidence." The responsibilities that rely on this skills are shown by this resume excerpt: "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be confident and persuasive when making sales presentations" This resume example shows how this skill is used by outside sales representatives: "used active listening and persuasion to meet objections, gained confidence in working alone, and developed ways to build rapport. "

See the full list of outside sales representative skills.

Before becoming an outside sales representative, 67.3% earned their bachelor's degree. When it comes down to graduating with a master's degree, 3.5% outside sales representatives went for the extra education. If you're wanting to pursue this career, it may be possible to be successful with a high school degree. In fact, most outside sales representatives have a college degree. But about one out of every seven outside sales representatives didn't attend college at all.

The outside sales representatives who went onto college to earn a more in-depth education generally studied business and marketing, while a small population of outside sales representatives studied communication and management.

Once you're ready to become an outside sales representative, you should explore the companies that typically hire outside sales representatives. According to outside sales representative resumes that we searched through, outside sales representatives are hired the most by Rite-Hite, Sysco, and Csb. Currently, Rite-Hite has 1,004 outside sales representative job openings, while there are 921 at Sysco and 561 at Csb.

Since salary is important to some outside sales representatives, it's good to note that they are figured to earn the highest salaries at Microsoft, Baird, and DoorDash. If you were to take a closer look at Microsoft, you'd find that the average outside sales representative salary is $127,169. Then at Baird, outside sales representatives receive an average salary of $115,621, while the salary at DoorDash is $112,548.

View more details on outside sales representative salaries across the United States.

If you earned a degree from the top 100 educational institutions in the United States, you might want to take a look at Vector Marketing, Cintas, and Eli Lilly and Company. These three companies have hired a significant number of outside sales representatives from these institutions.

In general, outside sales representatives fulfill roles in the manufacturing and energy industries. While employment numbers are high in those industries, the outside sales representative annual salary is the highest in the manufacturing industry with $63,233 as the average salary. Meanwhile, the automotive and professional industries pay $62,120 and $60,545 respectively. This means that outside sales representatives who are employed in the manufacturing industry make 34.2% more than outside sales representatives who work in the retail Industry.

The three companies that hire the most prestigious outside sales representatives are:

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What Outside Saless Do

An outside sales representative is responsible for generating the company's sales and revenues by offering goods and services to existing and potential clients, responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns about the products, and researching on possible leads. Outside sales representatives monitor the current industry trends to identify new business opportunities that would help the business adjust to market changes to achieve profitability goals. An outside sales representative must have excellent communication and customer service skills, immediately resolving complaints and assisting on marketing promotions to gain sales prospects.

In this section, we take a look at the annual salaries of other professions. Take outside sales for example. On average, the outside sales annual salary is $16,849 higher than what outside sales representatives make on average every year.

While the salaries between these two careers can be different, they do share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both outside sales representatives and outside sales positions are skilled in customer service, work ethic, and sales process.

As far as similarities go, this is where it ends because an outside sales representative responsibility requires skills such as "lead generation," "excellent presentation," "building relationships," and "sales techniques." Whereas a outside sales is skilled in "first hand," "ongoing support," "flyers," and "local territory." So if you're looking for what truly separates the two careers, you've found it.

Outside sales really shine in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $83,118. Whereas outside sales representatives tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $63,233.

On average, outside sales reach similar levels of education than outside sales representatives. Outside sales are 0.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

What Are The Duties Of a Business Development Representative?

A business development representative's role is to find new business and client opportunities through market research and networking. They are primarily responsible for participating in creating strategies to enhance client relations, improve sales, and reach out to potential clients through calls, correspondence, and meetings. Moreover, it is also their responsibility to perform follow-up calls, offer recommendations, and even build rapport to strengthen client base. As a representative, it is essential to coordinate with managers and supervisors and adhere to policies and regulations.

Now we're going to look at the business development representative profession. On average, business development representatives earn a $13,203 lower salary than outside sales representatives a year.

While the salary may be different for these job positions, there is one similarity and that's a few of the skills needed to perform certain duties. We used info from lots of resumes to find that both outside sales representatives and business development representatives are known to have skills such as "customer service," "work ethic," and "sales process. "

But both careers also use different skills, according to real outside sales representative resumes. While outside sales representative responsibilities can utilize skills like "business sales," "crm," "sales contracts," and "building relationships," some business development representatives use skills like "bdr," "sales cycle," "account executives," and "wine."

On average, business development representatives earn a lower salary than outside sales representatives. There are industries that support higher salaries in each profession respectively. Interestingly enough, business development representatives earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $49,583. Whereas, outside sales representatives have higher paychecks in the manufacturing industry where they earn an average of $63,233.

On the topic of education, business development representatives earn similar levels of education than outside sales representatives. In general, they're 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

How an Outside Sales Consultant Compares

An outside sales consultant is responsible for conducting sales for both prospective and existing customers. Your duties may vary, but common tasks include traveling to meet potential and existing customers, organizing meetings with customers regularly, and educating customers on the benefits of products and services. As an outside sales representative, you are responsible for monitoring the new products, market conditions and competitors, and assisting in building the brand with the help of the marketing department.

Let's now take a look at the outside sales consultant profession. On average, these workers make higher salaries than outside sales representatives with a $16,158 difference per year.

Using outside sales representatives and outside sales consultants resumes, we found that both professions have similar skills such as "customer service," "sales process," and "business sales," but the other skills required are very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers as shown by resumes from each profession. Some of those differences include the skills required to complete responsibilities within each role. As an example of this, an outside sales representative is likely to be skilled in "work ethic," "strong work ethic," "excellent time management," and "sales rep," while a typical outside sales consultant is skilled in "in-home," "email marketing," "search engine," and "sales consultants."

Interestingly enough, outside sales consultants earn the most pay in the energy industry, where they command an average salary of $74,197. As mentioned previously, outside sales representatives highest annual salary comes from the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $63,233.

When it comes to education, outside sales consultants tend to earn similar education levels than outside sales representatives. In fact, they're 1.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Description Of a Sales Development Representative

A sales development representative qualifies leads at the sales funnel's initial stages. Sales development representatives need to conduct research for prospective clients and qualify the leads before handing them to the sales team. They develop sales strategies to attract buyers or solicit potential customers. They need to build relationships with their customers to determine their needs and qualify the viability of interests to drive sales. Also, they collaborate with the sales executives making certain that corporate targets and goals are met.

Now, we'll look at sales development representatives, who generally average a lower pay when compared to outside sales representatives annual salary. In fact, the difference is about $8,939 per year.

According to resumes from both outside sales representatives and sales development representatives, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "customer service," "sales process," and "cold calls. "

While some skills are shared by these professions, there are some differences to note. "work ethic," "business sales," "crm," and "strong work ethic" are skills that have shown up on outside sales representatives resumes. Additionally, sales development representative uses skills like sdr, account executives, linkedin, and outbound calls on their resumes.

Now, let's take a closer look at the financials in each career. The start-up industry tends to pay more for sales development representatives with an average of $54,512. While the highest outside sales representative annual salary comes from the manufacturing industry.

In general, sales development representatives reach similar levels of education when compared to outside sales representatives resumes. Sales development representatives are 0.7% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

What an Outside Sales Representative Does FAQs

How Much Do Outside Sales Reps Make?

Outside sales reps make approximately $77,600 per year. This salary fluctuates with the experience of the sales representative as well as the pay structure of their company.

Experienced sales representatives are able to command a higher salary or better commission percentages, and their salaries can exceed $350,000 per year. The average tenure of a sales representative is one to three years.

What Is Your Role As A Sales Representative?

Your role as a sales representative is to promote and service a company's products. There are several specific responsibilities important to all sales representatives relating to customer contact and service.

Have more questions? See all answers to common sales questions.

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Updated October 2, 2020