What does a route sales representative do?
A route sales representative is responsible for offering goods and services to customers in a designated area. Route sales representatives work closely with the marketing team to develop effective sales strategies, create sales pitches, and release promotional offers to generate sales, increase revenues, and build the organization's profitability. They also research the latest industry trends to identify sales opportunities and communicate findings to the team for new service offerings. A route sales representative must have excellent customer service and communication skills to assist customers in their inquiries and concerns and negotiate sales contracts.
Route sales representative responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real route sales representative resumes:
- Manage invoice collection and customer issues.
- Drive CDL rate truck over assign territory.
- Complete route in timely manner via CDL truck.
- Utilize math skills to process payments while on route.
- Maintain cleanliness of truck and inspect truck for imperfections and safe operation.
- Distribute daily newspapers to customers; acquire new business via effective sales and marketing techniques.
- DOT require, due to the weight and amount of product being distribute to these accounts.
- Perform all work associate with ordering, delivering, merchandising product and upselling to establish and new accounts.
- Unload product via loading dock or using lift-gate onto truck dolly, pallets or flat carts outside in all weather conditions.
- Maintain warehouse cleanliness and organization.
- Gather daily inventory of newspapers sell to subscribers.
- Work with upper management to secure Medicare approval for durable medical equipment provider status to skil nursing facilities and hospitals
- Pull necessary merchandise from warehouse and load truck using warehouse equipment such as forklift, pallet jacks, and conveyors.
- Deliver and sell Pepsi products to corporate businesses and retail establishments.
Route sales representative skills and personality traits
We calculated that 17% of Route Sales Representatives are proficient in CDL, DOT, and Strong Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Hand-eye coordination, Math skills, and Patience.
We break down the percentage of Route Sales Representatives that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- CDL, 17%
Obtained a Commercial Drivers Licenses (CDL) Class A, in order to be qualified for employment.
- DOT, 16%
Sell and deliver quality foods to scheduled customers* Provide great customer service* Responsible for financial transactions/ DOT certified
- Strong Customer Service, 12%
Demonstrate a strong Customer Service orientation.
- Customer Accounts, 8%
Experience managing and maintaining over 65 customer accounts and ensuring proper attention to inventory, merchandising, and customer satisfaction.
- Work Ethic, 7%
Demonstrated a strong work ethic, good organizational skills with a sincere willingness and desire to learn continuously.
- Upselling, 5%
Run route according to schedule while upselling to increase ticket average * Increase customer base * Complete daily paperwork and deposit.
Common skills that a route sales representative uses to do their job include "cdl," "dot," and "strong customer service." You can find details on the most important route sales representative responsibilities below.
Hand-eye coordination. The most essential soft skill for a route sales representative to carry out their responsibilities is hand-eye coordination. This skill is important for the role because "drivers need to observe their surroundings at all times while operating a vehicle." Additionally, a route sales representative resume shows how their duties depend on hand-eye coordination: "position required frequent interactions with store management and coordination of sales goals with other company representatives. "
Math skills. Another essential skill to perform route sales representative duties is math skills. Route sales representatives responsibilities require that "because delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers sometimes take payment, they must be able to count cash and make change quickly and accurately." Route sales representatives also use math skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "utilized math skills to process payments while on route. "
Patience. route sales representatives are also known for patience, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to route sales representative responsibilities, because "when driving through heavy traffic congestion, delivery drivers must remain calm and composed." A route sales representative resume example shows how patience is used in the workplace: "handled customer inquiries with patience and perseverance. "
Sales skills. route sales representative responsibilities often require "sales skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "driver/sales workers are expected to persuade customers to purchase new or different products." This resume example shows what route sales representatives do with sales skills on a typical day: "implemented and directed a cost of goods sold accounting process to accurately report direct sales profitability margin. "
Visual ability. A commonly-found skill in route sales representative job descriptions, "visual ability" is essential to what route sales representatives do. Route sales representative responsibilities rely on this skill because "to have a driver’s license, delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers must be able to pass a state vision test." You can also see how route sales representative duties rely on visual ability in this resume example: "improved the visual quailty of all displays, increased the sales by insuring pos was in place at all times. "
Customer-service skills. While "customer-service skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to route sales representative responsibilities. Much of what a route sales representative does relies on this skill, seeing as "when completing deliveries, drivers often interact with customers and should make a good impression to ensure repeat business." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of route sales representatives: "provide quality customer service by delivering products, services, and direct sales to customers on a weekly route. "
The three companies that hire the most route sales representatives are:
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Compare different route sales representatives
Route sales representative vs. Driver/merchandiser
A driver/merchandiser's role in society is to directly deliver products to customers on time, bearing good communication skills to interpret and relay messages and instructions. A driver/merchandiser is also tasked to check on the truck's condition, repair or replace damaged parts, and deliver it to reliable auto shops if the damage is severe. They must follow road guidelines and laws imposed by the state or city where they do the job.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a route sales representative are more likely to require skills like "strong customer service," "work ethic," "strong work ethic," and "upselling." On the other hand, a job as a driver/merchandiser requires skills like "pre-trip," "rotate product," "hand trucks," and "merchandise product." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Driver/merchandisers tend to make the most money working in the education industry, where they earn an average salary of $46,233. In contrast, route sales representatives make the biggest average salary, $53,729, in the education industry.driver/merchandisers tend to reach similar levels of education than route sales representatives. In fact, driver/merchandisers are 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Route sales representative vs. Pizza delivery driver
A pizza delivery driver is primarily in charge of delivering pizza and other orders to homes, establishments, and other locations, ensuring accuracy and timeliness. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their place or company of employment, it typically includes checking to see if the orders are complete and accurate before leaving the restaurant, securing invoices, and accepting and processing payments. Moreover, there are also instances where they may perform various tasks at restaurants, such as assembling pizza boxes, responding to inquiries, and maintaining the cleanliness of different areas.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real route sales representative resumes. While route sales representative responsibilities can utilize skills like "cdl," "dot," "strong customer service," and "customer accounts," pizza delivery drivers use skills like "basic math," "taking care," "credit card accounts," and "pizza hut."
On average, pizza delivery drivers earn a lower salary than route sales representatives. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, pizza delivery drivers earn the most pay in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $35,402. Whereas route sales representatives have higher pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $53,729.pizza delivery drivers earn similar levels of education than route sales representatives in general. They're 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Route sales representative vs. Driver
Drivers are responsible for safely transporting people, packages, or goods from one destination to another. They should be familiar with the different routes that may be taken to reach the desired goal. They should be expert navigators and may use navigation apps to help them along the way. They should also be familiar with the basic mechanics of the vehicle they are using and the proper maintenance and cleaning needed to ensure that the car is running well. Drivers are expected to have excellent customer relation skills, a strong sense of direction, and superb organizations.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from route sales representative resumes include skills like "strong customer service," "customer accounts," "work ethic," and "strong work ethic," whereas a driver is more likely to list skills in "basic math," "safety rules," "cleanliness," and "safety regulations. "
Drivers earn the highest salary when working in the manufacturing industry, where they receive an average salary of $39,688. Comparatively, route sales representatives have the highest earning potential in the education industry, with an average salary of $53,729.When it comes to education, drivers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to route sales representatives. In fact, they're 0.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Route sales representative vs. Driver sales
Types of route sales representative
Updated January 8, 2025
