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What is a sales internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted experts
Frederik Beuk,
John Cicala Ph.D.
introduction image

Being a sales intern means you will be assisted in taking your first steps into the universe of business. You will observe the work of a sales team and a manager, performing entry-level tasks under supervision while absorbing experience.

Your duties might include administrative tasks, doing research, receiving phone calls and answering emails, attending to clients, and carrying out market research. You will learn many things about clients, products, and desire. But, perhaps, the most important thing you will learn is that selling is an art. What it all boils down to is talent.

Sales is a flexible and lucrative career with many available paths and positions. Doing an internship will significantly increase your chances of getting hired, allowing you to not get lost in the business on your first day at a real job.

What general advice would you give to a sales internship?

Frederik Beuk

Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Akron

The key consideration is whether you really want to maximize your initial salary. For instance, envision two job opportunities: one offering a salary of $50,000 per year, where you'd be the most junior team member, and the other providing $75,000 per year, with the caveat that you would be the sole sales representative for the firm. The optimal choice is to prioritize learning opportunities. In this context, being the lone salesperson for a company that compensates its highest-earning sales professional $75,000 might not be your superior option. Instead, seek a position that offers the greatest potential for learning. Subsequently, demonstrate your negotiating prowess, a critical sales skill, by securing a slightly higher salary. However, it's essential not to fixate on maximizing your starting salary. Your career requires a long-term strategy, and you have several decades ahead of you to maximize income.
ScoreSales InternshipUS Average
Salary
2.7

Avg. Salary $34,460

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.1

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
3.8
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 5.22%

Black or African American 3.90%

Hispanic or Latino 14.59%

Unknown 3.72%

White 72.34%

Gender

female 47.84%

male 52.16%

Age - 48
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48
Stress level
7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance
4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Sales internship career paths

Key steps to become a sales internship

  1. Explore sales internship education requirements

    Most common sales internship degrees

    Bachelor's

    82.5 %

    Associate

    7.2 %

    Master's

    5.1 %
  2. Start to develop specific sales internship skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Customer Service18.16%
    Sales Intern14.92%
    PowerPoint5.25%
    CRM3.69%
    Work Ethic3.49%
  3. Complete relevant sales internship training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New sales interns learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a sales internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real sales internship resumes.
  4. Research sales internship duties and responsibilities

    • Track leads and manage accounts with SalesForce.
    • Produce press releases and distribute via multiple platforms such as the company website, email, twitter, etc.
    • Generate content for YouTube videos and penned the channel s description.
    • Redesign the public website with a focus on SEO, CRM, usability, and social media.
  5. Prepare your sales internship resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your sales internship resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a sales internship resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable sales internship resume templates

    Build a professional sales internship 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 sales internship resume.
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    Sales Internship Resume
    Sales Internship Resume
    Sales Internship Resume
  6. Apply for sales internship jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a sales internship job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first sales internship job

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Average sales internship salary

The average sales internship salary in the United States is $34,460 per year or $17 per hour. Sales internship salaries range between $25,000 and $45,000 per year.

Average sales internship salary
$34,460 Yearly
$16.57 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do sales interns rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

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1 star

Sales internship reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Pros

Communicating and helping my clients.

Cons

The travel was extensive. Sometimes. It took more than month to close a deaĺ.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020
Pros

I love to engage the public and meet new faces. I enjoy explaining all of the benefits of the product I am selling, and making the customer feel important and well informed.

Cons

I don't like feeling like I haven't did a great at job at making customers feel comfortable and confident about where and who they are purchasing from.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020
Pros

i enjoy the interaction with people, listen the customer in order to convert him/her into your friend, detect and help customer with his/her needs.

Cons

People without vision, dreams and selfishness.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.