How To Become A Sales Management Trainee: What It Is and Career Path

What is a sales management trainee and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Experts

Jon-Paul McCool,

Joseph Hancock

A sales management trainee is usually a student or a recent graduate enrolled in a degree course in sales management, marketing, or a related business area. This is an entry-level position that allows you to learn sales management while working under the supervision of a seasoned professional.

As a sales management trainee, you have to possess all the qualities of a successful salesperson. You need to be self-driven and self-motivated, have bubbling energy, excellent communication skills, and have a mysterious knack for selling things.

Your job will be to assist the sales team in various tasks such as developing the business and acquiring new leads, providing customer service, negotiating terms of business agreements, collecting customer data, researching market trends, and many more.

What general advice would you give to a Sales Management Trainee?

Jon-Paul McCool

Associate Professor of Geography; Environmental Science Program Coordinator, Valparaiso University

In terms of technical skills, the ability to utilize GIS for more than basic mapping. The ability to do more in depth analytical processes and to utilize the mobile components to the software. However, employers are stressing the need for new employees to have drive and individual initiative. Soft skills associated with independence, and the ability to learn on your own are going to be essential.

ScoreSales Management TraineeUS Average

Salary

3.7

Avg. Salary $47,400

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.4

Growth Rate 5%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.66%

Asian 7.18%

Black or African American 8.87%

Hispanic or Latino 16.53%

Unknown 4.67%

White 62.09%

Gender

female 28.75%

male 71.25%

Age - 42

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 - 42

Stress Level

9.4

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

5.2

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.6

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a sales management trainee

Explore sales management trainee education requirements

Most common sales management trainee degrees

Bachelor's

81.6 %

Associate

7.8 %

High School Diploma

4.3 %

Start to develop specific sales management trainee skills

Skills	Percentages
Business Development	21.31%
Business Sales	10.40%
Enterprise Management	10.08%
Management Training	7.95%
Store Management	7.67%

Complete relevant sales management trainee training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New sales management trainees 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 management trainee based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real sales management trainee resumes.

Research sales management trainee duties and responsibilities

Monitor and manage payroll and controllable expenses within company guidelines.
Manage customer database, product updates/upgrades, accounts payable/receivable, and payroll.
Assist management team in daily facility operations that include managing performance of associates and inventory shrink management.
Inform on how to navigate through Salesforce.

Prepare your sales management trainee resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your sales management trainee 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 management trainee 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 Management Trainee Resume templates

Build a professional Sales Management Trainee 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 Management Trainee resume.

Apply for sales management trainee jobs

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

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

How do sales management trainees rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Sales Management Trainee reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

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.

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2020

Pros

Marketing products from a traceable companies to consumers and providing a good service to the clients .