What does a Sales Professional do?
A sales professional is an employee who is responsible for the management and assessment of the effectiveness of a company's sales representatives and sales team. By setting sales goals, sales professionals work with other departments to learn more about the company's products and services while developing strategies for acquiring new clients. They analyze the company's track sales and status reports and present them to the top management to continually keep improving. Employers may require their sales professionals to have a bachelor's degree with working experience.
Sales professional responsibilities
A sales professional's responsibilities encompass a wide range of tasks. They use marketing data and sales techniques to optimize sales efficiency. They communicate and build relationships with customers, maintain a positive demeanor, and handle office administration tasks. Professionals also lead product training sessions, manage accounts, and provide technical support. Eric Gjerdevig, Lecturer in Marketing and Director for the Center for Professional Selling and Sales Technology at North Dakota State University, emphasizes the importance of learning and adaptability, stating, "Learning doesn't stop when you graduate. To excel, you need to continue to learn, develop new skills, and be adaptive."
Here are examples of responsibilities from real sales professional resumes:
- Track leads and manage accounts with SalesForce.
- Record client information and sales using SalesForce.
- Utilize Instagram and Facebook for marketing channel to promote diverse product lines.
- Preform daily sales tasks as provide outstanding customer service and greetings, operate POS register system, merchandise transfers and re-merchandising.
- Present PowerPoint presentations on how to be more effective with providing excellent customer service to customers
- Prioritize account management, POS operations, customer service problem-solving and relationship building in fast-pace setting.
- Take product pictures of shoes and clothing to upload to social media (Instagram).
- Maintain Facebook page; upload photos, create engaging posts, update event information and details.
- Create and maintain the social media aspect of business including: Facebook and public marketing schemes.
- Experience with making recommendations and selling merchandise for interior home projects such as painting, plumbing, electrical, etc.
- Research potential customers before making calls using LinkedIn.
- Create and maintain relationships with several area plumbing contractors.
- Aid management in gathering and analyzing data from CRM applications.
- Utilize diverse property sales tactics, including qualification and persuasion.
- Conduct PowerPoint presentations to the sales force for increase productivity.
Sales professional skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Sales Professionals are proficient in Product Knowledge, POS, and CRM. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Interpersonal skills, and Physical stamina.
We break down the percentage of Sales Professionals that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Product Knowledge, 13%
Led product training and clinical study sessions for several regional meetings which enhanced individual product knowledge and strengthened overall sales message.
- POS, 10%
Prioritize account management, POS operations, customer service problem-solving and relationship building in fast-paced setting.
- CRM, 8%
Worked extensively with business plans, compensation plans, CRM selection, channel development and customer/competitive surveys.
- Work Ethic, 7%
Demonstrated flexibility and superb work ethic in enthusiastically taking on special projects in addition to primary office administration responsibilities
- Sales Presentations, 6%
Learned and implemented face-to-face sales presentations Learned and implemented training system and team building Recruiting potential reps and providing hands on instruction
- Sales Techniques, 6%
Used marketing data and applicable sales techniques to maximize sales efficiency and effectiveness.
Most sales professionals use their skills in "product knowledge," "pos," and "crm" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential sales professional responsibilities here:
Customer-service skills. One of the key soft skills for a sales professional to have is customer-service skills. You can see how this relates to what sales professionals do because "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be able to listen to the customer’s needs and concerns before and after the sale." Additionally, a sales professional resume shows how sales professionals use customer-service skills: "modeled exceptional customer service skills and appropriate diagnostic sales techniques. "
Interpersonal skills. Many sales professional duties rely on interpersonal skills. "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be able to work well with many types of people," so a sales professional will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways sales professional responsibilities rely on interpersonal skills: "used excellent interpersonal communication, and strategic selling skills. "
Physical stamina. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of sales professionals is physical stamina. This skill is critical to many everyday sales professional duties, as "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: "prospected, led, and managed sales and business development to physicians and physical therapists in brand new territory. "
Self-confidence. For certain sales professional responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "self-confidence." The day-to-day duties of a sales professional rely on this skill, as "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be confident and persuasive when making sales presentations." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what sales professionals do: "self-motivated, confident, focused on customer satisfaction and retention. "
The three companies that hire the most sales professionals are:
- Advance Auto Parts435 sales professionals jobs
- Champion Window163 sales professionals jobs
- Kroger160 sales professionals jobs
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Compare different sales professionals
Sales professional vs. Outside sales
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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, sales professional responsibilities require skills like "pos," "sales techniques," "real estate," and "lead generation." Meanwhile a typical outside sales has skills in areas such as "first hand," "ongoing support," "flyers," and "hvac." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, outside sales reach similar levels of education than sales professionals. Outside sales are 1.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Sales professional vs. Product specialist/sales specialist
A product specialist/sales specialist is responsible for developing sales strategies, ensuring to reach sales targets and customer satisfaction. They typically offer products and services to walk-in clients or reach out to them through calls or correspondence, discuss product specifications, answer inquiries, conduct demonstrations, process payments, and handle issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and efficiently. Furthermore, a product specialist/ sales specialist must conduct research and analysis to identify new marketing opportunities, develop business plans, and plan sales events in adherence to the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real sales professional resumes. While sales professional responsibilities can utilize skills like "work ethic," "real estate," "retail sales," and "basic math," product specialists/sales specialists use skills like "product sales," "sales support," "business relationships," and "product demonstrations."
In general, product specialists/sales specialists achieve similar levels of education than sales professionals. They're 1.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sales professional vs. 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.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from sales professional resumes include skills like "crm," "work ethic," "sales techniques," and "strong work ethic," whereas a sales development representative is more likely to list skills in "sdr," "account executives," "linkedin," and "saas. "
When it comes to education, sales development representatives tend to earn similar degree levels compared to sales professionals. In fact, they're 1.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Sales professional vs. Associate sales representative
The duties of an associate sales representative depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. Their responsibilities typically revolve around reaching out to clients through calls or door-to-door visits, offering products and services, collecting payments, addressing issues and concerns, and performing corrective measures when necessary. An associate sales representative often has a quota and deadline to reach; therefore, it is essential to be sales driven and goal-oriented. Furthermore, one must adhere to the policies and regulations of the company.
Types of sales professional
Updated June 25, 2024
