How to hire a senior sales specialist

How to hire a senior sales specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior sales specialist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a senior sales specialist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior sales specialist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior sales specialist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the senior sales specialist you need to hire. Certain senior sales specialist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect senior sales specialist also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of senior sales specialists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Senior Sales Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Sales Specialist	Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses, government agencies, and other organizations. They contact customers, explain product features, answer any questions that their customers may have, and negotiate prices.	$24-51
   Territory Representative	A territory representative is responsible for selling the company's goods and services within a designated area, negotiating offers with potential clients, and identifying business opportunities according to market trends and customer demands. Territory representatives analyze the sales performance and strategize techniques to reach sales targets by coordinating with the whole sales team... Show more	$14-24
   Specialty Representative	A specialty representative is responsible for selling specific goods and services to target customers through remote communication or site visits, depending on business requirements and client needs. Specialty representatives assist the marketing and sales team in delivering high-quality sales strategies and promotional techniques to attract customers, identifying their needs by researching industry trends to drive more revenue resources and achieve sales goals and objectives... Show more	$12-44

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Sales Training
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Product Knowledge
   • Account Management
   • Patients
   • Led Training
   • CRM
   • Opportunity Management
   • Enterprise Sales
   • Customer Relationships
   • Neurology
   • Sales Growth
   • Oncology

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage contracts base on hospital GPO.
   • Manage the promotion of neuroscience portfolio to psychiatry and neurology offices, including long-term care facilities.
   • Manage GPO contracts, work with distributors to ensure supply chain efficiency; consult customer through full-product integration sales cycle.
   • Manage blood bank solutions for blood plasma expander as well as blood infusion for chemotherapy, emergency room, and trauma.
   • Manage territory as a solo dermatology specialty representative in Maryland and Washington DC.
   • Generate leads and evangelize product to physicians in orthopedics, hematology, internal medicine, surgery, critical care and cardiology.

   More senior sales specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior sales specialist job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A senior sales specialist can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, senior sales specialists' average salary in hawaii is 55% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level senior sales specialists 54% less than senior-level senior sales specialists.
   • Certifications. A senior sales specialist with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a senior sales specialist's salary.

   Average senior sales specialist salary

   $74,361yearly

   $35.75 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior sales specialist salary

   $50,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average senior sales specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$115,988	$56
   2	Washington	$100,480	$48
   3	Maryland	$96,286	$46
   4	New York	$92,839	$45
   5	Nevada	$92,368	$44
   6	Oregon	$85,360	$41
   7	Ohio	$84,152	$40
   8	Colorado	$83,144	$40
   9	Arizona	$82,063	$39
   10	Connecticut	$81,644	$39
   11	Massachusetts	$80,855	$39
   12	Missouri	$80,297	$39
   13	North Carolina	$78,062	$38
   14	Indiana	$71,955	$35
   15	Texas	$68,880	$33
   16	Pennsylvania	$65,932	$32
   17	Illinois	$65,897	$32
   18	Florida	$65,694	$32
   19	Tennessee	$65,078	$31
   20	Minnesota	$65,015	$31

   Average senior sales specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	VMware	$135,420	$65.11
   2	Microsoft	$134,283	$64.56	2
   3	SAP	$129,215	$62.12	80
   4	Lumileds	$120,541	$57.95
   5	Hitachi Vantara	$117,952	$56.71
   6	NetApp	$113,821	$54.72	6
   7	Citrix	$112,191	$53.94
   8	Citi	$111,604	$53.66	3
   9	Edwards Lifesciences	$109,437	$52.61	4
   10	Novartis	$107,153	$51.52	1
   11	Amazon	$106,724	$51.31	167
   12	Infineon Technologies	$104,256	$50.12
   13	IBM	$101,722	$48.90	44
   14	Johnson & Johnson	$98,144	$47.18	90
   15	Deutsche Bank	$97,353	$46.80	2
   16	MSCI	$94,473	$45.42	13
   17	Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group	$93,859	$45.12
   18	ChyronHego	$92,536	$44.49
   19	Mastercard	$91,819	$44.14
   20	Medline	$90,569	$43.54	42

4. Writing a senior sales specialist job description

   A senior sales specialist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a senior sales specialist job description:

   Senior sales specialist job description example

   The Senior Imaging Sales Specialist will market and sell the assigned product in an assigned territory to hospitals, health systems, doctor's offices, and clinics utilizing proven sales and business expertise to sell the features and benefits of the assigned product across a multitude of stakeholders within a complex sales environment.
   Responsibilities:
   Develop and execute a territory business plan which aligns with the overall product Marketing and Sales strategy to maximize effectiveness and produce sales results.
   Demonstrate the ability to uncover customer needs and apply appropriate marketing resources to satisfy those needs, overcome objections, gain agreement and advance the sales process
   Build and maintain strong relationships with all key stakeholders across multiple settings (e.g. sonographers, medical directors, technical directors, pharmacy directors, purchasing directors, etc.)
   Maintain strong clinical, competitive and marketplace knowledge and apply relevant information in selling situations
   Communicate clearly the economic impact of the company's products to financial stakeholders within local and regional health systems, provide reimbursement support and, as appropriate, manage local contracting
   Provide echo contrast education to cardiology fellowship programs and cardiac ultrasound schools
   Work with integrated teams (e.g. Marketing, Medical Affairs, Sales Management) and with external support resources to prioritize business challenges and propose solutions which ultimately benefit our customers and the patients they serve
   Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives for the purpose of developing new marketing resources, training materials, sales tactics and/or sales analytics applications
   Attend and actively participate in sales meetings, conference/video calls and training sessions
   Actively demonstrate the company values of accountability, quality, customer service, efficiency, collaboration and safety
   Ensure a compliant, principled culture to promote the company's products and adhere to the highest ethical standards
   
   Qualifications:
   Minimum requirements include BA or BS from an accredited 4-year college or university
   Minimum of 3-5 years of demonstrated successful sales experience in pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device or equivalent industries
   Proficient in using computer software applications and video conferencing platforms, to include MS Office and CRM
   Strong oral and written communications skills, with ability to present clinical information in a compelling and persuasive manner
   Demonstrated ability to identify problems, develop effective strategies, and quickly implement solutions
   Hospital sales experience preferred

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find senior sales specialists for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any senior sales specialists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level senior sales specialists with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your senior sales specialist job on Zippia to find and attract quality senior sales specialist candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as salesjobs, salesheads, allretailjobs.com, sales trax.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit senior sales specialists, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new senior sales specialist

   Once you've found the senior sales specialist candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new senior sales specialist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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