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What is a territory representative and how to become one
Territory representatives are in charge of developing and managing a territory of customers patronizing the business. They grow sales and retain existing customers by providing excellent service. They prepare periodic plans for both the territory and customer to increase effectiveness and productivity. Furthermore, they complete and submit plans and all other necessary paperwork to the district manager periodically. Additionally, they manage inventory and identify the causes for slow sales in core products. Also, they maintain adequate levels of stock to support customer needs. Territory reps perform other tasks as assigned.
To become a territory representative, you need an associate's or bachelor's degree in a related discipline. Candidates must have at least a year of professional work experience. You must be proficient in Microsoft Office. You must possess communication, problem-solving, decision-making, and organization skills. Territory representatives make an average salary of $52,923 per year. This ranges between $33,000 and $84,000.
What general advice would you give to a territory representative?
Hank Boyd
Assistant Dean for Civic Engagement & Clinical Professor of Marketing, University of Maryland - College Park
CEOs, they started their illustrious career in sales. Nowadays, it is a common
launchpad for scores of successful business executives in consumer package goods.
Why is this so? Savvy companies know that it is paramount that new hires
quickly learn who the real target consumers are. Spending time on the front lines will
enhance your later contributions to the firm. For example, after obtaining my MBA from
Berkeley, I had the good fortune to land a sales position at Merck. I served as a Hospital
Representative specializing in broad spectrum antibiotics. My territory consisted of
Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto VA Medical Center, and the Santa Clara
Valley Medical Center.
After 18 months of working diligently in territory, I was offered a promotion to
work inside at Merck's headquarters in Rahway, New Jersey. Once I truly knew the
needs and concerns of my clients - general surgeons, urologists, gastroenterologists,
urologists, and infectious disease specialists - Merck was confident I could craft
relevant literature pieces and design compelling ad campaigns to reach target
physicians.
Mastery of general sales is a highly coveted asset. Once you conquer a given
product domain, the artform of sales is entirely transferrable. Case in point, it is not
unusual for you to begin in pharmaceuticals and then effortlessly segue into medical
equipment sales after a couple of years.
Avg. Salary $39,761
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 4%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%
Asian 5.13%
Black or African American 3.82%
Hispanic or Latino 14.14%
Unknown 3.71%
White 72.97%
Genderfemale 37.36%
male 62.64%
Age - 48American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 48Stress level is high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is challenging
7 - challenging
Work life balance is fair
6.4 - fair
Territory representative career paths
Key steps to become a territory representative
Explore territory representative education requirements
Start to develop specific territory representative skills
Skills Percentages Customer Service 11.69% Patients 10.07% Customer Relationships 9.36% CRM 9.31% Territory Development 5.55% Complete relevant territory representative training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New territory representatives 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 territory representative based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real territory representative resumes.Research territory representative duties and responsibilities
- Manage and develop an extensive sales pipeline using SalesForce CRM products and phone-orient lead development techniques.
- Accomplish this by actively prospecting new business, maintaining accountability on all sales efforts, and actualizing attentiveness to detail.
- Design and facilitate educational and informative sales presentations and workshops for patients, family members, physicians and nurses.
- Promote portfolio of products from multiple therapeutic classes to internal medicine, cardiology, allergy and pulmonology and family practice.
Prepare your territory representative resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your territory representative 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 territory representative resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable territory representative resume templates
Build a professional territory representative 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 territory representative resume.
Apply for territory representative jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a territory representative 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 did you land your first territory representative job
Are you a territory representative?
Share your story for a free salary report.
Average territory representative salary
The average territory representative salary in the United States is $39,761 per year or $19 per hour. Territory representative salaries range between $31,000 and $50,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do territory representatives rate their job?
Territory representative reviews
Semi-flexible work hours. You have a sales goal and customers to call on in order to achieve said goal, so you have some flexibility of your schedule.
The amount of travel required takes you away from home frequently. If you have a family, being away starts taking a toll on them and work/life balance suffers.
Marketing products from a traceable companies to consumers and providing a good service to the clients .
The challenge to bring in new business and exceed monthly sales quota. To have the freedom to not be micromanage is reward enough. However the commissions and sales recognition make both rewarding and fun.
The stress that comes with having to produce. You have to find the business, present your solution, close the business and service the account.
Updated January 8, 2025
