Sales Representative: Responsibilities, Functions, Skills

One of the most popular professions at the moment is a sales representative. His responsibilities are quite broad. He promotes goods and services, controls supply and marketing. The work is quite complicated and requires a person to have a wide range of skills and certain personal qualities.

History reference

Before exploring the responsibilities of a sales representative, a brief historical digression will be helpful. In the CIS, this profession became known in the early 1990s with the advent of foreign companies such as Coca-Cola, Mars, Procter & Gamble and so on. Instantly, the profession of sales representative became mega-prestigious. Not surprising, because the employee received a high salary and a full package of social guarantees, had a company car, as well as prospects for rapid career growth. But the requirements for applicants for the position were quite high. During the selection, all the achievements of Western recruiting were applied - group interviews, multi-level tests. Applicants had to have a higher education and speak English.

Since 2000, the profession of sales representative has become widespread. This work was still prestigious, and wages were above average. Acting as a sales representative was a good career start for many young people. This work attracted professionals from various fields of activity who sought to gain material stability and realize themselves in trade.

Subsequently, almost all domestic companies adopted the Western experience and introduced the practice of working with sales representatives. Nevertheless, by that time the market had stabilized, the competition was not so fierce, and as a result, the specifics of the sales representative's work changed somewhat. She became simpler, calmer emotionally. But along with this, the prestige of the profession among young people somewhat fell. Nevertheless, sales representatives are still in demand.

Where are required

Almost all enterprises engaged in the production of goods or the provision of services require sales representatives. For example, manufacturers and distributors need them in the following areas:

• Food;
• cosmetical tools;
• household chemicals;
• medicines
• household appliances and electronics;
• containers and packaging materials;
• polygraphy;
• car accessories and supplies;
• Construction Materials;
• etc.

What is the duty of a sales representative

A sales representative is a rather complicated and stressful profession. In fact, the financial performance of a manufacturing enterprise depends on its effectiveness. The main responsibilities of the sales representative are as follows:

• Implementation of the plan for the sale of goods or services of the company.
• Traveling along a specific route and visiting retail outlets in order to form an order and write off products.
• Collection of applications for the supply of products.
• Promotion of new products in the assortment of the company.
• Ensuring the constant presence of the entire range of goods at entrusted points of sale.
• Merchandising of goods on store shelves.
• Negotiations with the management of commercial enterprises on the installation of advertising equipment.
• Advising clients on the properties and quality of goods, as well as their calculations.
• Working with an existing client base or developing your own (if you have to work from scratch).
• Expansion of the customer base in the entrusted territory.
• Maintaining the relevance of contracts and monitoring their correct execution.
• Control of receivables.
• Control of delivery and shipment of goods.
• Organization of promotions and control over their conduct.
• To help maintain a positive image of the organization in the eyes of retail workers and end-users of products.
• Gathering information about market conditions and conducting data analysis to predict the situation.
• Attend seminars and trainings organized by management to improve professional skills.
• Collection and analysis of information on the assortment, sales volumes and working methods of competing organizations.

A responsibility

The duties of a sales representative involve liability. The following main points can be distinguished:

• For non-fulfillment of duties defined by the job description.
• For causing the organization material damage.
• For offenses committed during the performance of labor duties.

Rights

In addition to the duties and functions, the sales representative also has rights that must be respected by the employer. This is what the employee who is filling this position has the right to:

• For social guarantees provided by law and an employment contract.
• To make rationalization proposals aimed at improving the quality of work and improving working conditions.
• For assistance from management in the performance of official duties or the exercise of rights.
• To study draft decisions and managerial decisions related to the work of a sales representative.
• To ensure satisfactory working conditions in accordance with legislation, sanitary standards and safety precautions.
• To study documents directly related to the performance of official duties.
• To cover the costs associated with medical, professional and social rehabilitation in case of health problems during the performance of official duties.
• On advanced training.

Who is a sales representative supervisor

In large organizations, there may be several dozen or even hundreds of sales representatives. Naturally, the leader alone cannot control everyone’s work. Therefore, the enterprises introduced the position of supervisor of sales representatives. The duty of such an employee is to control the work of agents assigned to him. He must:

• make sure that at the beginning of the day all subordinates went to work;
• discuss the results of the work done;
• to go to outlets with beginners for the purpose of training;
• Correct errors that sales representatives make in working with customers;
• engage in training and certification of subordinates.

Key Sales Representative Requirements

There are certain requirements that are important from the point of view of the employer for the employee to fulfill the duties of a sales representative in a quality manner. The following points are important for the summary:

• The presence of higher education. As a rule, a diploma in management, marketing is required.
• The presence of a driver’s license. Moreover, for many companies, one of the main requirements for a sales representative is to have their own vehicle.
• Experience. As a rule, the applicant must have at least a year of experience in trading.

Necessary knowledge and skills

In order to effectively fulfill the duties of a sales representative, a candidate for the position must have certain professional skills. Here is the basic set:

• Sales skills. Sales abilities are analyzed based on work experience or personal qualities.
• Ability to work with office equipment. A potential sales representative must be able to work with a PC (in particular, with office programs and the Internet). He should also be familiar with copiers.
• Workflow knowledge. We are talking about the conclusion of contracts, the preparation of primary accounting documentation.
• Knowledge of laws and regulations that relate to business and trade.
• Knowledge of the territory and its specifics. Trading companies give priority to those employees who live directly in the distribution region.

Personal qualities

The fulfillment of the duties of a sales representative is associated with a certain emotional burden. For the resume of the applicant for this position, the following personal qualities will be an advantage:

• Sociability. A sales representative should be able to easily establish contacts and find a common language with people, correctly convey his position and possess the gift of persuasion in order to promote an organization’s product or service.
• Responsibility and discipline. The sales representative carries out his functional duties outside the office and without the control of a higher management. Therefore, it is extremely important that a person knows how to organize himself and correctly allocate time.
• Purposefulness and perseverance. A sales representative should strive to increase sales and not give up at the first failure of a potential customer.

Payroll

Highly paid is considered the work of a sales representative. The duties of a specialist are such that the size of the fee directly depends on the results and quality of work. Salary consists of a fixed salary and a bonus part, which includes such elements:

• volume of sales;
• volume of focal marks;
• retention of receivables in a certain range;
• increase in customer base;
• other indicators determined by the management of the enterprise.

Sales Representative Resume Example

If you are not afraid of the duties of a sales representative, and the skills meet the requirements, you can safely proceed to the preparation of a resume. Here is an example of a good self-presentation for a job applicant:

IVANOV IVAN IVANOVICH
purpose	Job title of a sales representative with a salary of more than 50,000 rubles
The address
Phone
Email
EDUCATION
Period	Educational institution	Faculty	Power
2004-2008	Moscow Academy of Finance and Industry	Management	Specialist
ADDITIONAL EDUCATION
Trainings	"Overcoming Objections" Effective Sales Techniques "Active sales"
experience
Period	Organization	Position	Duties
2011-2013	LLC "Bioprom"	Sales Representative	The expansion of the customer base Increase in sales Negotiation Conclusion of contracts Collection of receivables Monitoring compliance with merchandising standards
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS	Confident PC user: MS Word, MS Excel Driver's license Conducting business negotiations Producing a presentation Workflow knowledge
PERSONAL QUALITIES	Determination Active life position Sociability Punctuality Initiative Stress resistance High efficiency

Advantages of working as a sales representative

People who seek to realize themselves in the field of sales are not afraid of the numerous duties of a sales representative. In the resume, they try to indicate their best qualities and professional skills. And all because this profession has such undeniable advantages:

• good career prospects for active employees;
• invaluable experience in the field of sales, which can be applied at subsequent places of work or in your own business;
• direct dependence of the size of wages on the volume and quality of work done;
• constant communication with new people (with sellers and managers of outlets);
• the development of its own client base, which will be useful when applying for a new job or for your own business;
• the sales representative spends most of his working time outside the office, which is an absolute advantage for people who do not like to sit still;
• compensation for fuel and mobile expenses;
• there is no total control on the part of the authorities, no one "stands above the soul" during the performance of work;
• flexible working hours (if necessary, the sales representative can go away to solve personal issues).

Disadvantages of working as a sales representative

Despite all the advantages of working in the field of sales, the duties of a sales representative are associated with a number of negative aspects. Here are some things to look out for:

• attachment to the presence of a vehicle (official vehicles are allocated in some organizations, but the entire responsibility for their maintenance rests with the employee);
• irregular working hours, and sometimes a lack of days off;
• a busy (and even stressful) work schedule associated with the need to implement a plan for marketing and visiting retail outlets;
• heavy fines for the return of expired goods not sold by retail outlets;
• constantly growing requirements for sales;
• You can stumble on the negative side of sellers who do not want to work with a certain product;
• significant deterioration of the vehicle, since, sometimes, you have to drive on the "killed" roads;
• material liability for the entrusted goods and equipment (for example, PDA, vehicle).