In this job description sales representative you will find a complete list of responsibilities, training program, as well as ready-made template sales representative vacancies.

Who is a sales representative?

First of all, a sales representative is an official person of the company. This position may also be called: agent external service, sales agent, merchandiser, active sales manager. But the essence of the work is the same – presenting the company’s products to clients and conducting sales.

Job responsibilities of a sales representative
The main things a sales representative should be able to do:

• actively work with clients;
• present the company's products in a high-quality manner;
• ensure sales in the territory assigned to the specialist.

Sales representatives are a powerful external service that no serious company or firm can do without. Almost 80% of the success of enterprise development depends on the skills of a sales agent.

Let's look at what's included in detail. job responsibilities sales representative.

Working with clients - 15 rules for achieving success:

• retain and replenish the customer base;
• enter into contracts;
• make regular visits to the client according to the plan in the route sheet. The purpose of the visit is to collect data on the remaining goods and draw up a new order;
• visit all points of active and potential clients within a specified period;
• monitor the completeness of the product range and its display in accordance with merchandising standards;
• update in a timely manner promotional material on points;
• control the dispatch of goods to the point in accordance with the order. Dispatch deadlines must be met, the goods must arrive exactly according to the completeness, volume and name of the product;
• monitor the solvency of clients and their debts to the company. Always inform the office about a possible delay in client payment;
• a sales representative can collect money from clients for completed orders;
• quickly respond to customer wishes or complaints regarding the quality and quantity of products supplied, try to correct errors as quickly as possible;
• monitor compliance with all terms of the contract and prevent violations;
• work with employees at points, conduct consultations or presentations on a particular product, pointing out the main characteristics and advantages of the product;
• train employees at the point of sale in sales techniques and the specifics of presenting goods to the end buyer;
• conduct monitoring among competitors, provide the office with everything necessary information about changes in the market;
• maintain control during tastings and promotions.

Reporting documentation is the best method of objective assessment.

Do you want to improve your performance and make your work even more productive? Keeping documents will help you take a realistic look at the results of your actions and create an effective plan.

The duties of a sales representative include the following documentary work:

• maintaining contacts with the client base;
• creation of daily, monthly and quarterly reports on goods turnover;
• maintaining an analytical report for each client separately, thanks to the general analysis it is possible to obtain an overall picture of the work and create an optimal plan for further actions;
• creating presentation material for clients, both in paper and electronic form;
• providing reports on financial and material expenses.

Basic requirements for a candidate for the position of sales representative:

• incomplete higher or higher education;
• work experience (desirable);
• pleasant presentation appearance;
• neat appearance, formal suit;
• communication skills, attentiveness, responsibility;
• competent speech;
• absence bad habits or criminal record.

TOP 5 basic skills that a sales representative should have:

• be able to negotiate;
• master the art of persuasion;
• be able to work with objections and difficult clients;
• find a compromise;
• make cold calls.

Sales representative from scratch - how to turn a beginner into a qualified specialist
Training a newly arrived employee to be a sales representative is quite easy and quick. This will require mentoring from an already experienced company employee, several days and a clear training plan:

1. familiarization with the company, employees and work procedures – several hours;
2. detailed explanation of all job responsibilities of a sales representative – several hours;
3. acquaintance with the company’s products and place of work – 1 day;
4. theoretical training on sales techniques and features of psychological techniques – 1 day;
5. practical test work under the supervision of a responsible person – 2-3 days;
6. Regular holding of training seminars to improve the skills of sales representatives - on average 1-2 seminars per month.

This job description sales representative contains all the necessary items for training external service agents. All of the above responsibilities and stages of preparation are drawn from the experience of the best companies.

The function of a sales representative is not limited to presenting and talking about a particular product at a retail outlet. The agent’s main goal is to sell, and not just two or three products, but to fulfill a specific sales plan. Product presentation alone is not enough. You need to convince the retail outlet that it needs your product and exactly in such volumes. This is the role of the sales representative. You can offer a product by phone or email, but selling it is the most difficult and sometimes even creative task. To confidently communicate and sell your product, develop your psychological abilities, constantly train and hone your communication skills. Remember that a simple story about the properties of products is not enough for active sales.

Prepare thoroughly for your visit

Many sales representatives communicate with customers without any prior preparation. They believe that in the process of communication everything will work out and they will easily achieve their goal. This common “at random” tactic almost never works effectively. You need to think through the seller’s possible questions and answers in order to competently lead the conversation in the direction you want. Don't let yourself be confused and put in a bad light. Better yet, rehearse the conversation scenario a little with your colleague or manager. Be sure to make an outline of your presentation, even if not very detailed, but with notes of the main points. To logically tell and present the product, a little preparation is simply necessary.

The functionality of the ST - Mobile Trade application helps the sales representative to prepare well for the visit. All information about the outlet is available in the application on the agent’s tablet - sections TT Card, TT Reports.

Find out the reason for the refusal

You can often see a situation where a presentation is made, but there is no result. The outlet refuses to buy the product, and the sales representative leaves with a doomed look. This is a big mistake. You can’t immediately leave after hearing a negative answer. First of all, the agent needs to ask about the reasons for the refusal. Situations are different, perhaps the seller always refuses, and this is his style of communication - he needs to be convinced. In any case, it is necessary to find out the reasons for the refusal. It is very possible that in the process of further dialogue the position of the outlet will change, and they will still buy your product. Understanding the essence of the objection and overcoming it is the key successful work.

Set specific goals

One of typical mistakes sales representative is the lack of an answer to the question: “Why am I going to this retail outlet?” The agent does not have a clear idea of ​​how much he needs to sell in this store, what kind of daily plan sales He does not understand which products are the most popular and which ones need to be additionally presented in the assortment. Doesn’t know how to properly arrange a display or carry out merchandising activities. As a result, work at a retail outlet turns out to be unsystematic and ineffective. It is impossible to optimally plan the required amount of time for a visit and evaluate its success, since the necessary criteria were not initially established. Moreover, the most interesting thing is that with all this, the sales representative expects to make high sales and earn good salary. Therefore, setting the purpose of the visit is the agent’s primary task. Then he can choose the best ways and mechanisms for its implementation. No goal - no result, the principle is very simple. Moreover, you need to set it in advance, so that when you cross the threshold of a retail outlet, you already have a clear idea of ​​​​the procedure for your actions in it.

The "ST - Mobile Commerce" application has wide functionality that helps a sales representative correctly set the goals of visiting a retail outlet: visit plan, mutual settlements, order history, merchandising, execution of plans and tasks. All this information allows you to clearly establish the current purpose of the visit.

Build trusting relationships

Each store needs certain goods and services. A sales representative is a person who can satisfy these preferences or needs. He does not just mechanically offer a product and describe its properties, but first of all offers assistance to the outlet in solving its problems. The agent should not offer an abstract product, but a solution that will satisfy the needs of the store. This is very important, since for the most part sales representatives miss this point when making presentations. The retail outlet will buy not just a product, but a product that will satisfy its specific needs. Talk frankly with the seller, find out what exactly they need and how this or that product will solve this problem - this is the algorithm of action for the agent, which many people forget about. To find out the needs of the store, it is necessary to communicate, establish a business, honest, trusting relationship with the outlet. First, communication and only then – presentation of your products. The more questions asked and answers received, the more accurately the sales representative will determine the store’s needs.

Introduce yourself

One of the common mistakes a sales representative makes is to assume that he is known and remembered in all sales outlets. Many agents enter each store every day. Of course, sellers remember their regular traders, but not always. Situations arise when an agent is remembered for his appearance, but they forget what he sells and vice versa. A correct, complete and articulated greeting is business card sales representative. Don’t forget to remind them who you are, what company you work for, and what you sell. By greeting competently, the agent creates a good impression of himself and draws attention to his goods, which can be a serious help against the competition.

Offer to complete the deal

A typical situation is a sales representative finishing a presentation. It seems that the seller is happy, he was interested, and the agent presented the product well. But there is an awkward pause. The sales representative expects that after a successful presentation the store will happily order the product from him. However, this is not true. The agent himself, at the end of the presentation, should offer to order goods or install equipment. Do not expect a positive reaction from the seller, which may not happen, but take the situation into your own hands and offer options to meet the needs of the outlet. You need to act yourself - bring the visit to its logical conclusion, make a deal. Always finish what you start.

Record your sales history

As a rule, a sales representative in a store checks the availability of goods on display and the remaining goods, relying on his memory. It remembers approximately how much was ordered last time and, on this basis, calculates the average order. If you ask him for exact numbers, no agent can provide them. As a result, the sales representative takes an order that does not meet the actual needs of the outlet. Much is simply forgotten, for example, not the most popular goods. The agent can only remember what sells very well; information about less liquid assortments is easily lost. As a result, the volume of orders decreases and the sales representative does not fulfill the sales plan. It is necessary to carefully maintain and record everything: what, where and how much was ordered, as well as balances. This helps to correctly establish the average store sales volume and build an order plan for the future.

The "ST - Mobile Commerce" application has an Order History section, which allows you to view the entire order history of a specific outlet.

Record important information

The retail outlet always has requests and wishes for the sales representative to improve the quality of services, product range and many other aspects of activity. All this helps increase sales. However, after a few hours the agent cannot remember the details of the conversation, and by the evening more than half of the information has been forgotten. It is necessary to record in detail all the needs and agreements with the point so that not a single moment is missed. You can use regular records or keep a daily report based on your personal needs. Remember: forgotten information today is lost profit tomorrow.

The "ST - Mobile trading" application has a Notes in TT function. Here you can enter any necessary information related to this store.

Immediately sum up the results of the visit

The sales representative thinks that by leaving the point of sale, he thereby ends the visit. This is not true. At the end of the conversation, you need to mentally ask yourself questions and answer them. What did you manage to do? What didn't work? Why was the result not as planned? In addition, you need to immediately carry out assessment activities - calculate the amount of orders, draw up a report, and not put it off until later, when the latest information is forgotten. Determine your advantages and weaknesses communication with the point of sale. Correctly summed up results will help you approach your visit more thoughtfully next time and bring a positive result.

The profession of sales representative is quite common these days. Job seekers are attracted by the flexible schedule and decent salary. the site found out who sales representatives are, what duties they perform, how much they earn and what career prospects they have.

Who is a sales representative

Sales representative (sales agent, sales manager) wholesale sales) is an intermediary between the enterprise whose products it represents and retail outlets (shops, pharmacies, beauty salons).

The sales representative offers various groups of goods: from baby food and medicines to furniture and sports equipment. Remember the movie Romantics Anonymous, where the main character went to candy stores with a suitcase full of chocolate? She acted as a sales representative, convincing store owners and sellers to enter into a contract with a chocolate factory to supply sweet products for sale.

By the way, the sales representative himself does not stand behind the counter and does not sell anything.

How do you get into this profession? Most often - from the street. This means that no special education is required. It’s great if the applicant has a diploma. But practice shows that in this professional area it is not theoretical knowledge that is important, but work experience and personal characteristics. To a university graduate with honors who doesn’t know how to select clients and doesn’t know how to present a product from the best side, the employer will probably prefer someone who “ate the dog” in sales, but at the same time has only a secondary education.

What does a sales representative do?

It all depends on the field of activity in which the sales representative works. The beauty, sports, food, household, educational and entertainment industries - the list is extensive, which means that every applicant can find a suitable niche.

A sales representative performs many tasks:

• Searching for clients, studying information about potential partners, creating a client database;
• Telephone conversations with potential customers;
• Business “live”;
• Product presentation;
• Concluding agreements with owners of retail outlets or their representatives;
• Financial control, tracking orders, accounting for payments for goods;
• Consulting customers;
• Regularly visiting points of sale and analyzing sales results.

It is not enough for a sales representative to conclude a contract for the supply of goods to a particular store. It is very important to monitor the further “life” of the product on the shelf: is it in demand among consumers (if not, then why), how often is it updated in the display case, and is it sold at an inflated price.

8 steps for a successful retail visit

Knowledgeable sales representatives highlight 8 steps of the visit, which should be remembered by those who want to enter into profitable contracts with the owners of retail outlets:

1. Prepare for the visit: study information about your product and the client you are going to cooperate with.
2. Analyze the operation of the outlet and evaluate its reliability.
3. Greet the client correctly: the owner of the outlet or its representative.
4. Check inventory.
5. Present the product and tell about its advantages.
6. Determine the method of selling goods in the store.
7. Fill out the required documents.
8. Analyze the results of visiting a retail outlet.

Working day of a sales representative

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A sales representative, or traveling salesman, is a trusted representative of the distributor company, a person who sells goods to retail outlets. Many young men and women are attracted to this profession - they promise a good salary, but they hire you without work experience. Is this bread that easy to come by? About my work to the magazine IQR said Vyacheslav, who worked for a long time as a sales representative for a food distributor.

How to get a job as a sales representative without work experience

The main traits required for a novice sales representative: activity, creativity, communication skills, charisma, stress resistance, restraint, common sense and so on, the list can be continued indefinitely, since there are a huge number of work issues that a sales representative faces, and all these qualities will be useful to him.

Interview for a sales representative position

The sales representative's resume must include completed sales training, a description previous places work, what they did, how they came into contact with sales. The employer searches through the database not only using the words “sales representative”, but also using the phrases “sales manager”, “sales person”, “sales agent”, “travelling salesman”. First of all, of course, they are looking for people with sales experience. However, it is in this area that new talents without work experience are welcome.

You must understand that initially, when an employer reviews your resume, candidates with a higher education and experience in the given position will naturally have an advantage. But there is a big “but” - this job is given to energetic young people who are able to convince their employer that they are worthy of this position .

How to do this? Everything is extremely simple, be persistent, prove to your future boss that you are exactly the employee he needs. The main quality of a sales representative is the ability to convince and prove that he is right; then it’s a matter of little things. be focused and at the same time relaxed, the conversation should be relaxed, so the employer will understand that you attract people and will hire you.

From the editor. TO How does an interview usually go?

Vyacheslav describes his personal experience. In large cities, in particular in Moscow, interviews are often held in groups. (mostly young, without a clear specialization in their resume, but with ambitions for a good salary), conducts a preliminary interview. In interviews, as a rule, they say that the salary is very small (or none at all), but “the best earn more than 100 thousand rubles a month.” If you are satisfied with the sales agent’s remuneration scheme, which is based only on percentages, then you are invited to a short training.

During the training, an experienced employee presents the product to a group of candidates, praising its qualities (very professionally and interestingly), answers questions about the product (products are not always food products, often the task is to present them profitably technical device or even software). Next, you will repeat the same thing yourself. potential clients. The candidate can get up and leave at any time, realizing that this is not suitable for him. You need initial communication skills, without them you can’t get anywhere.

But the obvious advantage is that almost everyone without work experience is actually accepted for sales representative vacancies, and you can learn a lot. This is due to the fact that the company’s costs for an individual employee are minimal - only salary and compensation for transportation costs. The main costs go to education and training, so the more people you recruit, the lower unit costs companies per newcomer. A similar scheme for recruiting newcomers is also implemented in. This was our remark, Vyacheslav continues his story.

Sales Representative Training Program

The work process of a sales agent involves constant movement between retail outlets. Each sales representative has a weekly itinerary for visiting retail outlets. It is determined either by the TP itself, or supervisor who gives a ready-made route left over from the previous employee. When drawing up a weekly route, the sales representative evaluates which retail outlets need more frequent visits, and which one visit per week is enough.

During your first week in this position, you study the company’s standards:

• Field training is provided at the point of sale;
• learn the basics of merchandising;
• bring it to automaticity organizational issues, such as the procedure for exchanging goods, collecting debts, filling out reports on retail outlets;
• you receive the theoretical material necessary for the presentation and best display of the company’s brands.

After training, the process of visiting a retail outlet goes through the steps of the visit, there are 8 in total, you can find out about each of them on the Internet, I will not describe in detail. Here is the list:

• preparation for the visit;
• assessment of the outlet;
• greetings;
• checking inventory;
• presentation;
• merchandising;
• filling out reports;
• visit analysis.

Advice: the most common mistake of novice sales agents is failure to follow the steps of the visit, hence the first setbacks, failures, and, as a result, reluctance to work. Try to learn the technique of visiting a retail outlet as soon as possible. Important! Remember! This is not idle chatter! Proper planning of the visit guarantees almost 100% success. The sooner you master this technique, the faster your career growth will occur.

In addition to the above: do not forget to improvise, that is, think through various tricks in communicating with customers, find an approach to the person, win them over, after that you will be welcome at any retail outlet.

Working hours and duties of a sales representative

The working day begins at approximately 9 am. Having arrived along the route at the first retail outlet, you check the availability of the main package of documents, as well as the post materials for presentations. Before your visit, you synchronize your order program, then go to the retail outlet. Be sure to follow all the steps of the visit indicated earlier, check whether the client has debts or not, and fill out the order. On average, visiting one point takes 15-20 minutes. This time varies depending on your sales skills and your “loyalty” at the point of sale. If everything is completed, you continue the route.

What does “loyalty” mean at a point of sale? , you ask? Speaking in simple language, this is how much you are valued, respected and “feared” at the point of sale. All priorities are set during the work process, and each new sales representative has his own niche.

Pros and cons of working as a traveling salesman

Pros:

The sales representative determines his own lunch and personal time during work. You are free to structure your day as conveniently as possible.

Cons:

This results in irregular working hours. At first, returning home from work will take 2-3 hours. You definitely need a car, you can’t go anywhere without it. Wear and tear are paid out of pocket; the employer only reimburses limited fuel costs.

You come across very harmful and obnoxious clients. I won’t describe it in more detail, because... everyone performs assigned tasks in their own way.

What is the job of a sales representative?

Goals and objectives in the assigned territory

Each sales representative is given a monthly sales plan, and their salary depends on its implementation. The sales plan specifies how many and which brands the company needs to sell. In addition to the general task for the month, there are so-called additional motivations, for the fulfillment of which bonuses are awarded that increase wages.

At the beginning of the month, the supervisor announces new additional motivations and continues or closes old ones. Over the course of a month, a sales representative can track his sales results, roughly suggesting at what point he needs to push harder to achieve his goal.

The TP team is a close-knit team that moves towards one goal . A monthly goal is set for the entire team. By completing it, the team also receives additional bonuses.
The tasks for each sales representative individually and for the entire team as a whole are determined by the supervisor. After setting all the goals, a meeting is held every day upon arrival at the office, at which plans and problems that interfere with the implementation of the goals are discussed.

Accounts receivable control

The sales representative's responsibilities include monitoring accounts receivable. Every day you need to track your debtors, otherwise an unpleasant situation may arise. If you miss the debtor, the director of the organization closes your shipment of goods to the specified outlet, and you lose in sales. Due to this factor, a novice sales representative must print a list of clients with debts every day upon arrival at the office, and the next day, in accordance with the route, indicate to the debtors the resulting debt.

How much does a sales representative earn?

Career growth

A new sales agent is assigned the status of “newbie”, this is the lowest level, so bonuses and plan fulfillment are assessed lower than others, and accordingly, wages will be lower. To improve your status, you must undergo training and pass an exam in front of management at the point of sale. In case of a positive outcome, the status is upgraded to “amateur”. Otherwise, everything remains as is. The next level is “professional”. It takes about 3-4 months to improve your status, it all depends on your intelligence and desire to work.

Wages

As already mentioned, there are different monetary rewards for individual statuses. A beginner, when fulfilling the plan and additional programs, has an average of 25-30 thousand rubles. An amateur - 30-40 thousand rubles, a professional - from 40 thousand rubles, but the figures are approximate, it all depends on the completion of the assigned tasks and the amount of monetary motivation in your company. Information on wages relevant for the Nizhny Novgorod region (I live in Vyksa).

Parting words for beginners

To conclude our conversation, I would like to say that every sales representative is looking for an approach to people. Once you find your balance, everything will go flawlessly. Working as a sales representative, I understood one thing: it is necessary to be able to make an impression on the interlocutor (customer), preferably a positive one.

When starting work, be confident in yourself and do not show your weaknesses, otherwise failures will haunt you at the initial stage. Do not think that if you do everything correctly, as it is written in the books, then there will be no problems on your territory; there will be problems, but in smaller quantities.

You come across obnoxious clients with whom it is not easy to negotiate and reach a consensus. If you win once, you can win the second time. From my experience, I can say that there are clients who want to break you psychologically, so that you dance to their tune, make only those orders that are beneficial to them, and do not offer an inconvenient, more expensive category of goods - to the detriment of your salary. Therefore, immediately set priorities at any retail outlet so that the manager, director or ordinary saleswoman knows that when placing an order, they must take your opinion into account.

Ask why the client should listen ? The sales representative leads the client’s card or enters it into the program inventory each customer, and therefore can track the sales of the outlet. And, based on the data history, it gives advice on pre-ordering.

Particular attention should be paid to merchandising, it is worth informing retail outlets that your shelves or refrigerators should be in order and there should be no other people's products.

Do not take what is said as the ultimate truth, always achieve your goal and move forward. A sales representative is an interesting, versatile profession, so feel free to test yourself in this area, perhaps you will find your place in the sun. Good luck with your work, and let everyone make their own choice.

A sales representative is an employee who represents, promotes and sells a certain group of company products.

What does a sales representative do? He travels to retail outlets, offers goods, conducts negotiations, concludes sales deals, and also visits stores that already have his company’s products and monitors whether the goods are selling well. Sometimes performs some functions of a merchandiser.

After several years of successful work as a sales representative or sales manager, you can move up the career ladder and become a business development manager or commercial director.

Places of work

The position of sales representative is in demand in almost all companies that sell products or services. These may be organizations selling:

• food products (dairy, meat products, snacks, alcohol, tobacco);
• medicines;
• electronics and household appliances;
• package;
• printing products;
• accessories and consumables for cars;
• construction products;
• some types of services;
• and much much more.

History of the profession

In Russia, the first sales representatives can be considered domestic merchants. In the 15th-17th centuries, any person who made a trade transaction could be considered a merchant. Currently, trade transactions are carried out by sales representatives, sales managers and other commercial workers.

Responsibilities of a sales representative

The duties of a sales representative include:

• advising clients on products or services;
• work with existing client base;
• search for new clients (presentation of goods or services, conclusion of contracts);
• maintaining reports on work performed.

Sometimes the functions of a sales representative may include:

• work with accounts receivable;
• participation in the work of the sales department;
• training customer sellers in the nuances of selling goods;
• market analysis, competitor price monitoring.

Requirements for a sales representative

Here is a list of basic requirements for applicants:

• higher education;
• communication skills;
• PC knowledge;

Sometimes requirements for a sales representative include:

• having a personal car;
• 1 year of experience in sales.

Sales representative resume sample

How to become a sales representative

You can become a sales representative without higher education, because For this profession, it is enough to have a secondary education. You can acquire the necessary skills of a sales representative on the job - companies often take applicants without work experience and teach them everything themselves.

Sales representative salary

The salary of a sales representative consists of a fixed salary and a percentage of sales and ranges from 10 to 100 thousand rubles per month. At the same time, a significant part of the earnings is a percentage of sales and bonuses for fulfilling the plan. Average salary sales representative is 40 thousand rubles per month.