Summary Report for:
41-4012.00 - Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products
Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses or groups of individuals. Work requires substantial knowledge of items sold.
Sample of reported job titles:
Account Executive, Account Manager, Outside Sales, Outside Sales Representative, Sales, Sales Consultant, Sales Director, Sales Rep, Sales Representative, Salesman
Tasks | Tools & Technology | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Education | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment | Additional Information
Tasks
- Contact regular and prospective customers to demonstrate products, explain product features, and solicit orders.
- Recommend products to customers, based on customers' needs and interests.
- Answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, product uses, and credit terms.
- Estimate or quote prices, credit or contract terms, warranties, and delivery dates.
- Consult with clients after sales or contract signings to resolve problems and to provide ongoing support.
- Provide customers with product samples and catalogs.
- Identify prospective customers by using business directories, following leads from existing clients, participating in organizations and clubs, and attending trade shows and conferences.
- Prepare drawings, estimates, and bids that meet specific customer needs.
- Monitor market conditions, product innovations, and competitors' products, prices, and sales.
- Perform administrative duties, such as preparing sales budgets and reports, keeping sales records, and filing expense account reports.
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Tools & Technology
Tools used in this occupation:
| Desktop computers |
| Laser printers |
| Liquid crystal display projector — Light-emitting diode LED projectors |
| Mobile phones — Mobile telephones |
| Notebook computers — Laptop computers |
Technology used in this occupation:
| Calendar and scheduling software — Computerized call calendars; Computerized time management systems |
| Customer relationship management CRM software — FrontRange Solutions Goldmine software; NetSuite NetCRM; Soffront CRM Portal; Tigerpaw software |
| Data base user interface and query software — Database software; Microsoft Access |
| Desktop publishing software — Contract Central software; Microsoft Publisher |
| Electronic mail software — IBM Lotus Notes; Microsoft Exchange; Microsoft Outlook; Mozilla Thunderbird * |
* Software developed by a government agency and/or distributed as freeware or shareware.
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Knowledge
| Sales and Marketing — Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems. |
| Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
| English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
| Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. |
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Skills
| Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Persuasion — Persuading others to change their minds or behavior. |
| Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
| Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Negotiation — Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences. |
| Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people. |
| Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. |
| Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. |
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Abilities
| Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
| Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
| Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
| Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. |
| Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. |
| Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
| Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
| Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways. |
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Work Activities
| Selling or Influencing Others — Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions. |
| Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail. |
| Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
| Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
| Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. |
| Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others. |
| Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events. |
| Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data. |
| Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions. |
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Work Context
| Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? |
| Electronic Mail — How often do you use electronic mail in this job? |
| Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? |
| Duration of Typical Work Week — Number of hours typically worked in one week. |
| Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? |
| Structured versus Unstructured Work — To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? |
| Deal With External Customers — How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job? |
| In an Enclosed Vehicle or Equipment — How often does this job require working in a closed vehicle or equipment (e.g., car)? |
| Level of Competition — To what extent does this job require the worker to compete or to be aware of competitive pressures? |
| Freedom to Make Decisions — How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? |
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Job Zone
| Title |
Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed |
| Education |
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. |
| Related Experience |
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified. |
| Job Training |
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training. |
| Job Zone Examples |
Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include accountants, sales managers, database administrators, teachers, chemists, environmental engineers, criminal investigators, and special agents. |
| SVP Range |
(7.0 to < 8.0) |
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Education
Percentage of Respondents |
Education Level Required |
77   |
Bachelor's degree |
| 22 |
High school diploma or equivalent |
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Interests
Interest code: CE
| Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow. |
| Enterprising — Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business. |
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Work Styles
| Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. |
| Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. |
| Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. |
| Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. |
| Independence — Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. |
| Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks. |
| Self Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. |
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Work Values
| Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
| Achievement — Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement. |
| Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy. |
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Related Occupations
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Wages & Employment Trends
National
| Median wages (2011) |
$25.74 hourly, $53,540 annual |
| Employment (2010) |
1,430,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2010-2020) |
Average (10% to 19%)
|
| Projected job openings (2010-2020) |
559,900 |
| Top industries (2010) |
|
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2011 wage data
and 2010-2020 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2010-2020). "Projected job openings" represent openings due to growth and replacement.
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Sources of Additional Information
Disclaimer:
Sources are listed to provide additional information on related jobs, specialties, and/or industries.
Links to non-DOL Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.
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Bright Outlook