Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

What the job really is

Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses or groups of individuals. Work requires substantial knowledge of items sold.

At a glance

• Sector: Sales
• O*NET-SOC code: 41-4012
• O*NET job zone: 4 — considerable preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, product uses, and credit terms.
• Recommend products to customers, based on customers' needs and interests.
• 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.
• Prepare sales contracts and order forms.
• Provide customers with product samples and catalogs.
• 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.
• Contact regular and prospective customers to demonstrate products, explain product features, and solicit orders.
• Identify prospective customers by using business directories, following leads from existing clients, participating in organizations and clubs, and attending trade shows and conferences.
• Negotiate with retail merchants to improve product exposure, such as shelf positioning and advertising.
• Check stock levels and reorder merchandise as necessary.

Tools and technology

Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Apple macOS, Autodesk AutoCAD, Cisco Webex, ESRI ArcGIS software, Eclipse IDE, Epic Systems, Extensible markup language XML

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products
• Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel
• Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products
• Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products
• Advertising Sales Agents
• Sales Engineers
• Sales Managers
• Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 4 (considerable preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.