Sales Executive: What is the cost of hiring?

Why recruit a sales executive

Hiring a dedicated sales executive gives your business the commercial drive needed to reach revenue goals or to break into new markets. People in this role act as the frontline of your sales strategy. They generate leads, convert prospects into customers and build repeat business.

Contributions of a great sales executive:

• Converting leads into long-term clients
• Building and maintaining a strong sales pipeline
• Representing your brand during pitches, meetings and negotiations

What are the types of sales executives?

Sales executives can work in a variety of roles depending on the industry and type of sales. Some focus on direct client engagement, while others specialise in technical knowledge or geographic point of sales.

Common types of sales executives include:

• Field sales executive
• Inside sales executive
• Business development executive
• Technical sales executive
• Senior sales executive
• Territory sales executive

When writing your sales executive job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on sales executive jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Sales
• Sales executive
• Customer service
• Sales manager

Want more recruitment insights for your sales executive roles? Sign in or create your free Indeed account.

Where to find sales executives

To find the right sales executives for your business, consider trying out a few different recruitment strategies:

• Sales recruitment agencies: specialist recruiters can help identify candidates with industry-specific experience
• Industry events and exhibitions: trade fairs and networking events often attract motivated, target-driven professionals
• Professional platforms: many sales professionals use these sites to build connections and showcase results
• Internal promotions: promoting a high-performing sales assistant or coordinator could be a fast-track route. Account managers with sales acumen can also be good internal candidates.

Post your job online: try posting your sales executive job on Indeed to find and attract quality sales executive candidates.

Skills to look for in a sales executive

A successful sales executive candidate will typically have the following skills and competencies, which may be gained through a variety of experiences, training or education:

• Strong communication and negotiation skills
• Target oriented and resilience under pressure
• Pipeline management and lead conversion
• Customer relationship building
• CRM system knowledge, and AI customer relationship engagement solutions
• Commercial awareness and market research ability

Writing a sales executive job description

Now that you know the key skills, salary expectations, popular jobseeker search terms and recruitment insights for a sales executive, you’re ready to write a job description.

A sales executive job description typically includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position. You may also want to include information about your company culture, benefits and perks to attract candidates to your open role.

Ready to get started? See our full guide for writing sales executive job descriptions.

Interviewing sales executive candidates

Strong candidates for sales executive positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• Achieving and exceeding sales targets
• Overcoming objections and handling rejection
• Managing pipelines and forecasting revenue
• Adapting sales techniques to different industries or clients
• Using data or CRM tools to improve performance