Outside Sales Representative Job Description: Top Duties and Qualifications

An Outside Sales Representative, or Area Sales Representative is responsible for selling products or services to customers or clients, primarily through in person-meetings. Their duties include cold calling potential customers, arranging meetings and making sales.

 

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Outside Sales Representative duties and responsibilities

An Outside Sales Representative is responsible for increasing sales within their area while also expanding their customer base. In addition to hitting targets, an Outside Sales Representative is also responsible for representing the image of the company, providing excellent customer service and identifying areas for business development. The main duties and responsibilities include:

  • Arranging and attending client and customer meetings
  • Sourcing new leads and customers through cold calling, emails or other means of business development
  • Retaining existing clients and building on existing business
  • Selling products and services and upselling customers if required
  • Recording and tracking sales, meetings and other data using Customer Relationship Management software
  • Producing sales reports at regular intervals for management
  • Attending business events or presentations within their sales area
  • Staying on top of local sales, business and marketing trends to identify new opportunities for sales in the area

 

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Outside Sales Representative Job Description Examples:

 

Example 1

We are looking to recruit a driven, passionate and self-motivated Signage Sales professional to join our established team in Fastsigns Leicester. Fastsigns are a well-established signage franchise of over 750 centres operating in 10 different countries, including 24 in the UK. Fastsigns Leicester is one of these independently owned and operated centres. *What does this position entail?: * Responsible for generating sales activities, the sales consultant will implement an agreed Sales Plan which will meet both personal and business goals of expanding the customer base in the marketing area. You will work with the centre’s management and support teams to achieve and maintain established high levels of customer satisfaction and revenue generation, in line with company vision and values. *Duties include: * * Develop an annual sales plan to achieve personal sales targets. * Conduct research into target industries * Periodically conduct competitor analysis and market research * Identify and target prospects * Attend sales meetings with clients to identify their needs and provide recommendations for signage and graphics solutions * Create and follow up estimates * Keep a record of prospecting activity * Sell consultatively and make recommendations to prospects of products that will suit their needs * Prepare sales presentations * Develop and maintain a database of qualified prospects * Follow up on new prospects and referrals resulting from telephone, marketing and field activity. * Develop a complete understanding of the signage and graphics industry, pricing and proposal models * Complete all ‘paperwork’ and follow established centre procedures throughout each project [website] Work Order, credit approvals, POS entry, pre-payment collection, artwork approval, delinquent account collection, reporting). * Prepare status reports, including activity, closings, follow-up, and adherence to goals for weekly sales meetings. * Assists in the implementation of company marketing plans as needed. * Identify and resolve customer satisfaction issues. * Establish and maintain effective team relationships with all support departments. * Answer telephone calls and emails * Participate in networking and marketing events such as seminars, referral groups, trade shows, and telemarketing programs. * Assist in the collection of account receivables. *Essential attributes: * * The right attitude to learn, succeeded and become a valued member of our team * Prior experience in sales in the signage (or similar related) industry *Opportunities: * You will become a valued member of a close-knit team with the opportunity to attend Fastsigns hosted, network-wide, Outside Sales Professionals development programmes, giving you the opportunity for ‘peer to peer’ learning and self-development opportunities. We strongly feel that hard work and successes should be rewarded; we run annual awards celebrations to recognise high achievers within the network. We encourage and assist in growth and development within each of our employees' roles, to help them progress within the business. Job Types: Full-time, Permanent Salary: per year Additional pay: * Commission pay Schedule: * Monday to Friday * No weekends Experience: * Signage Sales: 3 years (preferred)

What does an Outside Sales Representative do?

An Outside Sales Representative is responsible for selling the products or services offered by the company employing them. An Outside Sales Representative often works within a specified part of the country, such as a particular county or city. They sell products or services to existing customers, establish new leads and create a wider customer base within their sales area.

An Outside Sales Representative will have sales, turnover and profit targets to meet. In order to hit their targets, the Outside Sales Representative arranges in-person client meetings. The clients can be individuals, organisations or businesses. An Outside Sales Representative will travel extensively in order to make sales consistently.

 

Outside Sales Representative skills and qualifications

An Outside Sales Representative needs excellent sales and marketing skills.  Most importantly they should be confident, persevering and have excellent interpersonal skills. They also need to be creative with their business development, while also being goal-orientated and target-driven. A successful Outside Sales Representative will have various prerequisite skills and qualifications that generally include:

  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
  • Excellent knowledge of the product or service they are selling
  • Ability and confidence to upsell customers and clients
  • Proficiency with sales software, particularly CRM (customer relationship management) systems
  • Excellent customer service and client-care skills
  • Ability to identify emerging markets and new sales opportunities
  • Ability to analyse sales data and prepare sales reports
  • Self-motivated and able to work independently

 

Outside Sales Representative experience requirements

An Outside Sales Representative should have at least four years of experience working in previous sales roles and should be able to demonstrate their success, in meeting targets and making sales in previous jobs. Experience cold calling, generating leads and leading client meetings is also essential. An Outside Sales Representative should have experience working independently, generating reports and building long-lasting client relationships.

 

Outside Sales Representative education and training requirements

An Outside Sales Representative should have strong GCSE results in Maths and English. A-levels, particularly if they are in business-related subjects. This will demonstrate that the candidate has a strong academic background and the relevant business acumen.

A university degree isn’t absolutely necessary to be successful in the role. Experience and interpersonal skills are often just as important as further education, particularly if the candidate can demonstrate that they are target-driven and have generated leads and sales in previous roles. A university degree in business or marketing can be useful for career progression, however.

 

Outside Sales Representative salary expectations

According to Indeed Salaries, the average salary for an Outside Sales Representative is £28,718 per year. Salary may be dependent on experience, location and company.

 

Job description samples for similar positions

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Outside Sales Representative job description FAQs

 

Who does an Outside Sales Representative report to?

An Outside Sales Representative tends to work independently and is often absent from the office for long periods of time, as they meet with clients and customers. They report to a superior, usually a Sales Manager and may also report to a more senior Area Manager or Head of Sales.

 

Which qualities make for a good Outside Sales Representative?

A good Outside Sales Representative needs to be independent minded and sales-driven. Sales are incredibly competitive, so a good candidate needs to demonstrate that they are able to persevere and find new and innovative ways to generate business. Confidence, drive and determination are all key characteristics of a successful Outside Sales Representative.

 

What makes a good Outside Sales Representative job description?

A good Outside Sales Representative job description will outline the products or services that the candidate will be selling and mention the area they will work in. As this job requires extensive travel, a good job description should also detail the expected hours they will work and include any benefits, such as a company car.

Job Description Examples

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