OLMIS

by Jessica Nelson
Published Aug-21-2009

High Pay and Decent Growth The Job Description Skills for Success

Do you enjoy talking with people? How about traveling and learning about others' businesses? Are you a natural at the art of persuasion? If so, you may make a good sales representative for a manufacturing or wholesale trade company.

Wholesale and manufacturing sales reps are as varied a group as the products they sell. They come from all different backgrounds. Many sales reps have classroom and conference training in sales, but many more get to know the business from the ground up before going into sales later in their careers.

In total, Oregon had over 22,000 wholesale and manufacturing sales reps in 2006. They are split into two categories: those who work with technical and scientific products, and those who don't. The latter category accounts for three-quarters of wholesale and manufacturing sales reps. The smaller group, those peddling technical and scientific products, have higher average wages, probably because their jobs require a measure of scientific or technical skill and knowledge. The 2009 median hourly wage for those selling scientific or technical products was $39.23; those sales reps focused on all other products had a 2009 median of $24.53 (Table 1).

The group selling technical and scientific products is expected to grow faster than wholesale and manufacturing sales reps dealing with all other products. Expected growth rates between 2006 and 2016 are 12.9 percent for the technical and scientific reps and 11.4 percent for those dealing with all other products. That growth is slower than the 14.1 percent rate expected across the economy as a whole.

While an occupation's growth rate is important, job openings come from another source as well: replacing workers who leave an occupation permanently, many through retirement. Employers will need to hire more than twice as many wholesale and manufacturing sales reps to replace workers who leave the occupation as they will hire due to economic growth.

The main role of wholesale and manufacturing sales reps - no matter what type of product they are selling - is to gain buyers' interest in their products and to provide information by answering questions and addressing clients' concerns. Depending on the product, these sales reps may work in either outside or inside sales.

Outside sales reps spend a lot of time traveling to and meeting with current or potential clients. These sales visits may even include training a client's employees in the use of their products. Hours for these sales reps may be long, and as their sales territory may cover up to several states, they often spend long days and even weeks on the road.

Inside sales reps may never leave their office and spend a lot of time talking to current and potential clients by phone. They also take orders for products and resolve any questions or problems that come up with the merchandise.

All sales reps must deal not only with facilitating actual sales by talking to current and potential clients but also with the planning and paperwork that goes into sales. Since sales calls are made during normal working hours, many sales reps must fit in this "behind the scenes" work in the evenings and on weekends.

Sales is a demanding and highly competitive field. Companies often have quotas or sales goals that reps are expected to achieve. With the right personality fit, sales can be rewarding and lucrative work.

There is no particular level or type of education that would make landing a sales job a snap. In this dynamic, highly interpersonal field, it is an individual's skills that will be the root of their success in the job market. As shown in Graph 1, the nation's wholesale and manufacturing sales reps possess a wide range of educational levels, though it makes sense that higher levels of education would be more common among technical and scientific product reps. Those with a bachelor's or higher degree accounted for less than half of wholesale and manufacturing sales reps in 2006, while those with a high school education or less made up over one-quarter.

So what skills give a worker an edge over the competition? The ability and desire to work with and persuade people is very important, along with solid presentation and communication skills. Knowledge of a product line can't be underestimated, either - sales reps must know not only their products but also what their competition has to offer. Time management and organizational skills are also crucial; tardiness to a sales presentation or mismanagement of sales contracts can easily ruin sales relationships and give the competition the upper hand. Sales reps must also be goal oriented, self-motivated, and able to work well both individually and as part of a team.

For the right person, a career as a wholesale or manufacturing sales rep can be gratifying and challenging. These jobs can be tedious at times, with plenty of time spent on paperwork and planning to meet sales goals - but the job also comes with plenty of excitement when all that work pays off with a big sale.