7 years ago
February 21, 2017

The Complete List of Different Sales Jobs

If you’re thinking about getting into sales, here’s a complete list of different sales jobs to consider.

Rhys Metler

The_Complete_List_of_Different_Sales_Jobs

Whether the title is sales associate, business development consultant, regional account manager, or anything in between, the people in these different sales jobs are all the same: they’re sales representatives. When it comes down to it, sales professionals sell, but different sales jobs can encompass a variety of forms, styles, fields, services, and wages.

When you think of sales jobs, you might conjure up some unsightly thoughts of pushy car salespeople or annoying door-to-door salesmen. Sure, these positions still exist, but there are different sales jobs out there. Perhaps one sales field will make you cringe while another position will make you jump with excitement. If you’re thinking about getting into sales, here’s a complete list of different sales jobs to consider.

Outside Sales

One of the most difficult sales positions to succeed in is outside sales. This field requires reps to find and develop new business relationships through cold calling, emailing, and solicitation. Outside sales is often seen as one of the most challenging and difficult of the different sales jobs on the market. Bringing in new business and building a relationship from scratch isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes persistence and drive, and isn’t always rewarding.

Inside Sales

With inside sales, reps work with existing relationships at a company. The clients are already in business with the company, and it’s the rep’s job to keep them as existing customers by anticipating and meeting their needs and maintaining the relationship that has already been built. The rep is the point of contact for the clients and negotiates all future purchases. Inside sales is all about nurturing relationships.

Lead Development Sales

Though lead generation is often the marketing team’s job, it sometimes falls on sales reps who are more equipped with finding new leads in the industry. In this type of sales job, reps investigate potential new customers in order to find out qualifying information to see if they’re viable opportunities to pursue. This role is mostly based on researching and networking and is often a low-level entry sales position.

Closing Sales

Some sales people are known as closers. This means that their job is to come in after the lead generation and relationship building and nurturing has already occurred in order to close the sale. Closers are typically senior account managers who have the skills and experience needed to effectively close sales without a hitch.

Client Services

A sales person who works in client services is all about support. This rep will ensure that the buyer has all the information he needs once the sale is closed. He will troubleshoot product issues, provide how-to instructions, follow up with additional information, answer questions, and do anything that needs to be done to ensure customer satisfaction after the fact.

Territorial Sales

Some sales professional work on outside sales, inside sales, lead development, closing, and client services all on their own. The thing that differentiates them from the other reps at the company is territory. Oftentimes, employers will divide the country up by territory and assign them to different sales people so their sole focus is on that area.

Sales Assistant

A sales assistant is a junior employee who helps the senior reps with their more menial, administrative tasks while they learn the ropes. They often prepare the account managers’ presentations, perform costing analyses, perform competitor and buyer research, and type up sales notes, among other duties. The sales assistant allows the account managers to focus all their attention on their clients’ needs, without having to spend too much time on paperwork. It’s not the most glamorous of the different sales jobs, but it’s certainly needed.

Companies have products and services to sell, and they need people to sell them. If you’re thinking about a sales career, you have plenty of different sales jobs to choose from in order to find one that is right for you.

Rhys Metler

Rhys is a tenacious, top performing Senior Sales Recruiter with 15+ years of focused experience in the Digital Media, Mobile, Software, Technology and B2B verticals. He has a successful track record of headhunting top performing sales candidates for some of the most exciting brands in North America. He is a Certified Recruitment Specialist (CRS) and has expert experience in prospecting new business, client retention/renewals and managing top performing sales and recruitment teams. Rhys enjoys spending quality time with his wife, son, and daughters, BBQing on a hot summer day and tropical vacations.

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