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Career Description

Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers where technical or scientific knowledge is required in such areas as biology, engineering, chemistry, and electronics, normally obtained from at least 2 years of post-secondary education.

What Job Titles Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical & Scientific Products Might Have

• Account Manager
• Inside Sales Representative
• Sales Manager
• Sales Representative

What Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical & Scientific Products Do

• Negotiate prices or terms of sales or service agreements.
• Prepare and submit sales contracts for orders.
• Visit establishments to evaluate needs or to promote product or service sales.
• Maintain customer records, using automated systems.
• Answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, or credit terms.
• Quote prices, credit terms, or other bid specifications.
• Contact new or existing customers to discuss how specific products or services can meet their needs.
• Emphasize product features based on analyses of customers' needs and on technical knowledge of product capabilities and limitations.
• Compute customer's installation or production costs and estimate savings from new services, products, or equipment.
• Select or assist customers in selecting products based on customer needs, product specifications, and applicable regulations.
• Prepare sales presentations or proposals to explain product specifications or applications.
• Complete expense reports, sales reports, or other paperwork.
• Verify that delivery schedules meet project deadlines.
• Identify prospective customers using business directories, leads from existing clients, participation in organizations, or trade show or conference attendance.
• Inform customers of estimated delivery schedules, service contracts, warranties, or other information pertaining to purchased products.
• Collaborate with colleagues to exchange information, such as selling strategies or marketing information.
• Provide customers with ongoing technical support.
• Advise customers on product usage to improve production.
• Study documentation or other information for new scientific or technical products.
• Stock or distribute resources, such as samples or promotional or educational materials.
• Attend sales or trade meetings or read related publications to obtain information about market conditions, business trends, environmental regulations, or industry developments.
• Sell service contracts for technical or scientific products.
• Demonstrate the operation or use of technical or scientific products.
• Provide feedback to product design teams so that products can be tailored to clients' needs.
• Arrange for installation and testing of products or machinery.
• Initiate sales campaigns to meet sales and production expectations.
• Obtain building blueprints or specifications for use by engineering departments in bid preparations.
• Verify accuracy of materials lists.
• Verify customer credit ratings.
• Appraise equipment to determine contract terms or trade-in values.
• Consult with engineers regarding technical problems with products.
• Sell technical and scientific products that are environmentally sound or designed for environmental remediation.
• Visit establishments, such as pharmacies, to determine product sales.

What Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical & Scientific Products Should Be Good At

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical & Scientific Products Should Be Interested In

• Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
• Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

What Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical & Scientific Products Need to Learn

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.