How to become a Sales Representative
Sales is one of the few jobs where a manager will hire you on how you talk in the interview more than on what your degree says. You don't need a sales title to get a sales title. You need proof that you can hear no all day, keep a pipeline honest, and still pick up the phone the next morning.
Four doors into a sales seat
Start as an SDR or BDR
This is the front door for most people, especially in software and business services. As a sales development rep you book meetings for account executives. You'll spend your day in Outreach or Salesloft sequences, cold calling, and writing short emails that get ignored most of the time. It's repetitive, and managers know it. Do it well for a stretch, hit your meeting targets, and a promotion to a closing role usually follows. Ask in the interview how people move up and how long it tends to take. A vague answer tells you plenty.
Move over from retail or customer service
If you've worked a store floor, a car lot, a gym front desk or a call center, you've already sold. You just called it something else. Hiring managers for inside sales and territory roles like these people because they've dealt with strangers who didn't want to be bothered. Your job is to translate it. Talk about upsells, add-on rates, memberships signed, and the angry customer you turned around. Don't lead with the job title. Lead with what you got people to say yes to.
Come in through the product
Some of the best reps in medical supplies, industrial equipment, building materials and trucking came from the field. A former nurse, a welder, a warehouse lead or a dispatcher can talk to buyers in their own language, and that beats a polished pitch. Companies that sell technical products often hire for knowledge first and teach the sales process after. Expect a ride-along or a mock sales call in the interview. They want to see whether you can explain the thing without reading a brochure.
Join a structured sales program
Larger companies in consumer goods, distribution, insurance and staffing run entry-level sales programs. You'll get classroom training, a rotation through a territory, and a manager watching your call numbers closely. These programs take plenty of new grads, but they'll also take someone without a degree who interviews well. The trade-off is pace. You'll be measured on activity from the first week, and some programs cut people who fall behind. Certain roles, like selling insurance or financial products, need a state license before you can close anything, and the rules differ by state, so check with your state's insurance or securities regulator.
Words sales postings keep repeating
Recruiters and applicant tracking systems search for the exact terms in the posting, so if you've done the thing, use their word for it on your resume.
Turn a duty into a number a manager believes
Responsible for contacting customers and helping them find the right products.
Made 60+ outbound calls a day to lapsed accounts, reopened 34 of them in two quarters, and finished at 112% of a $180K new-revenue quota.
What the interview is really testing
A sales interview is a sales call where you're the product. The hiring manager wants to see whether you ask questions before you pitch, whether you handle an objection without getting defensive, and whether you'll ask for the next step at the end. So ask for it. Something like, "Is there anything that would stop you from moving me forward?" feels awkward, and it's exactly what they're listening for.
Expect a role play. Often it's "sell me this pen" or, more usefully, a mock discovery call on the company's own product. Read their website, find a customer case study, and come in with a guess about who buys and why. You'll look prepared, and you'll ask better questions.
Be ready for the honest part too. Sales has bad months. Quotas go up after a good year. Some managers track your calls and emails in the CRM every afternoon. If that sounds miserable, it's better to learn it now. If it sounds like a game you can win, you're probably the person they're trying to hire.
What Sales Representative postings ask for
Hiring the most
- 2020 Companies222
- Abbott107
- 3 Day Blinds (Sales)63
- "Headquartered in Irving, TX, FleetPride"58
- Apple Roofing58
Remote
16% of openings are fully remote.
Posted pay
$60,000 – $93,000
Typical range in the 10 of the newest 60 postings that list pay.
Questions people ask
Do I need a degree to become a sales representative?
Usually not. Plenty of postings list a bachelor's degree, but sales managers bend on it more than most hiring managers do. A strong interview, a referral, or a track record from retail or customer service will often get you past that line. Structured corporate programs are the exception, and some of them do screen on a degree.
What's the difference between inside sales and outside sales?
Inside reps sell from a desk by phone, email and video, and they usually handle more deals that move faster. Outside reps drive a territory, visit customers in person, and spend real time in the car. Outside roles often come with a company car or mileage and more freedom in your day. Inside roles are the easier place to start and learn the process.
How is a sales representative paid?
Most reps get a base salary plus commission, and the split matters more than the headline number. Ask how many reps on the team hit quota, how commission is calculated, and whether there's a cap. The pay figures on this page show the range, and your commission plan decides where in that range you land.
Ready to apply?
Tell HeroApply you want Sales Representative roles. It finds the openings and applies for you each day.