Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products
Onet SOC Code 41-4011.00
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.
Inform customers of estimated delivery schedules, service contracts, warranties, or other information pertaining to purchased products.
Attend sales and trade meetings, and read related publications in order to obtain information about market conditions, business trends, and industry developments.
Visit establishments to evaluate needs and to promote product or service sales.
Complete expense reports, sales reports, and other paperwork.
Initiate sales campaigns and follow marketing plan guidelines in order to meet sales and production expectations.
Recommend ways for customers to alter product usage in order to improve production.
Complete product and development training as required.
Provide feedback to company's product design team so that products can be tailored to clients' needs.
Arrange for installation and test-operation of machinery.
Verify that materials lists are accurate and that delivery schedules meet project deadlines.
Sell service contracts for products.
Contact new and existing customers to discuss their needs, and to explain how these needs could be met by specific products and services.
Answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, product uses, and credit terms.
Quote prices, credit terms and other bid specifications.
Emphasize product features based on analyses of customers' needs, and on technical knowledge of product capabilities and limitations.
Negotiate prices and terms of sales and service agreements.
Maintain customer records, using automated systems.
Identify prospective customers by using business directories, following leads from existing clients, participating in organizations and clubs, and attending trade shows and conferences.
Prepare sales contracts for orders obtained, and submit orders for processing.
Select the correct products or assist customers in making product selections, based on customers' needs, product specifications, and applicable regulations.
Collaborate with colleagues to exchange information such as selling strategies and marketing information.
Prepare sales presentations and proposals that explain product specifications and applications.
Demonstrate and explain the operation and use of products.
Study information about new products so that equipment and supplies can be accurately depicted and proper recommendations made.
Compute customer's installation or production costs, and estimate savings from new services, products, or equipment.
Consult with engineers regarding technical problems.
Verify customers' credit ratings, and appraise equipment in order to determine contract terms and trade-in values.
Advise customers regarding office layouts, legal and insurance regulations, cost analyses, and collection methods.
Stock and distribute resources such as samples and promotional and educational materials.
Obtain building blueprints and specifications for use by engineering departments in bid preparations.
Visit establishments such as pharmacies in order to check product sales.
Train establishment personnel in equipment use.
Review existing machinery/equipment placement, and create diagrams to illustrate efficient space utilization, using standard measuring devices and templates.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
To qualify for this occupation, a bachelor's degree in a health occupation is required, preferably in pharmacy, radiology, or nursing. Additional education is considered by employers to be a plus. A minimum of three years of relevant sales experience or related health care experience is desirable. Some medical supply or medical equipment companies provide courses to increase sales skills such as innovative technological advances; personal grooming for success; professional courtesy guidelines; calling on physicians, health care administrators, and hospital boards; developing contacts; and delivering the effective 60-second presentation. For related information and recommended courses to prepare for this occupation, Tennessee high school students may visit the Marketing Education Curriculum Standards online.
Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization - Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Selling or Influencing Others - Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships - Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems - Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge - Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work - Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others - Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
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.
First Interest High-Point - Primary-Rank Descriptiveness
Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Social - Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Self Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Social Orientation - Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Autonomy - Workers on this job plan their work with little supervision.
Achievement - Workers on this job get a feeling of accomplishment.
Achievement-Mean Extent - Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Compensation - Workers on this job are paid well in comparison with other workers.
Working Conditions - Workers on this job have good working conditions.
Responsibility - Workers on this job make decisions on their own.
Independence-Mean Extent - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Ability Utilization - Workers on this job make use of their individual abilities.
Recognition - Workers on this job receive recognition for the work they do.
Company Policies and Practices - Workers on this job are treated fairly by the company.
Variety - Workers on this job have something different to do every day.
Supervision, Human Relations - Workers on this job have supervisors who back up their workers with management.
Working Conditions-Mean Extent - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Activity - Workers on this job are busy all the time.
Support-Mean Extent - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Creativity - Workers on this job try out their own ideas.
Independence - Workers on this job do their work alone.
Moral Values - Workers on this job are never pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
Advancement - Workers on this job have opportunities for advancement.
Recognition-Mean Extent - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
Supervision, Technical - Workers on this job have supervisors who train their workers well.
Social Status - Workers on this job are looked up to by others in their company and their community.
Database information © Onet Online