If you are trying to decide in which direction you should move up the career ladder, then you will most likely have a huge number of options to choose from. Naturally, many of them will not suit you for a variety of reasons, starting with a lack of experience and ending with the need for a specific higher education. However, you can not spend five years of your life to get a full career. Naturally, in the future you will need a higher education in order to fully function and be competitive both in your chosen company and in the labor market as a whole. But first, you can choose a profession that does not require specialized skills from you, but at the same time allows you to earn good money and grow in the business sphere. We are talking about such a profession as a sales agent. Today it is quite popular, since trade from the moment of its inception has not slowed down its development for a second. Trading networks are enveloping the world more and more, so you are unlikely to make a mistake if you decide to start a career in the trading industry. This will give you great prospects for further development or a stable place of work if you are not striving for something more. So what is a sales agent? What does he do? What are his rights and obligations? You will learn about all this from this article.
What kind of profession is this?
A sales agent is a profession that you most likely have heard about more than once. However, did you know what it is? Indeed, in most cases, people, if they do not understand a topic, can hear and remember somewhere or another name. But if they are asked about the exact meaning, then they are lost. So, if you don’t know what a sales agent is doing - it's okay. It is to fill this gap that our article was created. Perhaps, having read it, you will understand that this is exactly the profession that you dreamed about or which is ideal for you specifically at this stage of life. So, a sales agent is a specialist who acts as a kind of intermediary between the manufacturer and the buyer. He can also act as an intermediary between the distributor and various stores selling specific products. In general, simply put, this is an employee of one company who is responsible for the distribution of goods of this company. In fact, you need to know your company's products well in order to act as a sales agent. However, this is only a brief description of the profession. Most likely, you want to know a little more about her before you decide to try yourself in this area.
Working conditions
There are people who like to chat with others. There are people who prefer to sit in the office and work at the computer. There are people who like to travel and constantly be in motion on duty. For whom is a sales agent ideal? Where exactly do you have to work? It turns out that this position requires a person to mix all the qualities described above. You will have to spend part of the working time in the office, arranging the documentation, part of the time you will move around to meet with customers face-to-face and discuss the terms of contracts, which, in fact, entails the need for ability and desire to communicate with people. Thus, this work is suitable for flexible people who can adapt to any conditions.When concluding a sales agent agreement, you should remember that the most important processes in the company will depend on you, so you should understand the full extent of the responsibility that you assume.
Where will you work?
Naturally, each person is interested not only in what duties he should fulfill, but also where exactly he will work. If you are going to build a career as a sales agent, then you should not worry that you will not find a place. This is one of the biggest advantages of this profession, because it is in demand. Most often, such a vacancy is open in a variety of distribution companies and wholesale companies that either produce their own products or serve as a representative of such a company and are responsible for the distribution of goods. The goods arrive at retail outlets for further sale, and you will act as an intermediary in this last but one step. You will present the goods of your company to those customers who are interested in its further implementation. Thus, you will need to both look for new customers and maintain a constant supply of old goods. In general, the work will be intense, but if it interests you, then you will get a lot of pleasure from it. Well, the topic of what responsibilities a sales agent has had more than once been touched upon. It's time to deal with this in more detail, but first you will be interested to know how the profession of sales agent was born.
Profession history
The activities of sales agents are not new to this world. Naturally, the profession itself as such appeared only around the nineteenth century, however, from ancient times its analogues existed. Merchants constantly traveled between cities to offer people a wide variety of goods. As a matter of fact, the sales agent does the same in the modern world: he turns to various companies that might be interested in the goods that he can offer them. With the advent of this profession and its rapid development, trade has acquired a new color. It has become much faster and more efficient, goods sold by competent sales agents have become much faster to find those people who would like to purchase them. And that is why this profession is so popular today. Now you have studied the brief history of the profession, which is called a sales agent. The duties of a representative of this profession is a topic that you should now consider in much more detail, as this can determine whether you can cope with such a position and in general - whether you have a desire to cope with it.
Duties
So, what is an agent of a trading company obliged to do in order to act efficiently and earn its payment? Firstly, his responsibilities include searching for new customers, that is, expanding the client base, as well as constantly working with existing ones. This means that the sales agent must constantly contact people, specifying delivery volumes, offering new products and so on, but at the same time you should not forget that your success also depends on the number of your customers, so part of the working time you will need spend on finding new ones. As a matter of fact, you will need to enter into supply contracts with them, control receivables, and also present the goods and services that you distribute. Simply put, you need to have an idea of what merchandising is. You will need to competently present the goods to potential customers in order to convince them that they need them, and also that they are needed precisely from your company. Thus, you find a buyer, convince him that he needs the services of your company, sign a supply agreement, and then control these deliveries, thereby ensuring thatthat the person will continue to work with you for an extended period of time. Now you see that sales representatives, sales agents are very important members of each distribution company. Accordingly, fairly stringent requirements will be imposed on them.
Requirements: Do I need education?
As mentioned earlier, to become a sales agent, you do not need to have a higher education. It will be enough only average, since in this work it all depends on your skills, which can be acquired in practice. However, it is worth noting that higher education will definitely not hurt you, since large companies often first of all choose those candidates who have it. Naturally, in small firms everything can be less severe, so you can always start working in a small company, while studying in the correspondence department, so that in a couple of years you can either rise to a higher level in your company or move to work as a sales agent in more serious enterprise.
Computer handling
You need to be able to handle a personal computer, since now all the data is stored there, so it will become your main companion. If any particular system is installed in your enterprise’s network, then you will most likely want to learn how to use it, so you also need to be open to learning something new. It can be either a computer system, or certain methods of sales, communication with customers, and so on.
Communication with customers
Since we are talking about communication with customers, it is worthwhile to understand that this will be one of the most important parts of your work. That is why companies are most often looking for those people who can communicate well and competently, communicate their thoughts, and convince the interlocutor. At the same time, you should also be a generally competent and educated person so that your speech is pleasant and correct. Only in this case you will have a chance that you will be accepted for this position. It is worth noting that this skill is a much more important aspect than, for example, higher education. And if you impress with your verbal skills as an employer in an interview, then you will be more likely to get a job than that of a job seeker who did not look convincing and did not speak clearly and concisely, but at the same time had a higher education.
Driver's license
Another plus for you will be the presence of a driver’s license. It is worth noting that in most cases this will not be a plus, but a prerequisite, since the sales agent must constantly be on the move, and if you travel exclusively by public transport, then you will act much more slowly. Do not worry, in most cases the company pays for travel expenses, that is, you will be compensated for the amount spent on gasoline. And in some cases, you don’t have to worry about it at all, because you will not drive in your own car, but in a company car. So if you meet all these requirements, then you can safely fill out the resume of a sales agent.
Wage
In matters of money, a lot depends on where exactly you work. The average salary of a sales agent in the country is 35 thousand rubles, while it can range from 20 to 50 thousand rubles. Often bonuses are awarded to sales agents in firms, which depend on the fulfillment of the sales plan and the number of new customers that the agent has attracted, so that everything is not limited to a bare salary.
Is it worth taking up this business?
This profession, like any other, has its pros and cons. And if it seems to you that in this case the pros outweigh the cons, then you should definitely try yourself in such a position. After all, the requirements are extremely low and allow you to try your hand, even without graduating from university.