Sales and Related · Holland code ECS

Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses or groups of individuals. Work requires substantial knowledge of items sold.

Also called: Outside Sales Representative, Sales Consultant, Sales Representative (Sales Rep), Salesman, Account Representative, Customer Account Technician, Inside Salesperson, Route Sales Representative.

O*NET 41-4012.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $72,080; Middle half earn $50,470 to $99,640. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 48% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Negotiate with retail merchants to improve product exposure, such as shelf positioning and advertising.
Check stock levels and reorder merchandise as necessary.
Plan, assemble, and stock product displays in retail stores, or make recommendations to retailers regarding product displays, promotional programs, and advertising.
Answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, product uses, and credit terms.
Recommend products to customers, based on customers' needs and interests.
Estimate or quote prices, credit or contract terms, warranties, and delivery dates.
Consult with clients after sales or contract signings to resolve problems and to provide ongoing support.
Negotiate details of contracts and payments.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking3.5 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.4 / 5
Writing3.3 / 5
Active Learning3.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

Sales and Marketing4.9 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.8 / 5
English Language4.4 / 5
Mathematics3.9 / 5
Transportation3.7 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.2 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic27
Investigative21
Artistic11
Social28
Enterprising85
Conventional65

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

client relations manager · DE Customer Relationship Manager/Customer Relationship Managerin · FR responsable de la relation clientèle
technical sales representative · DE Fachkraft im Bereich Vertrieb · FR attaché technico-commercial/attachée technico-commerciale
technical sales representative in agricultural machinery and equipment · DE Fachkraft technischer Vertrieb von landwirtschaftlichen Maschinen und Geräten · FR attaché technico-commercial en machines et matériel agricoles/attachée technico-commerciale en machines et matériel agricoles
technical sales representative in chemical products · DE Fachkraft technischer Vertrieb von Chemikalien · FR attaché technico-commercial en produits chimiques/attachée technico-commerciale en produits chimiques
technical sales representative in machinery and industrial equipment · DE Fachkraft technischer Vertrieb Maschinen- und Anlagenbau · FR attaché technico-commercial en machines et équipements industriels/attachée technico-commerciale en machines et équipements industriels
technical sales representative in mining and construction machinery · DE Fachkraft technischer Vertrieb von Bergbau- und Baumaschinen · FR attaché technico-commercial en machines du secteur minier et de la construction/attachée technico-commerciale en machines du secteur minier et de la construction

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Advertising and marketing associate professionals (3554)211,800 employed
Business sales executives (3552)161,000 employed
Advertising accounts managers and creative directors (2494)55,700 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.82. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (41-4012).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test