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Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing resume example

A resume for a Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing needs to show the work itself: sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses or groups of individuals. Day to day that means work like this: answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, product uses, and credit terms; recommend products to customers, based on customers' needs and interests. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

  • Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products
  • Outside Sales Representative
  • Sales Consultant
  • Sales Representative
  • Sales Rep
  • Salesman
  • Account Representative
  • Customer Account Technician
  • Inside Salesperson
  • Route Sales Representative
  • Sales Professional
  • Salesperson
  • Account Specialist
  • Agricultural Produce Commission Agent
  • Apparel Trimmings Sales Representative
  • Artists Materials Sales Representative
  • Bottle Sales Representative
  • Bottling Equipment Sales Representative

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

  • 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.
  • Prepare sales contracts and order forms.
  • Provide customers with product samples and catalogs.
  • Monitor market conditions, product innovations, and competitors' products, prices, and sales.
  • Perform administrative duties, such as preparing sales budgets and reports, keeping sales records, and filing expense account reports.
  • Contact regular and prospective customers to demonstrate products, explain product features, and solicit orders.
  • Identify prospective customers by using business directories, following leads from existing clients, participating in organizations and clubs, and attending trade shows and conferences.
  • Negotiate with retail merchants to improve product exposure, such as shelf positioning and advertising.
  • Check stock levels and reorder merchandise as necessary.

18 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

  • Answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, product uses, and credit terms, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Recommend products to customers, based on customers' needs and interests, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Estimate or quote prices, credit or contract terms, warranties, and delivery dates, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Consult with clients after sales or contract signings to resolve problems and to provide ongoing support, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

  • 3M Post-it App
  • ACT! Premium
  • Adobe Acrobat
  • Adobe Creative Cloud software
  • Adobe Dreamweaver
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe InDesign
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Advantage Signature Marketing Group Web Master
  • Airtable
  • Apache Groovy
  • Apple Keynote
  • Apple macOS
  • Aptean Onyx CRM

141 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

  • Desktop computers
  • Laptop computers
  • Laser printers
  • Light-emitting diode LED projectors
  • Mobile telephones
  • Notebook computers
  • Personal computers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

  • Salesforce

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

  1. 01Active Listening
  2. 02Speaking
  3. 03Negotiation
  4. 04Persuasion
  5. 05Social Perceptiveness
  6. 06Critical Thinking
  7. 07Reading Comprehension
  8. 08Writing
  9. 09Active Learning
  10. 10Complex Problem Solving

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

  • Sales and Marketing
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • English Language
  • Mathematics
  • Transportation
  • Computers and Electronics

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

  • 48%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
  • 34%Bachelor's Degree
  • 14%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing do?
Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses or groups of individuals. Day to day that includes work like answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, product uses, and credit terms and Recommend products to customers, based on customers' needs and interests.
What skills should a Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing put on a resume?
O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Negotiation, Persuasion, and Social Perceptiveness among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes 3M Post-it App, ACT! Premium, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Cloud software, and Adobe Dreamweaver. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products, Outside Sales Representative, Sales Consultant, and Sales Representative. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 48% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing role?
No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

  • No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
  • This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
  • Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.