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Technical Sales Representative resume example

A resume for a Technical Sales Representative needs to show the work itself: 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 postsecondary education. Day to day that means work like this: negotiate prices or terms of sales or service agreements; prepare and submit sales contracts for orders. 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, Technical and Scientific Products
  • Inside Sales Representative
  • Marketing Representative
  • Sales Representative
  • EDP Systems Sales Representative
  • Medical Device Sales Rep
  • Primary Care Pharma Sales Rep
  • Wireless Sales Rep
  • Abrasives Sales Representative
  • Agricultural Sales Representative
  • Aircraft Sales Representative
  • Animal Feed Products Sales Representative
  • Chemical Sales Representative
  • Chemicals and Drugs Sales Representative
  • Commercial Solar Sales Consultant
  • Computer Sales Representative
  • Dairy Supplies Sales Representative
  • Dental Detail 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.

  • Negotiate prices or terms of sales or service agreements.
  • Prepare and submit sales contracts for orders.
  • Visit establishments to evaluate needs or to promote product or service sales.
  • Maintain customer records, using automated systems.
  • Answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, or credit terms.
  • Quote prices, credit terms, or other bid specifications.
  • Contact new or existing customers to discuss how specific products or services can meet their needs.
  • Emphasize product features, based on analyses of customers' needs and on technical knowledge of product capabilities and limitations.
  • Compute customer's installation or production costs and estimate savings from new services, products, or equipment.
  • Select or assist customers in selecting products based on customer needs, product specifications, and applicable regulations.
  • Prepare sales presentations or proposals to explain product specifications or applications.
  • Complete expense reports, sales reports, or other paperwork.

33 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.

  • Negotiate prices or terms of sales or service agreements, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Prepare and submit sales contracts for orders, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Visit establishments to evaluate needs or to promote product or service sales, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Maintain customer records, using automated systems, 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.

  • Act!
  • ActionWare
  • AdTrack Customer Acquisition Management CAM
  • Amazon Web Services AWS software
  • AMG Teleran SalesInSync
  • Apache Hadoop
  • Cegedim Target Software Target SFA Pharmaceutical Suite
  • Citrix cloud computing software
  • Customer relationship management CRM software
  • Enterprise application integration EAI software
  • FileMaker Pro
  • Google Ads
  • Google Analytics
  • Google Workspace software

67 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.

  • Laptop computers
  • Personal computers
  • Personal digital assistants PDA
  • Tablet 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. 01Persuasion
  2. 02Speaking
  3. 03Active Listening
  4. 04Negotiation
  5. 05Social Perceptiveness
  6. 06Reading Comprehension
  7. 07Service Orientation
  8. 08Coordination
  9. 09Active Learning
  10. 10Complex Problem Solving

Knowledge areas

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

  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Sales and Marketing
  • English Language
  • Administration and Management
  • Mathematics
  • Production and Processing
  • 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.

  • 39%Bachelor's Degree
  • 30%Some College Courses
  • 14%High School Diploma, or the equivalent

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 Technical Sales Representative do?
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 postsecondary education. Day to day that includes work like negotiate prices or terms of sales or service agreements and Prepare and submit sales contracts for orders.
What skills should a Technical Sales Representative put on a resume?
O*NET rates Persuasion, Speaking, Active Listening, Negotiation, 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 Technical Sales Representative list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Act!, ActionWare, AdTrack Customer Acquisition Management CAM, Amazon Web Services AWS software, and AMG Teleran SalesInSync. 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 Technical Sales Representative work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products, Inside Sales Representative, Marketing Representative, and Sales Representative. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Technical Sales Representative need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 39% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Technical Sales Representative 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.