Job Description for a Sales Assistant Manufacturer's Representative

With a go-getter attitude and sales prowess, women can find several available job openings as a sales assistant manufacturer’s representative. Although an advanced education can be helpful in landing this sales position, all you really need is a high school diploma and experience in the field. Within in this position, you’ll work with a sales team to identify potential clients for manufacturing products and monitor potential market innovations.

Sales assistant manufacturer’s representatives aid in the selling of products such as computers, machinery, furniture, electrical equipment and communications equipment, to name a few. You must identify prospective buyers by following leads and frequenting trade shows or conferences, as well as answer questions about product specifications and capabilities. You may instruct customers about product installation and use, as well as provide customer service and answer product questions. Sales assistant manufacturer’s representatives also help identify the product that will best fit the customer’s needs and arrange delivery schedules.

Within the manufacturing industry, sales assistants work as part of a sales team to contact regular and prospective customers, answer questions about prices and availability, provide customers with sample products and catalogs, monitor market conditions and investigate product innovations. As a sales assistant manufacturer’s representative, you may file expense accounts, prepare sales budgets, resolve customer complaints, review credit terms and monitor the competition's prices and products. Because you typically converse with businesses, government agencies and organizations, you may also be required to make travel plans to meet clients.

As a sales assistant manufacturer’s representative, you need extensive knowledge of sales and marketing tactics, including product demonstration and methods for selling products. You must be a customer service wizard with an exceptional understanding of customer needs and customer satisfaction. Interpersonal skills are necessary to build relationships with clients and team members. Self-confidence and stamina are also helpful. You need a thorough understanding of the products that you sell, including knowledge of exactly what products would fit your customer’s needs. Additionally, because you work with business and organizations, an understanding of business negotiations and tactics can be beneficial.

Depending on the type of product that you are selling, the educational requirements for sales assistant manufacturer’s representatives vary. A high school diploma and knowledge of the products being sold are sufficient qualifications for some positions. However, O*Net Online notes that 77 percent of sales representatives within manufacturing and wholesaling hold a bachelor’s degree. About one year of on-the-job training is also standard, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic. Additionally, you can make your skills stand out by pursuing a certification from a sales association such as the Manufacturers’ Representatives Educational Research Foundation, which offers the Certified Professional Manufacturer’s Representative and Certified Sales Professional designations.

Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives earned a median annual salary of $61,270 in 2016, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the low end, wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives earned a 25th percentile salary of $42,360, meaning 75 percent earned more than this amount. The 75th percentile salary is $89,010, meaning 25 percent earn more. In 2016, 1,813,500 people were employed in the U.S. as wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives.