A sales executive is a professional who directs and drives the sales operations in an organization and ensures good relations with the company's clients. They are employed by a wide variety of industries such as manufacturing, retail, information technology, automotive and pharmaceuticals. In some companies, they are considered to be supervisors of sales representatives who manage a particular sales team.
They have to ensure their organization's good reputation amongst their clients and the general public. Besides carrying out publicity work, they also have to execute administrative duties such as creating reports and reviewing them. Overall, the goal of a sales executive is to maximize the company's sales profits and make it available to a wider audience. The position of a sales executive in any company is of prime importance due to the role they play in driving the business towards achieving its goals.
Description
Maintaining good relationships with the company's clients is considered to be the chief goal of a sales executive. They also have to delegate appropriate tasks to subordinate sales representatives and explain the functioning and execution of each task before assigning them. They should be able to explain the features and specifications of the products to clients during official presentations. Identifying new markets and estimating the potential of these markets is another task that is carried out by a sales executive.
They also have to keep a track on the market conditions and competitor activity in order to stay ahead of the competition with the help of innovation and new strategies. They are involved in administrative tasks of creating reports, monitoring the existing ones and sending it to senior management officials for a final review. These reports have to be handled with great care as even a small error could prove to be costly due to the high profile nature of sales activity in an organization.
Skills
Being a part of the sales industry, a sales executive is expected to possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills as they have to make a lasting impression on clients and other external sources. They should appear confident at all times and have a good sense of judgment while carrying out critical tasks. As they have to supervise other employees in the sales department, they need to have good leadership and organizational capabilities. They should have a passion for selling products and promoting them in a positive manner. Knowledge of computing applications such as MS Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook is essential in order to carry out their administrative duties and create presentation slides for client meetings. A sales representative is responsible for the success and failure of the entire sales team that he/she is handling and should thus have a good work ethic and positive outlook.
Requirements
Most companies require candidates who possess a bachelor's degree in business administration with specialization in subjects such as sales, marketing, communications and advertising. In some cases, candidates with enough experience as a sales representative may also be considered for this position even if they do not possess the necessary educational qualifications. On the job, they are trained on various aspects of sales and also receive formal training on the features and other aspects of the product.
Career Advancement
Although they work at a high level in the sales department, many sales executives receive promotion to senior managerial level on the basis of good performance and tenure in the organization. Those who perform excellently on a regular basis may also get promoted to the position of the sales director in the company. In some cases, they may start their own private firms that deal will sales on behalf of other companies.
Compensation and Benefits
Sales executives can earn between $70,000 and $130,000 depending upon a number of different factors such as experience, skill level and industry. Those who have larger job responsibilities are paid even higher. They also receive additional compensation for excellent performance in the form of a salary bonus. Extra benefits of this profession include paid vacations, sick leaves, health insurance and pension plans.
The field of sales has a number of excellent job opportunities and career advancement prospects and sales executive work emphasizes these qualities of the sales field. Those who are preparing themselves for a career in sales should aim to work as a sales executive at some point in their careers.