A sales representative helps prospective customers understand, evaluate, and buy a product or service. A useful sales representative job description names the customers you serve, the part of the sales process the person owns, the results you expect, and how you pay them. Settle those decisions before listing personal traits.

“Sales representative” can describe an outbound prospector, someone closing inbound enquiries, or an account owner developing existing business. If you advertise all three under one vague title, candidates have to guess which job they are applying for. Your interviewers may interpret the role differently too.

This guide includes an editable description for a B2B services or software sales role, a responsibility map, and a short assessment you can adapt. The templates and assessment below are original examples, not industry benchmarks or a validated test.

## What does a sales representative do?

A sales representative connects a customer's problem with an offer the business can deliver. The work can include finding prospects, discussing needs, explaining the offer, preparing proposals, agreeing next steps, and maintaining customer records.

The [O*NET profile for service sales representatives](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/41-3091.00) provides a useful task vocabulary. Its US occupation specifically excludes advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel, so it should not become a universal template for every industry.

Describe your actual sales motion. Selling a self-serve subscription after a short trial differs from selling a negotiated service contract with procurement and security reviews. Both involve sales, but they call for different work and support.

Before writing the advert, finish this sentence:

> You will help [customer segment] decide whether [offer] solves [problem], owning [stages] and handing over to [team] when [condition].

For example, a fictional software company might write: “You will help small professional-services firms evaluate our scheduling software, owning discovery through signed agreement and handing onboarding to customer success.” That is a role boundary, not a claim about what all sales representatives do.

## Is this an SDR, account executive, or account manager role?

Choose the title around the work you need owned. The distinctions below are practical operating choices; employers use these titles differently.

| Role pattern | Main ownership | Handoff to make explicit |
|---|---|---|
| Sales development representative, or SDR | Prospecting and qualifying potential opportunities | What makes a meeting ready for the closer? |
| Account executive or closing representative | Assessing fit, managing an opportunity, and agreeing a sale | When does onboarding or delivery take over? |
| Account manager | Managing an existing customer relationship and agreed commercial opportunities | Who owns support, renewals, and expansion? |
| Full-cycle sales representative | Finding prospects through to closing an agreement | What support prevents prospecting and active deals competing without a plan? |

If you need a full-cycle hire, say so. List the lead sources, expected prospecting work, and available marketing or technical support. Avoid advertising a closing role and revealing during interviews that the person must first create the entire pipeline.

Write down what the representative cannot promise. Discount approval, contractual terms, implementation dates, security commitments, and product-roadmap statements need clear owners. A person can be accountable for commercial progress without having authority over every dependency.

If the job is industry-specific, use an industry-specific brief. Our [new-home sales hiring guide](/blog/how-to-hire-new-home-sales-specialist) covers a different sales environment; its responsibilities should not simply be copied into a software role.

## Copy this sales representative job description

Use this as a working draft, then replace every bracket before publishing. It describes a fictional B2B closing role; remove duties your team does not need.

### Sales Representative, B2B [product or service]

**Location:** [location and remote/hybrid arrangement]  
**Employment:** [type and expected working hours]  
**Reports to:** [manager]  
**Compensation:** [base salary range and currency], plus [variable-pay structure]

### Why this role exists

We help [customer segment] solve [specific problem]. You will help suitable customers evaluate [offer], understand its limits, and make a clear buying decision. You will own [discovery through signed agreement] and work with [marketing, technical specialists, and customer success] at defined points.

### What you will do

- Prepare for conversations using relevant information about the prospective customer.
- Ask questions that establish the problem, buying process, constraints, and fit.
- Explain the offer accurately, including where it may not meet the customer's needs.
- Run demonstrations or coordinate specialist support when the opportunity needs it.
- Agree useful next steps and maintain an accurate record of the opportunity.
- Prepare proposals within the company's pricing and approval rules.
- Raise delivery, contractual, or technical questions with the responsible colleague.
- Give the onboarding team a clear account of the customer's goals and commitments.
- Share recurring objections and product feedback with the team.

### What you need to demonstrate

- You can listen closely, ask relevant questions, and summarize a customer's situation.
- You can explain a product or service without promising capabilities it does not have.
- You can organize follow-up and keep useful customer records.
- You can discuss commercial tradeoffs and ask for help when approval is needed.
- You can give a concrete example of learning from an unsuccessful opportunity.

Experience with [relevant customer segment or sales environment] is useful. Explain why any qualification, language, travel, or industry requirement is necessary for this particular role.

### What we provide

You will have [lead sources], [training and coaching], [tools], and access to [technical or delivery support]. During onboarding, you will learn [customer problems], [offer boundaries], and [sales process]. Your manager will review progress against a written ramp plan.

### What success looks like

During the agreed ramp period, you will demonstrate accurate discovery, useful follow-up, and sound judgment about what we can deliver. Once the ramp is complete, we will assess [commercial targets], [opportunity quality], and [handoff standards] under the written plan. We will explain the measurement period, available lead support, and dependencies before you accept the role.

### How the hiring process works

Our process includes [stages], with a short fictional customer exercise. We will tell you what we assess, how long to allow, and which tools you can use. Contact [address or application contact] if you need an adjustment to participate.

This is a draft, not ready-made legal wording. Have the relevant owners check compensation, employment terms, location requirements, and local publication obligations before it goes live.

Use the [O*NET task profile](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/41-3091.00) as a cross-check for missing service-sales work, then make an explicit decision about each duty. An occupation-wide list cannot tell you which tasks belong to this hire.

## Which responsibilities and requirements should you keep?

Keep duties tied to real work and requirements you can explain. A long wish list can hide the few capabilities the job actually needs.

Use a responsibility-to-evidence map while editing:

| Needed work | Requirement you can explain | Evidence to request |
|---|---|---|
| Understand a buyer's problem | Relevant questioning and listening | A discovery conversation and accurate recap |
| Explain an offer | Clear, accurate communication | An explanation using a short product brief |
| Manage active opportunities | Organization and follow-through | A proposed next-step plan for a fictional account |
| Work within commercial rules | Judgment about authority and risk | Response to an unauthorized-discount request |
| Improve with feedback | Willingness to examine decisions | A specific example and what changed afterward |

Avoid turning a preferred background into a mandatory credential without a reason. “Has sold this exact product category” and “can learn our customer's problem” are different requirements. Decide which the job truly needs.

Do not use one national salary figure as the answer to what you should pay. The [US Bureau of Labor Statistics separates technical and nontechnical wholesale and manufacturing sales roles](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/sales/wholesale-and-manufacturing-sales-representatives.htm). That occupational context is useful, but it does not establish a compensation band for your software role, location, or seniority.

For the same reason, avoid copying a quota from a different business. Establish the customer segment, deal economics, territory, lead flow, and sales cycle first. If those are still uncertain, say what the early hire will help you learn and how you will assess progress while the model develops.

## How should you explain salary, commission, and OTE?

Show base pay separately from conditional pay. If you use on-target earnings, or OTE, explain that it means total pay at the stated target under your plan, rather than guaranteed earnings.

[GitLab's compensation handbook](https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/total-rewards/compensation/) provides a concrete example: its sales OTE combines base salary and a commission target, with actual commission tied to target achievement. That is one employer's framework, not a benchmark for your plan.

A candidate should understand the offer without decoding a compensation spreadsheet during the final conversation. Give them the written plan and a named person for questions.

Include:

- Base salary range, currency, and pay period.
- Target variable pay and the period the target covers.
- The event that earns credit, such as a signed agreement or collected revenue.
- Payout timing and any conditions, adjustments, caps, or accelerators.
- Treatment of shared accounts, renewals, cancellations, and territory changes.
- Ramp expectations and any introductory guarantee, if one exists.
- Who can approve changes to the plan.

Do not describe a plan as “uncapped” while hiding conditions that materially limit payment. Do not present a top performer's earnings as typical. If you share historical attainment, state the population and period so candidates can interpret it.

The hiring team should also reconcile the advert, interview explanation, and offer. A change in territory or quota may be a legitimate business decision, but it should not arrive as a surprise after acceptance. The broader [offer-acceptance guide](/blog/offer-acceptance-rate-collapse-why-candidates-decline) explains how to make the final decision easier to understand.

## What is a useful sales representative interview exercise?

Use a short fictional customer conversation to observe the work you need. Give every candidate the same core brief and assessment criteria, while making appropriate adjustments for access needs.

The [US Office of Personnel Management describes structured interviews](https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/assessment-and-selection/structured-interviews/) as using predetermined questions and a common rating standard. You can apply that process discipline without claiming that your own exercise has been scientifically validated.

Here is a suggested exercise design:

1. Give the candidate a one-page fictional product brief. Include capabilities, limitations, pricing boundaries, and a customer scenario.
2. Allow preparation time and state the tool policy. Specify whether notes, search, or AI assistance are permitted.
3. Run a short discovery conversation with a consistent interviewer scenario.
4. Ask for a concise written follow-up covering the problem, unanswered questions, and proposed next step.
5. Ask what the candidate would verify internally before making a commitment.

For a fictional scheduling product, the customer might ask for a security certification the product does not have. The useful evidence is whether the candidate acknowledges the limit, asks what the customer requires, and involves the right specialist. A confident invented assurance should not earn a higher score than an accurate answer.

Here is a compact fictional fact pack you can adapt for that conversation:

| Brief item | Information given to the candidate |
|---|---|
| Customer | A professional-services firm coordinating appointments across a small team |
| Stated problem | Staff spend time resolving clashes in shared calendars |
| Product supports | Shared scheduling and email reminders |
| Product limits | No private deployment and no security certification stated in the customer's request |
| Commercial authority | Published pricing applies; a manager must approve any exception |
| Unknowns to explore | Business impact, decision process, security requirement, and desired timing |

The interviewer can introduce the same request for a security assurance at the same point in each conversation. Assess the response using the published rubric, not whether the candidate discovers an unstated product feature.

Keep the sample proportionate. A suggested 20-minute conversation and short recap are a design choice, not an established optimum. Do not ask applicants to produce a usable prospect list, contact real customers, or create unpaid sales work for your company.

## How should the interview panel score the evidence?

Score what the candidate did and said against the requirements you wrote. Record evidence before debating the overall recommendation.

| Criterion | Strong evidence | Concern to investigate |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | Checks understanding and distinguishes facts from assumptions | Moves to a pitch without understanding the problem |
| Commercial judgment | Tests fit and asks about the buying process | Treats any interest as a qualified opportunity |
| Accuracy | Uses the brief and flags unknowns | Invents features, pricing, or commitments |
| Follow-through | Writes a clear recap with an owner and next step | Leaves the customer with vague promises |
| Collaboration | Recognizes when another colleague's decision is needed | Makes commitments outside the stated authority |

This rubric is an example you must adapt to the job. It is not a personality test, a prediction of quota attainment, or a substitute for reviewing the assessment's effects.

The [EEOC's US guidance on employment tests and selection procedures](https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/employment-tests-and-selection-procedures) explains that selection tools can raise discrimination issues. Using a common rubric does not automatically resolve those issues. Keep the assessment relevant to the actual job and review its use with the appropriate people for your jurisdiction.

For more on keeping evidence separate from impressions, see our [structured interview scorecard guide](/blog/structured-interview-scorecards-predictive-validity).

## Sales representative job description FAQs

### Does a sales representative always need a degree?

There is no single requirement that fits every sales job. Decide whether a qualification is necessary for your product, customer, or regulatory environment. Otherwise, ask candidates to demonstrate the work rather than using an unrelated credential as a proxy.

### Should a sales representative do customer support?

Some roles include post-sale contact, but define the boundary. Explain whether the person owns support, coordinates a handoff, or stays involved in commercial questions. An undefined combination can make both sales and service expectations difficult to meet.

### Can the first sales hire build the entire sales process?

You can hire for that work, but describe it explicitly. Designing segmentation, messaging, tooling, and a repeatable process is additional scope. Do not advertise an established closing role when the main assignment is discovering how the business should sell.

### Should you assess how persuasive someone sounds?

Assess communication in the context of a customer problem. Fluency alone does not show listening, accuracy, or judgment. Ask for evidence of how the person reached a decision and handled uncertainty.

## Keep the role and hiring evidence together in Kit

A clear sales job description should lead to a clear hiring process: the same responsibilities, the same assessment criteria, and an offer that matches what you discussed. Keep those records connected so the panel can explain its decision.

Kit supports job descriptions, hiring stages, team reviews with scores and comments, and offer work. It does not calculate sales commissions or replace your CRM. You still own the role design and compensation plan.

Use the template above to settle the boundaries before you publish. When you are ready to run the process, you can [try Kit](/users/sign_up) and keep the hiring work in one place.