Career Videos

Video Transcript

Successful service sales representatives bring a combination of good listening, follow-through, and drive to their interactions with customers. Whether they sell services to individuals or businesses, they develop trust through excellent communication and finding ways to resolve clients’ problems. Most sales representatives spend significant time generating potential sales through outreach to past clients and targeting likely sources to develop new clients. The ability to make a connection with people over the phone, in person, or in writing, is essential to this work. It’s also vital that they understand the service they are selling and how it can benefit clients, so they can readily describe service features, price and contract options, service availability, and credit terms. Sales work also involves maintaining relationships with clients and offering technical assistance to ensure the services meet a client’s needs as intended. Service sales representatives keep up with changes to their industry, such as regulations, and shifts in market conditions. Some of the types of services they sell may include catering for meetings and events, engineering design, public relations and communications, and others. Service sales representatives often depend on commission or bonus income based on their sales, in addition to a base salary. Because many sales fall through, service sales representatives require the ability to deal with rejection and competition. Most enjoy a great deal of independence to set their own schedule. Service sales representative positions typically require a high school diploma, and workers learn their skills on the job.