Sales representative | Average UK Salary & Outlook

You can get into this job through:

• A university course. You may need to do a degree in a subject related to your area of sales, especially if you're selling specialist products or services, for example, pharmaceuticals.
• An apprenticeship. You could do an intermediate or advanced apprenticeship in sales and telesales or vehicle sales.

• Working towards this role. You could start as an administrator in a sales office. Experience in a retail or customer service role may help you to become a sales rep. You'll also need a good standard of English and number skills.

You'll need:

• the ability to sell products and services
• customer service skills
• persistence and determination
• to be flexible and open to change
• the ability to work well with others
• the ability to use your initiative
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• excellent verbal communication skills
• to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device