Inside Sales Representative Job Description, Duties, and Responsibilities

Inside Sales Representative Job Description, Duties, and Responsibilities

What Does an Inside Sales Representative Do?

Essentially, the job description of inside sales representatives revolves around coordinating sales activities of a company from within the organization either through direct contact with clients or through electronic communication systems such as telephone and video conferencing.

The first responsibility of an inside sales rep is to greet and welcome clients and visitors to the company.

He/ she is expected to obtain important data and information from customers and enter such in the company’s data base for subsequent use.

The inside sales representative may also be responsible for scheduling appointments for clients.

It is also his or her duty to source for new clients by following-up inbound lead or cold calling outbound clients.

He/she is expected to route inbound calls to appropriate sales executives to assist in closing leads.

It is also the role of the inside sales representative to help clients in making payment; to introduce new products or service to both existing and potential clients.

When communicating with customers, his/her major concern should be to understand customer demands.

The work description of the inside sales representative also entails interviewing clients, researching accounts to identify new clients and routing the prospective clients to the appropriate sales executive to follow up.

He/she provides answer to clients’ inquiries and demonstrates examples to generate interest. He/she must also be able to explain the company’s mode of operation to prospective clients, as well as present the company in positive light.

To be employed as an inside sales re, one must have a demonstrated track record of success in customer service position(s).

The representative must possess strong telephone etiquette with ability to handle numerous calls in a day.

An inside sales representative must possess strong computer skills, and must be proficient in CRM software to carry out his/her functions effectively.

He/she must be proficient in data entry and database management.

He/she must also have the ability to communicate and listen effectively to other people. This would assist him/her in identifying and resolving customer problems.

An inside sales representative must be educated to at least Bachelor’s degree in sales or marketing related discipline.

Equivalent degree in any discipline can be preferred, depending on the nature of the company.

Inside Sales Representative Job Description Example

The typical duties, tasks, and responsibilities which inside sales representatives normally perform are shown in the job description example below:

• Follow-up inbound leads or cold-calling outbound clients
• Route inbound calls to the appropriate sales executive to assist in closing leads
• Listen and interview clients to identify their needs and suggest appropriate products to them
• Answer customer inquiry and demonstrate examples to customers to generate interest
• Welcome and greet customers and visitors to the organization
• Obtain important data and information from customers
• Perform data entry and database management functions
• Assist clients and visitors to schedule appointments
• Assist clients to complete payment after purchase
• Research accounts to identify new leads and route them to the appropriate personnel to follow up on.

Inside Sales Representative Resume Preparation

If you have hands-on experience working as an inside sales representative, the job duties highlighted in the sample job description above will help you in creating a convincing work experience section for your resume.

Requirements – Skills, Abilities, and Knowledge – For Inside Sales Representative Role
If you are thinking of applying for the job of an inside sales representative, below are the major skills, abilities, and knowledge that most employers usually require that candidates for the role should possess:

• Education: To obtain a position as an inside sales representative in most firms, one must possess a minimum academic qualification of Bachelor’s degree in marketing or sales related discipline. However, an equivalent qualification in any discipline may be required depending on the nature of products or service sold by the company
• Experience: The position of inside sales representative is usually offered to candidates with extensive experience in sales, marketing or customer service related job(s). Though some companies do hire inexperienced candidates, but such candidates are usually subjected to weeks of intense training
• Computer Literacy: To work as an inside sales representative, you must be computer savvy; you must have excellent data entry skills, as well as proficiency in CRM applications
• Telephone and Communication Skills: The position of inside sales representative requires constant communication with people either through telephone or one-on-one conversation. So, it is mandatory that he/she possess effective communication skills to be able to convince customers
• Interpersonal and Problem-Solving Skills: He/she must be a people person. An inside sales representative must be able to build strong relation with clients and potential clients at first meeting. He/she must be a problem solver. It is very important that he/she be able to think up solutions to customer inquiries and problems so as to win their trust.

Inside Sales Representative Skills for Resume

If you are writing a resume, one of the sections that that can make it really powerful is the skills section.

This is where you have the opportunity to show the qualities you have that will enable give a first class performance on the job as an inside sales representative.

To make this part of the resume really appealing to employers, you can use the skills and qualifications listed above, but make sure you actually have them before use so as not to be providing wrong information to recruiters.

Conclusion

The inside sales representative job description sample provided in this post may serve as a template for hiring managers to prepare detailed work descriptions for recruiting the right individuals into the position.

The duties and responsibilities of inside sales representatives highlighted in this post are also useful to applicants applying for the role in preparing their resumes.

Did you learn something useful about the duties and responsibilities of an inside sales representative from this post? And do you have some experience working as an inside sales representative? Please make a comment or share your experience in the box below.

Also, see: #2: Inside Sales Representative Job Description