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Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products

Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers where technical or scientific knowledge is required in such areas as biology, engineering, chemistry, and electronics, normally obtained from at least 2 years of postsecondary education.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Arrange for installation and testing of products or machinery.
    • Emphasize product features, based on analyses of customers' needs and on technical knowledge of product capabilities and limitations.
    • Quote prices, credit terms, or other bid specifications.
    • Verify customer credit ratings.
    • Visit establishments to evaluate needs or to promote product or service sales.
    • Negotiate prices or terms of sales or service agreements.
    • Answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, or credit terms.
    • Demonstrate the operation or use of technical or scientific products.
    • Prepare and submit sales contracts for orders.
    • Inform customers about issues related to responsible use and disposal of products, such as waste reduction or product or byproduct recycling or disposal.
    • Advise customers on product usage to improve production.
    • Study documentation or other information for new scientific or technical products.
    • Present information to customers about the energy efficiency or environmental impact of scientific or technical products.
    • Maintain customer records, using automated systems.
    • Initiate sales campaigns to meet sales and production expectations.
    • Contact new or existing customers to discuss how specific products or services can meet their needs.
    • Provide customers with ongoing technical support.
    • Attend sales or trade meetings or read related publications to obtain information about market conditions, business trends, environmental regulations, or industry developments.
    • Collaborate with colleagues to exchange information, such as selling strategies or marketing information.
    • Attend sales or trade meetings or read related publications to obtain information about market conditions, business trends, environmental regulations, or industry developments.
    • Compute customer's installation or production costs and estimate savings from new services, products, or equipment.
    • Select or assist customers in selecting products based on customer needs, product specifications, and applicable regulations.
    • Complete expense reports, sales reports, or other paperwork.
    • Prepare and submit sales contracts for orders.
    • Complete expense reports, sales reports, or other paperwork.
    • Sell service contracts for technical or scientific products.
    • Verify accuracy of materials lists.
    • Verify that delivery schedules meet project deadlines.
    • Identify prospective customers, using business directories, leads from existing clients, participation in organizations, or trade show or conference attendance.
    • Stock or distribute resources, such as samples or promotional or educational materials.
    • Inform customers of estimated delivery schedules, service contracts, warranties, or other information pertaining to purchased products.
    • Consult with engineers regarding technical problems with products.
    • Visit establishments, such as pharmacies, to determine product sales.
    • Provide feedback to product design teams so that products can be tailored to clients' needs.
    • Sell technical and scientific products that are environmentally sound or designed for environmental remediation.
    • Present information to customers about the energy efficiency or environmental impact of scientific or technical products.
    • Stock or distribute resources, such as samples or promotional or educational materials.
    • Prepare sales presentations or proposals to explain product specifications or applications.
    • Visit establishments to evaluate needs or to promote product or service sales.

    Skills

    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    Abilities

    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    Knowledge

    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    Education

    Education
    Bachelor's degree
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    1 to 12 months on-the-job training

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    130470/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    62.73/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    13,580
    Yearly Projected Openings
    1540

    Personality

    Enterprising: People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Integrity
    • Initiative
    • Cooperation
    • Dependability
    • Persistence
    • Stress Tolerance

    Tools

    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
    • Tablet computers

    Technology

    • Access software
    • Accounting software
    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Business intelligence and data analysis software
    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Cloud-based data access and sharing software
    • Customer relationship management CRM software
    • Data base management system software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Data mining software
    • Desktop publishing software
    • Development environment software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise application integration software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Information retrieval or search software
    • Internet browser software
    • Internet protocol IP multimedia subsystem software
    • Network conferencing software
    • Network security and virtual private network VPN equipment software
    • Object or component oriented development software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Project management software
    • Sales and marketing software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Transaction security and virus protection software
    • Video conferencing software
    • Video creation and editing software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Word processing software