While many of an associate sales representative’s duties and responsibilities vary by company, certain tasks are likely to be fairly common. The majority of this position’s responsibilities revolve around sales and representing the company to clients and customers, ensuring that they are aware of the products available to them. As an associate sales representative, you will most likely work at a lower level than other salespeople or as part of a team under the supervision of a manager. This job may require you to travel between locations while representing a company and its products in order to maintain a large client base and increase sales.
One of an associate sales representative’s main responsibilities is to represent the company for which he or she works by providing information. A representative from a company that makes medical instruments, for example, might visit various hospitals and doctor’s offices to provide information about their products. This can start with an initial contact in which the associate sales representative provides basic information and establishes a relationship with the customer. Customer service and providing information required to maintain an ongoing financial relationship between the client and the company are usually the focus of ongoing communications between the representative and the client.
To maintain relationships with various clients, an associate sales representative may be required to travel extensively. Companies, for example, frequently have business interests in multiple regions, and the representative may be responsible for meeting the needs of clients in each of these areas. For example, an associate sales representative for a software company might be expected to travel to different countries to show how the company’s programs have been localized for those regions. A translator can help with this, but it’s still important for the representative to know how to demonstrate value and provide customer service across cultures.
As an associated sales representative, you may be expected to report to other sales reps with more experience and leadership. Companies may divide their sales departments into teams, each of which is led by a leader and consists of a variety of salespeople. By demonstrating his or her ability to make sales and maintain client relationships, an associate sales representative can often advance to a higher position. This work is usually rewarded with a variety of bonuses and professional advancement to a leadership position or as a full representative, with more control over which clients he or she wishes to work with for a company.