Hiring High-Paying Sales Executive Roles | Aniday
1. What is a Sales Executive?
A Sales Executive is a term used to refer to individuals engaged in activities related to selling a company's products or services. They act as intermediaries connecting customers with the products. This department plays a crucial role in determining the majority of the company's revenue.
Sales roles reflect experience and capacity:
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Salesperson
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Sales Executive
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Sales Leader
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Sales Manager
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Sales Director
2. Main tasks of a Sales Executive
At the level of a Sales Executive, daily tasks are quite numerous due to market demands and the increasing competition with the launch of new products from competitors. Here are some typical responsibilities that a Sales Executive will have to handle:
- Conduct market research and surveys.
- Identify target customers through various means.
- Develop business plans for different stages of the year.
- Address customer issues related to the company’s products/services.
- Build strong relationships with potential customers.
- Collaborate with the Marketing team to understand and communicate marketing programs to customers, ensuring alignment in business operations.
- Analyze, evaluate, and report results to superiors.
To quickly advance to a higher position, a Sales Executive must learn to handle several tasks that require high-level skills, such as:
- Setting business goals based on the company's situation.
- Training and managing the sales team.
- Assigning tasks and monitoring the performance of each employee, designing appropriate work plans for each individual.
- Proposing pricing strategies to senior leadership.
- Resolving issues that arise during the sales process.
- Negotiating with partners to achieve mutually beneficial agreements.
3. Skills required to become a Sales Executive
- Communication Skills: To persuade customers to choose and use your products, a Sales Executive must be very articulate. This is a crucial skill for developing and maintaining a long-term career in sales.
- Problem-Solving Skills: Every Sales Executive should get accustomed to handling “difficult” situations from customers. Learning from these experiences will help you handle similar situations more smoothly in the future.
- Sales Skills: Selling products requires specific skills to increase conversion rates. These skills can be learned in school, and practical application will help you improve quickly.
- Negotiation Skills: This skill is essential to ensure you don’t lose out on benefits that rightfully belong to you. Negotiation is challenging, but with practice and real-world experience, you can master it. Additionally, you need to stay informed about market conditions and update yourself on even the smallest changes to hold the upper hand in negotiations.
- Customer Service Skills: Each customer brings in revenue for the company, and potentially more if they are satisfied with the company’s service. Therefore, sales staff need to pay close attention to after-sales service and take care of their potential customers thoroughly from A to Z.
To advance quickly in your career, you should also develop additional skills such as:
- Foreign Language Skills: Knowing a foreign language can be a springboard for those who want to conquer international markets or work for foreign companies. Being proficient in a foreign language will boost your confidence and make negotiations with customers easier.
- Office IT Skills: Proficiency in office tools will help Sales Executives save time in handling reports and make it easier to manage data.
4. Differences between Sales Executive and Business Development
| Sales Executive | Business Development |
Goals | Aim to meet or exceed sales targets and quotas. | Aims to identify and capitalize on new business opportunities for sustainable growth. |
Scope of Work | Focus on selling products or services to generate immediate revenue. | Focus on strategic growth opportunities and long-term business expansion. |
Methods | Involves presentations, negotiations, and packaging to sell products to customers | Involves research, analysis, and proposal to convince customers |
5. Where do Sales Executives look for jobs?
Popular options include social networks (Facebook, Instagram), job websites (Aniday, LinkedIn etc), references from friends, former colleagues etc.