Writing the ultimate sales representative job description [with template]

A sales representative job description isn’t a document you quickly throw together. The reps you hire will determine whether you hit your targets and generate revenue. To find applicants who will improve your customer experience, it’s critical that you create a comprehensive and transparent job description.

The more detailed the description, the higher the likelihood you’ll find the right match for the position. Set the tone, clearly spell out who you want, who you are, and why that potential employee should work with you.

7 tips for nailing your sales representative job description

Regardless of the sales representative job you’re hiring for, the description typically has the same structure:

• Company info

• Title info

• Summary objective

• Qualifications

• Job duties and responsibilities

It’s how you approach this structure that makes all the difference. Just as job seekers want to sell their skills and abilities to you, you also must sell your company and department to attract the most talented candidates. When writing each sales rep job description, consider these tips for providing enough detail while also engaging applicants.

1. Identify your ideal candidate

This element is the foundation of your sales rep job description. Just like writing buyer personas, create a document that outlines your target applicant—one who has all of the necessary skills for the role and whose values align with your company culture.

With this document in hand, answer the following questions to dig into the new position’s purpose:

• Is a similar position already in place?

• How will this position differ from existing positions?

• What value will this position provide the department?

• What are some example sales goals?

• What are the minimum skills required?

Interview your top-performing sales reps and account executives to understand their daily responsibilities and what skills/tasks their position requires. Ask them what they think would be vital to a new employee, in skills and experience. Incorporate their feedback into the description as required skills and actual daily responsibilities like the Buffer example below.

Buffer sales rep job description

2. Be transparent

While leaving the “boring tasks” out might make your job description more appealing, it will usually backfire. Upon getting hired, your new employee might be disengaged or even angry, as they could feel misled by the hiring process. Include all tasks you expect an applicant to complete as part of the role, whether simple, monotonous, or complex.

MobyMax, an ed-tech platform, shows exactly what its position is about in the example below. Letting people know it’s a remote, full-time sales position right away minimizes potential confusion. The more open you can be about the expectations regarding responsibilities and execution, the better.

MobyMax example: Inside Sales Rep

3. Keep your sales rep job post concise

Managers, eager to include everything in their sales job description, may end up going overboard. If you bombard candidates with a dense page of responsibilities and information, your ideal applicant may end up overwhelmed and opt-out of applying.

Notice how Bread, a payment platform, expertly handled their company description. While they could have said, “Bread makes buying essential items such as furniture, vehicles, etc., cost less for people with an average salary,” the company gets to the point by stating, “Bread makes essential purchases affordable to regular people.”

Bread sales position

Write a succinct sales job description by shortening each section. Keep these tips in mind:

• Avoid prepositional phrases

• Don’t use two words when one will do

• Focus on what’s critical in the position

• Include information about your company, but don’t provide your entire website copy

If it helps, write out the sales rep description first, fluff and all. Then go back through and delete unnecessary sentences.

4. Avoid vague, generic descriptions

Sales lingo can be dry, which makes it easy to jot down general responsibilities.

Don’t take the easy way out with descriptions like “responsible for bringing potential customers into the company via lead generation.” Use the information you gathered during meetings with your hiring team and recruiter to nail down tasks that are specific to the position. Instead of saying, “able to promote our product,” you might ask that candidates are “able to learn and pitch the benefits of our offering at both an executive and junior buyer level.”

In the example below, Auth0 took this approach when looking for a junior sales engineer. Each bullet point states a responsibility that the candidate will have and how they’ll accomplish each one. For example, “design and build new and relevant demonstrations…” describes what they’ll do (design and build demonstrations), for what (Auth0’s platform), and with who (sales engineering team and the office.)

Auth0 sales rep job description

5. Ditch the technical sales jargon

You want to add details relevant to a sales representative’s job. But you don’t want to overwhelm an applicant with jargon.

According to Monster UK, “57% of respondents said jargon in job ads puts them off applying for a role.” They also found that the sales industry is one of the worst for using jargon.

The best candidates are busy. They don’t have time to decipher confusing position descriptions, so the language needs to be as clear and straightforward as possible.

Avoid technical wording and phrases that may not be common or may need extra thought. Avoid words like “KPIs” or “SQLs” for entry-level sales positions. Put your entire description in layman’s terms—similar to this Zendesk sales rep job description. Each section gives a quick summary without unnecessary jargon.

Zendesk sales position

6. Show the human side of your company

Many startups today provide a comfortable work environment—dogs are allowed, the dress code is casual, and employees have unlimited paid time off. As a result, many job applicants expect workplaces to be flexible and friendly.

Attract these candidates by showing your company culture throughout your job description. For example, talk about the amazing office space, snack bar, or casual Friday.

In addition to listing company culture elements, the right wording is crucial in setting the tone from the start. Don’t be afraid to add some humor or at least warmth if that’s part of what your culture. is about. Try to be conversational and show your company’s personality through language.

One way to do this is to use the second person to address the candidate, like, “You are an excellent social seller.” Avoid third-person phrases, such as “The candidate should be skilled at social selling.”

And, of course, GitHub, for example, summarizes their company values well in their job description. If you look at the example below, you’ll see they clearly talk about who they are before focusing on what they want in each worker (collaboration, empathy…) to communicate their human side and culture.

GitHub sales position

7. Communicate the value of the position

You’re vying for the attention of every candidate. The best candidates know what they’re looking for, and if you fail to communicate why the position is important and what the candidate will get out of it, you risk losing their application.

Remember, your value proposition goes beyond salary. Create an enticing sales representative job description by highlighting these non-monetary factors:

• Benefits

• Work-life balance

• Career growth opportunities

• Product/service quality

For example, according to Bridge, offering career training and development would keep 86 percent of millennials from leaving their current position. Communicate what you have to offer, and your job description will inspire job seekers and motivate them to apply.

Amplitude takes this approach with its enterprise sales development representative position.

Amplitude sales rep job description

The description states how the candidate will grow over a 90-day timeline and how the company will support this growth.

Create your sales rep job description with 3 Zendesk templates

If you’re unsure about a sales rep’s or an account executive’s responsibilities and requirements, use the first two descriptions below as a jumping-off point to create your own. Use the first two descriptions below as a jumping-off point to create your own. Or, use the third if you’re looking for a fill-in-the-blank option.

1) Sales development rep description
Typically, a sales development rep uses their communication and interpersonal skills to generate leads, build customer relationships, convey benefits, and, hopefully, sell new products or services.

Negotiation skills are a must, as well as a strong ability to connect with people. Presentation experience and networking skills are also essential. Common responsibilities include:

• Cold calling

• Emailing

• Social selling

• Acting as the first face for a client

Here’s a sales representative job description template:

Why it’s effective:

• The summary draws the candidate in and gets them excited to work for Zendesk

• The description is brief and concise

• Rather than titling the last section something generic like “Desired Skills,” the writer of this description chose “Bonus Points” as the header

• The responsibilities are specific to the role: “Qualifying and disqualifying inbound leads in a high-volume environment using calls, emails, and LinkedIn InMails”

• Language is easy to understand

2) Account executive description

A step up from a sales representative, an account executive uses their expert communication skills to generate sales opportunities and take ownership of their assigned accounts. They nurture relationships with current clients and also build relationships with new ones. They work with both clients and internal teams.

A successful account executive balances planning client outreach and account coordination or management. They regularly report on their accounts’ health and identify growth opportunities with clients, such as upsells.

Here’s an example of a sales job description for an account executive:

Why it’s effective:

• Outlines the positive aspects of working with Zendesk by talking about both facts and culture

• Injects personality into the role: “Located in our sunny (sometimes) San Francisco office, our sales team is looking for a bright, motivated and high-performing Account Executive to join our crew”

• Defines how the company will bring value to the candidate’s career

• Goes more in-depth, as it’s for a tenured role, while staying concise

3) Fill-in-the-blank sales job description

This fill-in-the-blank and annotated sales job description enables you to create a complete, concise, and engaging job posting in minutes. Remember to keep in mind the role you’re hiring for and all the tips from above.

Don’t be afraid of modifying the template by adding or removing sections. Consider what makes your position unique—required skills, day-to-day tasks for the position—to decide how to customize the template.

Get started by copying and pasting the template below:

Consider framing requirements as a minimum and optional so that candidates can evaluate whether they’re a good fit for the role.

Set yourself up for success with your sales rep job description

Your sales rep job description is your first opportunity to leave a positive impression on job seekers. Wow applicants by taking the time to write a balanced job description.

Use tried and true formulas, like our templates, while also customizing the description language to fit your company’s needs and voice. This thoughtful approach to job postings will increase your chances of finding the best fit candidate, whether you’re hiring a sales rep or an account executive. Some of these tips can even help you find customer service staff.

Need more hiring process tips? Check out our other posts to help you find, interview, and hire the perfect sales candidates:

• How to efficiently screen resumes and cover letters
• Best practices for interviewing candidates
• Make the right hiring decision