SALES & MARKETING - SALES REP 26 25 SALES & MARKETING Sales Rep. No matter the size of a company, there’s always a worker dedicated to selling products and services. A food company could have the best cookies in the world but if there isn’t someone there to help sell them then this could mean disaster. Even with the rise of marketing technologies having a sales representative is a necessity. Although content marketing is an effective tool for companies to sell products many businesses still prefer to do business with sales representatives. Sales is a prominent career in the food industry and there is always a need for effective salespeople. How much a product sells serves as a measure of how good a company is doing and plays a pivotal role in the building of loyalty and trust between customer and business. Sales representatives support company growth by closing deals, maintaining relationships and bringing in new customers. 1. Sales Reps Grow Company Sales Sales representatives are responsible for helping customers through all stages of the sales process. Instead of selling products directly to consumers they will sell products to businesses, organizations and government wholesalers. Products are sold by building relationships with new and existing customers, identifying customer needs and following up in a timely fashion. They use market and product knowledge to source and develop new sales leads through prospecting, referrals, leads and cold calling. Sales representatives develop a thorough knowledge of the main products of their company and their competition. Having an extensive knowledge allows them to personally explain to customers the benefits that their products can provide them. Depending on a customer request, a salesperson may lead business meetings using sale presentations, business reports and proposals. These professionals also recognize and develop promotional opportunities and recommend these events and activities to other departments such marketing. In the case of the of food industry they will attend food events and trades show as these places have many potential leads. Finally, sales representatives work closely with other departments to deliver results to customers. Sales representatives need to understand the capabilities of their companies because they can’t over promise and under deliver. They can’t go promising their organization can supply millions of cookies when they only have the capabilities to make thousands! 2. Sales Reps Build and Maintain Relationships At the heart of any sales job is establishing and building relationships with people and companies. These relationships are based on the agreement that sales representatives will provide a service adequately and that the customer will hold up their end of the bargain. Customers have considerations they need to account for when purchasing products or services which include budgets, goals and concerns. For example, a sales representative working for a cookie company may want to sell their product to a grocery store. The grocery store Sales Rep. Selling products for company success Going to a tradeshow as a student? Then consider using our tips to navigate at tradeshows as a student by our previous Food Campus Ambassador Jennie. Click the photo to read all about it! Photo by SDI Productions/E+
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