Sales Representative (Industrial Products)
What the work is
Represents companies in selling a range of specialised chemicals, machines, manufacturing materials and other industrial supplies.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Identifies potential customers and generates leads for industrial products
- Demonstrates the operation of industrial products and equipment, and explains the benefits to customers
- Provides technical support and training to customers on the safe use of industrial products
- Quotes and negotiates prices and credit terms, and completes contracts and records orders
- Arranges delivery of goods and installation of industrial equipment
- Follows up with clients to ensure satisfaction with goods and services purchased, and resolves any problems that arise
- Supports, assists and sells to walk-in customers
- Monitors market trends and competitor activities to identify opportunities for business growth
- Attends trade shows, conferences and industry events to promote industrial products
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a fictional supplier of industrial cleaning machines and chemicals, selling to factories and workshops. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A demonstration works perfectly and the workshop team start asking real questions
- A customer rings to say the machine you recommended has changed their week
- A long relationship with a factory leads to an easy, friendly order
Hard days
- A delivery is late and an angry customer rings you, not the warehouse
- A customer wants a product that is wrong for the job and pushes you to say yes
- Hours on the road, then a stack of order records to catch up on at night
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 221633, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.