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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Sales Administrative Assistant

💰 $ - $

SalesAdministrationCustomer ServiceSales OperationsOffice Support

🎯 Role Definition

The Sales Administrative Assistant supports the sales organization by executing administrative tasks, maintaining accurate sales data, preparing quotes and proposals, coordinating order fulfillment, and delivering responsive customer service. This role combines CRM management, order-to-cash support, sales reporting, and cross-functional coordination to enable account executives and sales managers to focus on revenue generation.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Sales Intern or Sales Support Intern
  • Customer Service Representative or Client Services Associate
  • Administrative Assistant or Office Coordinator

Advancement To:

  • Sales Coordinator
  • Senior Sales Support Specialist
  • Account Manager or Inside Sales Representative
  • Sales Operations Analyst / Sales Operations Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Customer Success Specialist
  • Marketing Coordinator (sales enablement)
  • Operations Coordinator or Procurement Support

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Manage day-to-day CRM operations: create and update customer and prospect records, log activities, maintain pipeline hygiene, assign leads, and ensure data integrity in Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, or equivalent systems to support accurate forecasting and reporting.
  • Process sales orders from receipt through fulfillment and invoicing, coordinate with warehouse/logistics and finance teams to confirm shipping details, handle order changes, and expedite shipments when necessary to meet client commitments.
  • Prepare accurate, branded sales quotes, proposals, and contracts using CPQ tools or templates; ensure pricing, discount approvals, and terms are compliant with company policy and coordinate sign-off workflows with legal and sales leadership.
  • Generate, analyze, and distribute weekly and monthly sales reports and dashboards (pipeline reports, quota attainment, open orders, backlog, win/loss analysis) using Excel, Google Sheets, Looker, Tableau, or BI tools to provide actionable insights to the sales leadership team.
  • Coordinate calendars, schedule internal and external sales meetings, product demos, customer visits, and travel arrangements for sales representatives and executives to optimize customer engagement and time management.
  • Act as primary administrative point of contact for assigned accounts: respond to customer inquiries, provide order status updates, process returns and credits, and resolve routine billing and logistics issues while escalating complex problems to account managers.
  • Maintain accurate pricing lists, product catalogs, and sales collateral; update sales playbooks and enablement materials to reflect current promotions, SKUs, and terms so the sales team has up-to-date resources.
  • Support territory and quota administration including maintaining territory assignments, performing quota calculations, and distributing leads based on defined territory rules and sales priorities.
  • Track and process customer contracts and legal documents: enter contract metadata, store executed agreements in the document repository, alert sales and finance of expiration/renewal dates, and assist with contract amendments.
  • Facilitate timely commission and incentive calculations by compiling activity and sales data, verifying transactions, and providing reconciliations to payroll or compensation teams to ensure accurate payouts.
  • Prepare and submit purchase orders and sales invoices; follow up on outstanding receivables with customers and coordinate with accounts receivable to resolve discrepancies and accelerate cash collection.
  • Support product launches and promotional campaigns by coordinating sample distribution, updating item lists and SKUs in sales systems, and communicating campaign details to sales teams and channel partners.
  • Drive continuous improvement of sales admin processes by documenting standard operating procedures (SOPs), recommending automation opportunities (templates, macros, CRM workflows), and testing system enhancements with IT/ops teams.
  • Monitor and reconcile daily sales activity (orders entered, quotes issued, cancellations) and maintain audit-ready transaction records that support compliance, financial close, and internal controls.
  • Administer lead routing and qualification workflows: triage inbound inquiries from web forms, email, and phone, perform initial qualification steps, assign follow-up ownership, and track conversion metrics.
  • Provide detailed support for large deals and RFP/RFI responses: assemble pricing worksheets, coordinate input from product, legal, and finance, format proposals, and manage delivery timelines to meet client deadlines.
  • Maintain inventory and fulfillment coordination for samples, demo kits, and marketing collateral: track stock levels, place replenishment orders, and coordinate with facilities or distribution centers for timely delivery to sales reps and customers.
  • Assist in preparation of quarterly business reviews (QBRs) and executive presentations by compiling sales performance summaries, customer metrics, and supporting data visualizations.
  • Support onboarding and training for new sales hires: set up CRM accounts, prepare welcome materials, configure access to shared drives and sales tools, and provide orientation on sales admin processes.
  • Monitor customer feedback and service tickets related to sales processes; escalate product/service concerns to the appropriate team and follow up to ensure customer satisfaction and retention.
  • Ensure confidentiality and security of customer and sales data by following company data privacy policies and participating in regular data audits and clean-up initiatives.

Secondary Functions

  • Provide ad-hoc administrative and analytical support to the sales operations or commercial excellence teams for special projects, seasonal campaigns, or system migrations.
  • Assist with event and trade show logistics including registration, booth materials, lead capture workflows, and post-event lead follow-up coordination.
  • Maintain the digital repository of sales materials, case studies, and contract templates so stakeholders can quickly find current resources.
  • Support marketing-sales alignment initiatives by helping manage shared campaigns, distributing lead lists, and reporting on lead-to-opportunity conversion.
  • Help coordinate cross-functional project timelines and action items between sales, finance, product, and supply chain to remove blockers in the sales-to-cash cycle.
  • Conduct periodic audits of customer master data, pricing tables, and order histories to identify discrepancies and recommend corrective actions.
  • Participate in pilot programs for new sales tools or process changes and provide feedback based on user experience and operational impact.
  • Assist with basic AP/AR tasks such as validating vendor statements for sales-related expenses and liaising with finance to resolve invoice disputes.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • CRM administration and daily user proficiency (Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics CRM) — data entry, report generation, and workflow management.
  • Advanced Microsoft Excel (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables, complex formulas, conditional formatting) and Google Sheets for sales reporting and analysis.
  • Familiarity with CPQ/quote generation tools, proposal software (e.g., PandaDoc, Proposify), and document management systems.
  • Order management and order-to-cash process knowledge, including order entry, billing/invoicing, and shipment coordination.
  • Basic accounting and invoicing knowledge; experience coordinating with accounts receivable and billing systems.
  • Experience with sales analytics and dashboarding tools (Tableau, Power BI, Looker) to create and distribute performance dashboards.
  • Proficiency with office productivity suites (G Suite, Microsoft 365), calendar management, and email systems.
  • Experience with ERP or inventory systems (NetSuite, SAP Business One, Oracle NetSuite) or integrations between CRM and ERP.
  • Ability to manage large datasets, perform data clean-up, de-duplicate records, and run data integrity checks.
  • Familiarity with contract administration and basic legal/approval workflows for sales agreements.
  • Experience with lead management, marketing automation platforms (Marketo, Pardot) or basic understanding of inbound lead flows.
  • Comfortable using collaboration tools (Slack, Microsoft Teams, Asana, Jira) and virtual meeting platforms (Zoom, Webex).

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional organizational skills with the ability to prioritize competing requests and maintain accuracy under pressure.
  • Strong verbal and written communication; professional customer-facing demeanor for working with clients and internal stakeholders.
  • High attention to detail and quality assurance mindset when preparing quotes, contracts, and invoices.
  • Problem-solving orientation and the ability to escalate issues appropriately while proposing practical solutions.
  • Time management and multi-tasking skills to balance recurring processes and ad-hoc urgent requests.
  • Customer-centric mindset with a commitment to timely responses and ownership of client issues.
  • Team player who collaborates effectively across sales, finance, logistics, and product teams.
  • Discretion and integrity when handling confidential customer and financial information.
  • Adaptability and willingness to learn new tools, technologies, and changing business processes.
  • Proactive attitude with continuous improvement mindset and a bias for action to streamline sales admin workflows.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent (required)

Preferred Education:

  • Associate degree or Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Sales, Marketing, Finance, or related field (preferred)

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Finance or Accounting
  • Communications
  • Operations Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 1–4 years of experience in sales support, administrative support, customer service, or sales operations roles.

Preferred:

  • 2–5 years in a sales administrative, sales operations, or customer-facing sales support position, especially in B2B, SaaS, manufacturing, distribution, or professional services environments.
  • Demonstrated experience with CRM systems (Salesforce or HubSpot), order management, and sales reporting.
  • Experience supporting quota-bearing sales teams and familiarity with commission/incentive processes is a plus.
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