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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Sales & Service Representative

💰 $32,000 - $60,000

SalesCustomer ServiceRetail

🎯 Role Definition

The Sales & Service Representative is a frontline revenue and retention specialist who engages prospects and existing customers to generate sales, process orders, and resolve inquiries end-to-end. This role requires proactive selling (upsell/cross-sell), accurate order management, timely problem resolution, and consistent adherence to company policies and performance metrics. The ideal candidate combines persuasive communication, robust product knowledge, CRM fluency, and a service-first mindset to convert interest into transactions and build long-term customer loyalty.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Retail Sales Associate transitioning into account-based selling and service.
  • Call Center / Contact Center Representative with strong customer handling skills.
  • Inside Sales Representative or Telemarketer moving into consultative sales.

Advancement To:

  • Account Manager / Account Executive
  • Sales Supervisor or Team Lead
  • Territory Sales Representative / Field Sales
  • Customer Success Manager or Client Relations Lead

Lateral Moves:

  • Inside Sales Specialist
  • Technical Support Representative
  • Billing & Order Processing Specialist
  • E‑commerce Customer Experience Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Proactively identify sales opportunities during every customer interaction by listening to needs, asking qualified questions, and proposing relevant product or service solutions that increase average order value and drive quota attainment.
  • Meet or exceed individual and team sales targets and KPIs through consistent outbound prospecting, inbound lead conversion, and timely follow-up on warm leads using a consultative sales approach.
  • Maintain deep and up-to-date product and service knowledge to confidently demonstrate features, explain benefits, handle objections, and position competitive advantages tailored to customer needs.
  • Process customer orders accurately and efficiently across channels (POS, phone, email, web orders, or CRM), ensuring correct pricing, discounts, delivery instructions, and payment collection while minimizing order errors and chargebacks.
  • Manage end-to-end customer service cases: diagnose issues, propose solutions, coordinate cross-functional support (logistics, billing, technical teams), and close the loop with the customer to ensure satisfaction and retention.
  • Resolve customer complaints and escalations with a calm, professional manner by investigating root causes, offering appropriate remedies (refunds, replacements, credits), and escalating to management when policy exceptions are required.
  • Conduct value-based upselling and cross-selling during the service journey by recommending complementary products, extended warranties, subscriptions, or premium services that align with customer objectives.
  • Build and maintain detailed customer profiles and activity logs in the CRM, capturing preferences, purchase history, follow-up reminders, and next-best actions to enable personalized outreach and lifecycle management.
  • Qualify inbound leads to gauge urgency, budget, decision timeline, and stakeholders, then route or nurture leads following sales playbooks and lead-scoring models to maximize conversion rates.
  • Deliver product demos, guided walkthroughs, and onboarding support for new customers or users to accelerate time-to-value and reduce early churn using clear, repeatable scripts and materials.
  • Schedule and manage appointments, deliveries, installations, or service calls with internal teams and third-party vendors while confirming availability and coordinating timelines to meet promised SLAs.
  • Execute targeted outbound campaigns (phone, email, SMS) to inactive accounts, seasonal promotions, or new product launches, tracking campaign performance and follow-up activities to re-activate revenue.
  • Track performance metrics (sales revenue, conversion rate, average handle time, NPS/CSAT) and participate in regular coaching sessions and huddles to continuously improve results and align with organizational goals.
  • Handle returns, exchanges, and warranty requests by following company policies and record adjustments accurately in inventory and financial systems to preserve margin and customer trust.
  • Educate customers on billing, invoicing, payment options, and account updates; resolve billing disputes by reconciling account statements and coordinating with finance to issue credits where appropriate.
  • Collaborate with marketing and product teams to provide customer feedback, identify recurring objections, and contribute to FAQ content, sales collateral, and training materials that improve conversion and satisfaction.
  • Maintain compliance with company policies, regulatory requirements, data security, and privacy guidelines when handling customer data and payment information to protect the company and its customers.
  • Participate in product launches, promotions, and merchandising activities to ensure accurate in-store or online representation, pricing accuracy, and promotional compliance.
  • Use CRM and analytics tools to generate daily/weekly reports on pipeline, customer touchpoints, and sales forecasts; proactively flag risks and opportunities to management.
  • Facilitate contract renewals and subscription upgrades by monitoring renewal dates, contacting accounts early, and negotiating terms that retain revenue and maximize lifetime value.
  • Mentor new hires by sharing best practices in sales techniques, objection handling, CRM usage, and service workflows to help onboard colleagues and scale high-performing behaviors.
  • Represent the brand professionally at industry events, community outreach, or local store activations to grow brand awareness and create inbound opportunities.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc reporting and data entry tasks such as updating inventory counts, validating price lists, and maintaining product SKUs in back-office systems.
  • Assist with quality assurance by reviewing recorded calls and chat transcripts to identify training needs and continuous improvement opportunities.
  • Contribute to process improvement initiatives by documenting pain points, drafting recommended SOP updates, and piloting small experiments to improve conversion or service speed.
  • Coordinate with logistics and warehouse teams to expedite rush orders, confirm stock availability, and resolve fulfillment exceptions.
  • Aid in the development of learning materials, playbooks, and cheat sheets to standardize selling language and improve onboarding efficiency.
  • Participate in cross-functional projects such as CRM migrations, omnichannel integrations, and customer journey mapping to ensure frontline perspective is represented.
  • Provide periodic feedback to product and engineering teams about recurring customer feature requests, defects, or usability issues that impact sales or retention.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • CRM proficiency (Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, Zendesk Sell) — record activities, manage pipeline, and run basic reports.
  • Point-of-Sale (POS) and order-management systems experience for accurately processing transactions, returns, and exchanges.
  • Strong phone, email, and live-chat communication skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent conversations.
  • Sales techniques: consultative selling, upselling, cross-selling, qualifying leads, objection handling, and closing strategies.
  • Basic billing and invoicing knowledge including payment processing, refunds, chargebacks, and subscription billing mechanics.
  • Familiarity with analytics and reporting tools (Excel, Google Sheets, basic SQL or BI dashboards) to track KPIs and produce performance summaries.
  • Knowledge of product configuration, pricing, discounts, and promotional rules to apply offers correctly and preserve margin.
  • Experience with ticketing / helpdesk platforms (Zendesk, Freshdesk, ServiceNow) for case management and SLA adherence.
  • Multichannel support competency: phone, email, chat, social media, and in-person customer interactions.
  • Basic technical troubleshooting skills for diagnosing simple product issues or escalating appropriately to technical teams.
  • Multilingual or bilingual ability (where applicable) to serve diverse customer populations and expand market reach.
  • Familiarity with compliance and data privacy regulations (PCI, GDPR, CCPA) when handling sensitive customer information.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional verbal and written communication with active listening and clear, empathetic responses.
  • Problem-solving mindset with the ability to de-escalate conflicts and negotiate fair outcomes under pressure.
  • Customer-first attitude and emotional intelligence to read customer cues and personalize the service experience.
  • Time management and organizational skills to prioritize tasks, follow-up commitments, and manage a busy pipeline.
  • Resilience and persistence: comfortable handling rejection and staying motivated to hit sales goals.
  • Adaptability to changing product portfolios, pricing, and company policies in a fast-paced environment.
  • Team orientation and collaboration skills for working with sales, operations, marketing, and technical teams.
  • Attention to detail for accurate order capture, data entry, and compliance with company workflows.
  • Initiative and self-motivation to identify opportunities for process improvement and to independently close gaps.
  • Coaching receptiveness and willingness to apply feedback for continuous performance improvement.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Communications, Hospitality, or a related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Marketing
  • Communications
  • Hospitality Management
  • Retail Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 0–3 years in customer-facing roles; many employers prefer 1–2 years of demonstrated sales or service experience.

Preferred:

  • 2+ years of experience in retail sales, inside sales, contact center, or account service with documented achievement of sales targets and strong CRM usage. Experience handling escalations, processing complex orders, and working cross-functionally is highly desirable.
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