There are some sales jobs that require a great deal of skill and expertise from their sales agents. Medical or pharmaceutical sales persons for example should have at least a degree in science, medicine or pharmacy to be able to sell their products. There are also some sales jobs that don't require a degree like sellers of candy or furniture.

What a sales representative does depends on the company he or she is working for, as well as the line of the company itself. Some sales representatives travel a lot to their clients, while others are always in the central office making calls. Sales representatives also have different techniques to encourage potential customers to buy their products and services.

Most companies would prefer their sales teams to have good background in the things they're selling. And because of his, it helps that these individuals know how to converse with people intelligently about the product so having a communication or business course is a great advantage. Many companies in fact hire people with just these skills.

There are also different ways that sales persons are paid. There are a number of sales representatives that are paid for every product that they sell, while others have set salaries, and are usually given bonuses if their quota is reached or surpassed. The first pay structure is called commission sales.

In general, sales representatives usually work must harder if they are paid on a commission basis. There may be some months when they aren't able to sell anything, which means that they won't get paid, while there could be other months when money just keeps on coming in.