Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives
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Speciality
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Overview
Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses or groups of individuals. Work requires substantial knowledge of items sold.
Highlights
Undergraduate program resulting in the highest median salary ($103K): Chemistry
Largest undergraduate program (11.8% of workers): Business Management and Administration
Explore Pathways
Titles for this career often contain these words
SalesRepresentativeSuppliesEquipmentAgentApparelProductsBrokerAccountDiamondDistributorSalespersonHotelGoodsDealerSpecialistCommissionMaterialsBarberBeautyBulkBusinessMachineCommercialMerchantFieldRestaurantSupplyInsidePersonLeatherLivestockPensMotorVehicleMusicalOfficePaperSafetySchoolShoeTextileTobaccoAgriculturalProduceTrimmingsArchitecturalArtistsBottleBottlingBoys'PlantStationtoCanvasChurchFurnitureCirculationCoinConsigneeContainersCordageCustomerTechnicianDistributionEngineeringExporterFactoryMarketingServiceFloristFoodFootwearFreightFuelGeneralMerchandiseGirls'HardwareHobbiesCraftsHomeFurnishingsHouseholdAppliancesImporterIndependentIndustrialRubberJewelryMaltLiquorsManufacturer'sManufacturersMarkingMen'sMetalMillMorticianAccessoriesInstrumentNoveltiesMachinesOilOutsidePetroleumPlasticPressureSensitiveTapePrintingPublicationPulpwoodRecreationReligiousRouteConsultantCoordinatorNegotiatorProfessionalRepTeamMemberSalesmanScrapFindingsSmokingSportingDesignsTextilesDrummerToiletPreparationsTractorTurfUniformsVendingVideotapeWaterSofteningWholesaleWomen'sWoolWriting
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Responsibilities and activities

Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives typically do the following:

  • Identify prospective customers by using business directories, following leads from existing clients, and attending trade shows and conferences
  • Contact new and existing customers to discuss their needs and explain how specific products and services can meet these needs
  • Help customers select products to meet customers’ needs, product specifications, and regulations
  • Emphasize product features that will meet customers’ needs, and exhibit the capabilities and limitations of their products
  • Answer customers’ questions about the prices, availability, and uses of the products they are selling
  • Negotiate prices and terms of sales and service agreements
  • Prepare sales contracts and submit orders for processing
  • Collaborate with colleagues to exchange information, such as information on selling strategies and marketing information
  • Follow up with customers to make sure that they are satisfied with their purchases and to answer any questions or concerns they might have

Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives—sometimes called manufacturers’ representatives or manufacturers’ agents—generally work for manufacturers or wholesalers. Some work for a single organization, while others represent several companies and sell a range of products.

Unlike retail sales workers, who sell goods directly to consumers, wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives deal with businesses, government agencies, and other organizations.

Some wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives work with nonscientific products, such as food, office supplies, and clothing. Other representatives specialize in technical and scientific products, ranging from agricultural and mechanical equipment to computer and pharmaceutical goods.

Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives who lack expertise about a given product frequently team with a technical expert. In this arrangement, the technical expert—sometimes a sales engineer—attends the sales presentation to explain the product and answer questions or concerns. The sales representative makes the initial contact with customers, introduces the company’s product, and obtains final agreement from the potential buyer.

By working with a technical expert, the representative is able to spend more time maintaining and soliciting accounts and less time seeking technical knowledge.

After the sale, representatives may make followup visits to ensure that equipment is functioning properly and may even help train customers’ employees to operate and maintain new equipment.

Those selling consumer goods often suggest how and where merchandise should be displayed. When working with retailers, they may help arrange promotional programs, store displays, and advertising.

In addition to selling products, wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives analyze sales statistics, prepare reports, and handle administrative duties such as filing expense accounts, scheduling appointments, and making travel plans.

Staying up to date on new products and the changing needs of customers is important. Sales representatives accomplish this aim in a variety of ways, including attending trade shows at which new products and technologies are showcased. They attend conferences and conventions to meet other sales representatives and clients and to discuss new product developments. They also read about new and existing products and monitor the sales, prices, and products of their competitors.

The following are examples of types of wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives:

Inside sales representatives work mostly in offices while making sales. Frequently, they are responsible for getting new clients by “cold-calling” various organizations, meaning that they call potential customers who are not expecting to be contacted. That way, a representative can establish an initial contact. They also take incoming calls from customers who are interested in their product, and they process paperwork to complete the sale.

Outside sales representatives spend much of their time traveling to and visiting with current clients and prospective buyers. During a sales call, they discuss the client’s needs and suggest how they can meet those needs with merchandise or services. They may show samples or catalogs that describe items their company provides, and they may inform customers about the prices and availability of the products they are selling and the ways in which their products can save money and boost productivity.

Salary
Median salary: $62,070 annually
Half of those employed in this career earn between $43,580 and $89,030.
$62K$0$50K$100K$150K
Context: Median Salary
How do salaries for this career compare to other jobs' salaries?
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Salary growth for wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives
Is this job likely to reward you for sticking with it through pay raises and promotions? The higher a job’s “experience quotient,” the more you are likely to get as you stay there.
Experience quotient percentile
Take a minute to look at how much you might expect your salary to increase with each five years' experience, as well as how the numbers working at each age change. Does this seem to be a job for the young or the old, or could it be a career offering steady salary growth for many years?
Salary distribution
$73K$48K$64K$69K$71K$55K$71K$69K$30K$0$50K$100K$150K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
Number employed
050K100K150K200K20-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-64
About Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives
How do benefits for this career compare to other jobs? The availability of health care, especially employer provided health care, and pension plans can add significantly to the value of compensation you receive in a career. These charts compare how this career compares to other careers with regard to health care and pension plans.
Employee has health insurance
Employer is providing health insurance
Employer-provided pension plan is available
Worker concerns
Some jobs are more stressful than others, and some are just plain dangerous. The following list gives the percentages of wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives who report hazardous or difficult situations typically occurring at least once a week.
  • Time Pressure (68%)
  • Unpleasant or Angry People (49%)
  • Exposed to Contaminants (41%)
  • High Conflict Frequency (41%)
SOURCES:
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Personality and skills
Can you see yourself in the ranks of Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives? Here are the skills and traits that could lead to success.
Customer-service skills
Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be able to listen to the customer’s needs and concerns before and after the sale.
Interpersonal skills
Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be able to work well with many types of people. They must be able to build good relationships with clients and with other members of the sales team.
Physical stamina
Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives are often on their feet for a long time and may carry heavy sample products.
Self-confidence
Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be confident and persuasive when making sales presentations. In addition, making a call to a potential customer who is not expecting to be contacted, or “cold-calling,” requires confidence and composure.
Injury and Illness
About 14 wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives become injured or ill for every 10,000 workers, which reflects fewer events than in 50% of other careers. The most common specific illnesses or injuries are detailed following.
Carpal tunnel syndrome
All multiple traumatic injuries
All cuts, lacerations, punctures
Education pathways to this career
Education attained by wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives typically hold a high school diploma or equivalent.
Sometimes the typical education identified by the BLS differs a bit from the reality of the how much education current workers actually have. The donut shows the education level held by people currently working as wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives as reported in responses to the American Community Survey.
Details: Education and training recommended for wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives

A high school diploma is typically sufficient for many positions, primarily those selling nontechnical or scientific products. However, representatives selling scientific and technical products usually must have a bachelor’s degree. Scientific and technical products include pharmaceuticals, medical instruments, and industrial equipment. A degree in a field related to the product sold, such as chemistry, biology, or engineering, is sometimes required.

Many sales representatives attend seminars in sales techniques or take courses in marketing, economics, communication, or even a foreign language to improve their ability to make sales.

Details: Licensing and certification recommended for wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives

The Certified Professional Manufacturers’ Representative (CPMR) certification and the Certified Sales Professional (CSP) certification are both offered by the Manufacturers’ Representatives Educational Research Foundation (MRERF). Certification typically involves completing formal technical training and passing an exam. In addition, the CPMR requires 10 hours of continuing education every year in order to maintain certification.

Education level of Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives
Only 49% of wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives have a bachelor's degree or higher.
Education attained by wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives
None
High School
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
Top college degrees
Here are the top college degrees held by the 49% of people in this job who have at least a bachelor's degree. Some of degrees may link to multiple programs due to the way Census classifies college majors. Click on a program to learn more about career opportunities for people who major in that field.
  1. Business Management and Administration
  2. Business/Commerce
  3. Marketing
  4. Communications
  5. Psychology
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College majors held by wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives
This table shows the college majors held by people working as wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives. If you see "**" before the name of a degree/program, that means this field is one that the Department of Education believes is preparatory for this career. However, you can see from this list that those recommendations are far from your only path to this job!
Salary comparison for bachelor's only
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Career salary (tail) versus Career/Major salary (dot)
Does the bachelor's-only salary rise or fall with this major?
$54K$105K
Salary for bachelor's-only
For people with this career and major
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
Salary for all workers
For people with this career and major
Median
Middle 50%
Middle 80%
Education for Career and Major
Bachelor's
Master's
Professional
Doctorate
Workers with this career/major
Percentage in this career with this major
Programs recommended by the Department of Education
The Department of Education recommends the following college degree programs as preparation for this career. You can click a program row to learn more about the program and explore a list of schools that offer the program.
Number of degrees awarded in 2018
Education
Education level of awarded degrees
Assoc./Cert.
Bachelor's
Graduate
Gender
Gender of graduates
Men
Women
Race/Origin
Race/origin of graduates
White
Minority
International
Not so much?
The link between degrees and this career
With the following sankey diagram, you can follow the top ten bachelor's degrees held by people working as wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives, and then, in turn, you can see the 10 occupations that hire the most of each degree's graduates. We hope this provides ideas for similar jobs and similar fields of study.
Expand degrees
Business Management ...General BusinessMarketingCommunicationsPsychologyFinanceEconomicsPolitical Science an...BiologyAccountingAll other degreesThis jobTop 10 majors
Where are the jobs
State-by-state employment numbers
Some careers tend to be centered in specific parts of the country. For example, most jobs in fashion are in New York or California. Let's see if your dream job is easy to find in your dream location! We have a few choices for viewing the data that can help you get a full employment picture.
Select a state to see local area details
Number of Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives per 1,000 workers (ACS)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
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Job density versus job count
Which states hire the most wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives? We wonder if that's a fair question since states come in all sizes, so instead let's start with the question of which states have the highest density of people working as wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives. You can choose to view the number of jobs per state if you prefer.
Salaries by state
Let's get a feel for where wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives earn the highest salaries. There are several choices for which data we consider and how we view that data, and each can lead to different conclusions, so please read on...
Median salary versus state ratio
We use two methods to compare salaries across states:
  • In-state comparisons: the ratio of median (middle) salaries for wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives compared to the median salary for all people working in each state, or
  • Median salary: the unaltered median salaries for wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives.
We hope the ratio allows perspective about how salaries may compare to the regional cost-of-living.
The darkest shading corresponds to states in which wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives earn the highest salary when compared to other jobs in the state. We think this figure might be a better indicator than the actual salary for your buying power as a state resident.
Select a state to see local area details
Location-adjusted median salary for Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives (ACS for all specialties)
AKMEWIVTNHWAIDMTNDMNILMINYMAORUTWYSDIAINOHPANJCTRICANVCONEMOKYWVVAMDDEAZNMKSARTNNCSCDCOKLAMSALGAHITXFLPR
Employment
7% of Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives are working part time.
We’ve found that some jobs have a huge number of part-time workers, and typically that is because they are unable to find full-time work or the job itself can’t provide full-time hours. With 7% part-time workers, this occupation has a lower percentage of part-time workers than 67% of careers.
7%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Employer types
This donut shares the break-down of workers by employer type, giving us a picture of what employers most typically hire for this career.
Employers of undefined (ACS)
Private for-profit
Private not-for-profit
Local government
State government
Federal government
Self-employed incorporated
Self-employed not incorporated
Working without pay
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Distribution: Salaries of wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives by type of employer
Here are the salary distributions based on employer type.
$63K$64K$47K$63K$50K$50K$52K$0$50,000$100,000$150,000Self-employed not incorporatedSelf-employed incorporatedState governmentLocal governmentPrivate not-for-profitPrivate for-profitAll
Gender
Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives and gender
With 27% women, this occupation has a lower percentage of women than 59% of careers.
Gender of Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives
Men (73%)
Women (27%)
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary in this career? The closer the bars are, the less discrepancy there is.
$53K$65K$0$100K$200K$300KWomenMen
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
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Context: Women in the workforce
How does this career compare to other careers with regard to the percentage of women in the career.
27%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Context: Salary inequity
The median (middle) salary for all full-time male workers in the US exceeds the full-time median salary for women by 19%, and the difference for wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives tops that, with the median salary for men 22% higher than the median salary for women.
22%0%20%40%60%80%100%
Race/Origin
Race and origin of Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives
This donut shows the distribution of race and origin among those employed as Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives.
Race/origin of wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives
White (87% )
Black (4% )
Asian (4% )
Other (2% )
Multiracial (2% )
Hispanic (1% )
American Indian (0% )
Pacific Islander (0% )
Distribution: salaries by race/origin
Some careers might have a pay disparity based on race or origin, the closer the below bars are the less of a discrepancy is present.
$42K$44K$47K$51K$51K$51K$63K$65K$0$50K$100K$150KOtherBlackHispanicAsianAmerican IndianMultiracialPacific IslanderWhite
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.