The sales agent profession is attractive because of the many opportunities it offers and the organisational freedom it provides. But to succeed in this profession, it's not enough to have a good product to sell: you need to master a variety of skills, know your market well and know how to organise yourself efficiently. Interested in becoming a sales agent? Here we reveal all the secrets you need to excel in this role and build an exciting, long-lasting and successful career!
What is a sales agent?
A sales agent is an independent professional responsible for marketing the products or services of the company they represent (the principal). Their role is to prospect for new accounts, negotiate on behalf of the company, sign contracts and build customer loyalty.
Unlike salaried sales representatives, sales agents work independently to develop their customer portfolios. They may work for several companies, subject to any non-competition clauses.
Being a sales agent means more than just being a salesperson: they are an entrepreneur, a strategist, a fine negotiator and an expert in their field, capable of adapting to the needs of their customers and the strategic objectives of their commercial partners.
Essential technical skills
To be an excellent sales agent, you need to master a number of technical skills:
1. Knowing your market
To succeed in sales, you need to have a thorough knowledge of the sector in which you operate. In particular, you need to:
- Understand your customers' needs and identify the specific requirements of your prospects in order to offer them appropriate solutions;
- Know market trends and monitor developments in your sector to better anticipate risks and opportunities;
- Analyse your competitors and keep a constant watch to understand their strengths and weaknesses, and adapt accordingly.
2. Mastering digital tools
Digital tools have become essential and are a precious ally for any successful sales agent. The main software tools to master include :
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tools: Software such as Salesforce or HubSpot can help you optimise your customer relationship management and organise your tasks more effectively.
- Automation tools: MailChimp and Pipedrive, among others, are useful platforms for monitoring prospecting campaigns.
- Management software: Create quotes, track orders or draw up commission invoices for your principal: there is dedicated management software to make these tasks easier.
Intelligent technologies that allow you to optimise your efficiency and improve your organisation, while personalising customer follow-up!
3. Planning and organisation
As a sales agent, you work as an independent professional. On a day-to-day basis, you have to juggle your customer meetings, follow up your prospects and prepare sales presentations and contracts. Although you have a great deal of freedom in organising your work, rigorous management of your schedule is essential.
If you want to keep on top of your diary, a clear schedule and good management skills are a real asset. Tools such as Google Calendar or Trello can help you prioritise your tasks and make sure you don't forget anything.
Essential human skills
As well as technical know-how, an excellent sales agent must have key human qualities to succeed in this profession. These include
1. Listening skills
Active listening is the cornerstone of a good sales relationship:
- Detect customers' explicit and implicit needs;
- Understand their objections and concerns;
- Adjust your sales pitch accordingly.
Far from just talking, a good sales representative needs to know how to listen carefully to customers in order to meet their (real) expectations.
2. Empathy
Empathy is an essential quality for building a lasting relationship of trust with customers. By being able to put yourself in their shoes, you show that you understand their issues, their objectives and their expectations. It's a stance that encourages more authentic exchanges, and lays the foundations for solid, long-term partnerships.
3. Communication
To convince people of the relevance of your products or services, you need to communicate in a way that is :
- Clear and structured
- Adapted to their level of understanding;
- Focused on the added value you provide.
Communicating well means knowing how to use the right words, simply and precisely. Just as important, asking the right questions will capture your audience's attention and involve them in your approach.
4. Negotiating
Knowing how to negotiate is a major skill for a sales agent. Successful negotiation does not simply mean concluding a deal on your terms, but rather :
- Reaching a win-win compromise for both parties;
- Responding to objections diplomatically;
- Maintaining a good margin while ensuring your customer's satisfaction.
To excel in this art, it is essential to establish an equal relationship with your customers. Careful preparation of your negotiations beforehand, as well as factual argumentation during the sale, are key factors for success.
5. The power of persuasion
The power of persuasion is based on several elements: an excellent analysis of the customer's needs, solid factual arguments and the ability to naturally influence decision-making. To do this, you need to :
- Highlight the concrete benefits of your solution;
- Illustrate your proposal with real-life applications or customer testimonials;
- Adopt a stance that is both confident and respectful.
6. Entrepreneurial spirit
Excelling as a sales agent requires an entrepreneurial mindset. This job requires you to be your own boss, to be able to work independently and to have a taste for a challenge. A good agent is full of new ideas, and knows how to open doors to put them into practice!
Training
Even if you don't need a diploma to work as a sales agent, it's essential to have a sound knowledge base to succeed in this profession. There are several courses that can help you get started:
- BTS/DUT in sales: Various courses in negotiation and the digitalisation of customer relations, or in marketing techniques, offer both a theoretical and practical approach to mastering the basics of sales.
- Business schools: These offer a comprehensive training programme for those who want to explore all the facets of these professions and progress to positions of responsibility.
- Short courses: Numerous modules, either distance learning or face-to-face, enable you to develop your skills in specific areas such as prospecting, negotiation or the use of digital tools.
Whatever their format, these courses are a great way to improve your skills and stay competitive in a constantly changing market.
Legal status
If you want to work as a sales agent, you can choose your legal status with great flexibility. A commercial agent can be a natural person (sole trader) or a legal entity (company). Depending on the European country in which you operate, different options are possible. The choice of status depends on your personal situation, your professional objectives and your need for stability or freedom.
Pro tip: to choose the status best suited to your personal situation, don't hesitate to seek advice from a chartered accountant, an approved association or a professional union of commercial agents.
Commercial agent remuneration
The remuneration of a commercial agent varies widely. It depends on a number of factors: sales performance, sector of activity, the commission rate negotiated with the company and the agent's status. In the vast majority of cases, remuneration is calculated in the form of commission: a percentage of sales or of the margin generated by the sales agent's customer portfolio.
Commissions may be supplemented by a target bonus: this is a one-off payment made when the agent achieves a specific target. For example, achieving or exceeding a certain level of sales, or making a sale to a new strategic customer.
Experienced sales agents operating in dynamic sectors such as finance or IT enjoy particularly attractive flat-rate remuneration packages, commensurate with their performance and commitment.
Career prospects
Feedback from the field shows that most of the time, good sales agents stay... sales agents! The high level of remuneration, combined with the great freedom they enjoy in organising their work, is a powerful incentive to continue along this path.
Some agents choose to specialise in a particular field, strengthening their expertise and their network. Others add to their portfolio of solutions or set up their own sales agency. They can then in turn recruit sales representatives or sales agents to help develop their business.
The skills of a sales agent can also serve as a springboard to other professions, such as marketing, project management or business development. Technological advances, and the uses to which they are put, are opening up new prospects, particularly in the areas of e-commerce and digital transformation.
Conclusion
Becoming an excellent sales agent requires a careful balance of technical know-how, human qualities and organisational skills. For salespeople with the right profile, it's an exciting profession that offers a great opportunity to represent a leading company in their field, to concentrate on selling and to earn a flat-rate income.
Technical skills
- Knowing your market
One of the fundamental qualities of a sales agent is an in-depth knowledge of the market and its key players. Competitive intelligence is essential here: it enables agents to keep abreast of market trends and respond as effectively as possible to customers' needs. By keeping abreast of market developments, sales agents are able to anticipate their customers' expectations.
- Mastering the company's offering
Perfect knowledge of the products and/or services of the company they represent is essential: this expertise enables agents to position themselves clearly in relation to their competitors' offerings, and to build tailor-made solutions designed to meet the specific needs of their customers. Onboarding and training programmes, provided by the company, are a considerable asset in helping agents to develop their skills.
- Mastering the tools
Digital tools have become strategic allies in sales. In particular, customer relationship management (CRM) software and online prospecting platforms are proving to be invaluable tools. With a good command of the tools and processes used by the company they represent, sales agents can increase their efficiency, organise their prospecting and optimise the customer portfolio entrusted to them.
- Planning and organisation
Sales agents organise their diaries independently. They plan their assignments according to their priorities and sales targets. Between field visits, travel, prospecting and follow-ups, good time management is essential. Knowing how to plan your tasks means you can devote time to the most profitable activities, and allocate available resources to them, especially during a period of high activity. A rigorous approach to organisation is therefore a key asset if you are to succeed as a sales agent.
People skills
- Listening
Active listening is one of the essential qualities of a sales agent. Understanding customers' expectations is an essential skill if you are to be able to offer them appropriate, even tailor-made, solutions. Attentive listening also helps to establish a relationship of trust with customers, and to identify warning signs and opportunities. Listening also means being responsive, adapting our offer and strategy to the needs expressed.
Typical listening posture :
"In order to fully understand your needs, could you explain to me more about your expectations and objectives for this project?"
- Empathy
Although empathy is often perceived as a human quality, it is of vital importance in the commercial field. Being able to put yourself in the customer's shoes means better understanding their feelings and building a genuine relationship with them. Empathy is also very useful for managing conflict situations, by adopting a constructive attitude. In short, empathy is an essential quality for sales agents who want to build long-term relationships of trust with their customers.
Typical empathetic attitude:
"I understand that this change may raise concerns. We've worked with other customers in similar situations, and I'm here to help you make the transition.
- Communication
Communication is one of the fundamentals of the commercial relationship. A sales agent must be able to communicate clearly, and in a way that is appropriate to the person they are dealing with. But communication is more than just words: body language, tone of voice and posture must be consistent with what is being said. Knowing how to express yourself precisely, directly and concisely means you can convey essential messages effectively... and avoid misunderstandings!
Typical communication posture :
"In order to keep you informed at every stage, I will be sending you regular progress updates. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions."
- The negotiation
Knowing how to negotiate is an art. It's something you learn and improve with time and experience. Commercial agents must master the art of negotiation if they are to conclude successful contracts, both for themselves and for their clients. Far from being limited to obtaining an advantageous price or condition, negotiation involves finding common ground that is beneficial to both parties, within a respectful and professional framework.
Typical negotiating stance :
"I understand your position and your budget constraints. Let's work together to see how we can adjust our offering to best meet your priorities."
- The power of persuasion
Persuasiveness is the key to getting potential customers to sign a contract. This quality is based both on logical arguments, such as proof, and on the sales agent's ability to inspire confidence. The best persuasion technique is based on credibility, the ability to demonstrate the added value of one's offer and to respond to objections. It's the art of positively influencing a customer's decision that distinguishes the ordinary salesperson from the high-performance sales consultant who is appreciated by his customers.
Typical persuasive posture :
"By selecting our solution, you are investing in a service that has proven its effectiveness for companies similar to yours, with concrete results in terms of profitability and customer satisfaction."
- Creativity
Although it is not often associated with commercial professions, creativity is a quality that is more valuable than it seems! It enables sales agents to come up with innovative, personalised solutions for each of their customers. And to stand out from the competition.
Typical creative posture :
"To meet your specific needs, I've got a few ideas that could go beyond conventional solutions; I'd love to discuss them with you to see what you think."
Training to become a sales agent
Even if you don't need any particular qualifications to work as a sales agent, it is advisable to take a sales or marketing course. In addition to experience of the sector and an already-established network, these courses are a key asset for starting out in this job and progressing. Depending on the country, there are a number of courses that can open the door to this profession: courses in Negotiation and the Digitalisation of Customer Relations, Marketing Techniques, or even a degree in Commerce. In addition, there are a number of vocational training courses to help you improve your skills, particularly in the use of digital tools, which are essential in the sales sector.
The status of commercial agents
Commercial agents are independent representatives, which means that they are not subordinate to the company they represent. They operate on the basis of a commercial agency contract, which sets out the framework for their collaboration. This contract defines in detail the terms of the commercial agent's assignment, and in particular his or her obligations, prerogatives and remuneration. The legal status of commercial agents may vary from country to country, but generally speaking, they may operate as individuals or as companies.
Remuneration of a commercial agent
A sales agent's remuneration is highly variable. It depends on the terms of their contract... and their performance! An independent sales agent is remunerated in the form of commission, the rate of which can vary between 5% and 30% of the sales or margins generated, depending on the sector. Some contracts also include bonuses directly linked to the agent's performance. Agents with experience in high value-added sectors such as IT, real estate or finance often achieve extremely attractive remuneration packages.
Career prospects
There are many career prospects for successful sales agents. Building on their experience, some agents choose to specialise in a particular field, thereby strengthening their expertise and their network. Others add to their portfolio of offers or set up their own sales agency. They then have complete freedom to recruit new sales agents to help them develop their business.
But a sales agent's skills can also serve as a gateway to other areas, such as marketing, project management or business development. In this way, they offer a wide range of opportunities for professional mobility. Lastly, technological developments and the new uses to which they give rise are also opening up new prospects, particularly in digital transformation and e-commerce.
In conclusion
Becoming a sales agent is a great opportunity to represent a leading company in your field, to concentrate on selling and to remove the ceiling on your income. It's a particularly rich profession, combining both technical and human skills. Although it requires a great deal of resilience and adaptability, this profession also offers many prospects for development and attractive remuneration potential for sales agents who are fully committed to their mission.
Are you a successful salesperson who wants to benefit from the attractive remuneration package offered by commercial agent status?
Econocom, the European leader in digital business transformation, is recruiting sales agents throughout Europe.