What a sales representative does
A sales representative is often the first real conversation a customer has with your company. They find new prospects, qualify leads, present your products or services, handle objections and close deals, then hand over or manage the account afterward. Depending on your model, the role may be inside sales working by phone and video, or outside sales covering a territory in person. Either way, the representative's habits directly shape how much revenue comes in each quarter.
Hiring the wrong representative costs more than a salary. You lose the deals they did not close, the leads they let go cold and the time your manager spends coaching someone who is not a fit. Finch looks for representatives with a documented history of meeting targets in a sales cycle similar to yours, whether that means short transactional sales or longer, consultative deals with several decision-makers.
Typical responsibilities
- Prospect for new customers through calls, email, social selling, networking and referrals
- Qualify leads and identify the decision-makers and needs behind each opportunity
- Present products or services, prepare quotes and negotiate terms within approved limits
- Close sales and coordinate handover to operations, service or account management
- Keep the CRM up to date with activity, pipeline stages and forecasts
- Meet activity and revenue targets set by sales leadership
Qualifications and credentials
- Proven sales experience, ideally selling to a similar type of customer or in a related industry
- A record of meeting or exceeding quota that they can discuss in specific terms
- Comfort with CRM software and virtual selling tools
- Strong verbal and written communication, with the resilience to handle rejection
- A valid Ontario driver's licence and reliable vehicle for outside sales territories
- A college diploma or university degree is often preferred but not always required
Who hires a sales representative
- Distributors and wholesalers
- Manufacturers selling to businesses or retailers
- Software and technology companies
- Business services firms such as logistics, printing or facility services
- Building products and construction supply companies
Where we recruit sales representative candidates
We fill sales representative roles for employers across Toronto and the GTA, including North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Burlington, Oshawa and Pickering, and for employers across Canada. GTA employers can meet us at our North York office by appointment.
What Finch checks before you meet a candidate
- How they built their pipeline in past roles and how much of their business they sourced themselves
- Results against quota over time, probed for detail and confirmed with references
- The sales cycle, deal size and type of buyer they are used to
- Comfort with your compensation plan, territory and travel expectations
- How they handle objections, tested through practical questions during screening
Interview questions to ask
- Walk me through a deal you closed last year from first contact to signature. What did you do at each stage?
- What did your pipeline look like at the start of your best quarter, and how did you build it?
- Tell me about a target you missed. What happened, and what did you change afterward?