Large public companies with national representation have well established sales hierarchies where the job titles of their sales personnel are clearly articulated and in many instances have client or industry segments attached (e.g. Senior Sales Representative, Automotive Services). This is not always the case in small to medium-sized companies where the company owner or president may have assumed the dual role of managing the company’s sales force and running the company.

As an employer you’ve put a great deal of thought and effort into developing the job description/outline for hiring a new salesperson or sales executive but don’t have a formal job title to match. An employee’s title is more than just a label. The job title should reflect an employee’s status in your organization but also the responsibilities they have assumed for representing your products and services. If you are creating new sales roles within your company or changing the way you do business, it’s worth the investment in time to reexamine the job’s title.

Traditional Sales Titles
The following is a list of common job titles for sales personnel and executives. Many companies have added a prefix (e.g. Pharmaceutical Sales Rep) or suffix (e.g. Account Executive, Business Services) to identify the product line/service or the vertical market that individual is responsible for.

• Account Executive
• Account Manager
• Channel Sales Manager
• Customer Support Representative
• Customer Service Manager
• Dealer Sales
• Director of Business Development
• Director of Sales
• Distributor Sales
• District Sales Manager
• Division Sales Manager
• Inbound Account Representative
• Independent Sales Representative
• Investment Representative
• Key Account
• Major Account Sales
• Manufacturer’s Agent
• New Business Development Representative
• Outbound Account Representative
• Regional Sales Manager
• Sales Analyst
• Sales Assistant
• Sales Coordinator
• Sales Engineer
• Sales Executive
• Sales and Marketing Manager
• Sales Manager
• Sales Professional
• Sales Representative (Senior, Intermediate, Junior/Entry level)
• Sales Support Manager
• Senior Technical Sales Representative
• Strategic Account Manager
• Technical Sales and Support
• Territory Sales Manager
• Territory Sales Representative
• Value-added Reseller (VAR)
• Vice-President, Sales
• Vice-President, Sales and Business Development
• Vice-President, Sales and Marketing
• Vice-President, Sales and Operations
• Vice-President, Sales and Service

Emerging Sales Roles and Job Titles
The emergence of technology and the consolidation taking place in the marketplace amongst larger companies have resulted in new sales roles being created. Along with these new sales roles different job titles have also been created. The following is a list of new titles that have appeared on niche job boards or through industry:

• Administrative Coordinator—Sales and Marketing
• Business Manager
• Business Research Specialist
• Category Manager
• Channel Manager
• Client Services
• Competitive Intelligence Manager
• Consulting Sales
• Contract Administrator
• Customer Development Representative
• Customer Service/Claims Specialist
• Customer Scheduling Representative
• Customer Support Liaison
• Executive
• Field Service Technician
• Group Leader—Sales and Marketing
• Marketing Administrative Services Manager
• Marketing Assistant
• Marketing Lead Qualifier
• Marketing Services Coordinator
• Merchandiser
• Measurement Analyst
• Operations Clerk
• Planning and Research
• Product Application Specialist
• Product Training Specialist
• Sales and Marketing Specialist
• Sales Analyst
• Sales Operations Specialist
• Sales Support Representative
• Sales Technology and Analyst Specialist
• Sales Trainee
• Segment Supervisor
• Service Operations Trainer
• Service Technician
• Strategic Marketing Coordinator
• Systems Area Manager

©Sales Resource Centre, Canadian Professional Sales Association, 2005.