Requirements

Business sales executive - requirements

As a business sales executive, you’ll give customers information, help and advice about products or services with the aim of making sales and retaining clients. Keep reading to learn more about how to become a business sales executive, what the job is like and what you may need to study.

Know what you'll need to land a job below.

What qualifications do you need to be a business sales executive?

This area of work is open to all graduates but the following subject areas are worth thinking about:

In general, bigger organisations may ask for at least a 2:1 qualification, however, academic qualifications are often given less weight than a candidate’s personality, attitude and possession of traits that make a good salesperson.

Please note this is a beta version. We'll continue to improve our suggestions here so that we show you the most relevant subjects.

Do you need a postgraduate qualification to be a business sales executive?

You won’t need a postgraduate qualification to become a business sales executive but, like in any field, having one will increase your employability.

Examples of taught MAs and research degrees at postgraduate level include MAs in:

Business administration
Digital sales and management
Marketing
Communication

What skills do you need to be a business sales executive?

You need to have excellent negotiation skills and be a confident communicator.

Hard skills usually include:

Account management
Business development
Finance
Key performance indicators (KPIs)
Contracts

Soft skills include:

Communication
Public-speaking and presenting
Self-motivation
Customer service
Sales

Do you need work experience to be a business sales executive?

Employers will often look for previous work experience in potential candidates. Some larger companies will offer work placement programmes that they go on to employ from. Other work experience that looks good on an application is any customer-focused experience, like call centre work and retail experience.