Sales representatives can help drive your revenue by connecting your business with customers, by managing relationships, and by closing deals. Whether you need someone to handle cold outreach, conduct product demonstrations, or manage ongoing client accounts, the right sales rep can expand your market reach and help you hit growth targets.
What does a sales representative do?
Sales representatives connect businesses with customers by promoting products or services, building relationships, and closing deals. Their core responsibilities often include prospecting for new clients, presenting solutions, negotiating contracts, and maintaining long-term accounts.
Daily activities range from making cold calls and conducting product demonstrations to managing customer data in CRM systems. Sales reps may work as inside sales professionals handling remote communications or as outside sales representatives traveling for in-person meetings. Regardless of the specific environment, their primary goal is to drive business growth through effective selling strategies.
How to hire a sales representative on Upwork
Finding the right sales representative starts with clear expectations and a structured hiring process. Follow these steps to connect with qualified sales professionals on Upwork.
Step 1: Post a job
Your job post serves as the first impression for potential candidates and directly influences the quality of applicants you receive. In your post:
Outline your sales goals, industry, and target customers and buying personas
Define sales activities like cold calling, B2B sales, or account management
Specify tools such as CRM systems or video conferencing platforms
Cover logistical details such as budget and timeline
Set expectations for sales targets, territory, and commission structures.
To draft a tailored job post quickly, try the Job Post Generator powered by Uma™, Upwork's Mindful AI. Describe what you need in a few sentences, and Uma will draft a job post in seconds. You can also review job description templates for sales reps to see what your post might include.
Step 2: Evaluate candidates
As you receive proposals, you can compare candidates based on skills, testimonials, and past projects. For a sales representative, you’ll want to look for both interpersonal skills and technical knowledge.
Use the filters on Upwork to narrow the candidate pool by experience, rate, and location
Have Uma conduct instant video interviews and provide shortlists with side-by-side comparisons
Look through proposals to verify that the candidates have the experience you need and understand your goals
Review profiles for work history showing relevant sales experience and proven results
Check client feedback and Job Success Scores for reliability
Step 3: Interview your top choices
Quick video interviews can provide answers to any questions you have left for your top choices. They also help you get a feel for what working and communicating with candidates might be like.
Schedule and conduct interviews within Upwork messaging and receive immediate transcripts and summaries through Uma
Ask questions relevant to your project, for example about building customer relationships or using scripts for cold calling
Discuss their experience with your industry or products and services similar to your offerings
Cover logistics, such as your timeline and budget, and the project management software you use
If you’re unfamiliar with interviewing freelance talent, you can review common interview questions to help your discussions be productive.
Step 4: Agree on scope and begin work
Before the person you choose can begin work, you’ll need to have a clear contract in place. Contracts protect both parties and help collaborations be successful from beginning to end.
Use Upwork’s tools and services for creating and managing contracts, and processing payments
Choose fixed-price contracts for projects with clear deliverables, such as developing a proposal or drafting a contact list
Break larger projects into manageable milestones, such as market research, drafting and revising a presentation, and the actual presentation
Choose hourly contracts for ongoing projects or projects without clear deliverables, such as continual cold calling for the term of the contract
Once the contract begins, be sure to give the person everything they need to succeed, including onboarding materials and access to your CRM system and other project management tools.