The apprenticeship is designed for those working in either the Business to Business or Business to Consumer markets with responsibility to sell a specific product line or service. They plan their sales activities, lead the end-to-end sales interaction with the customer and manage their sales internally within their organisation. They will be responsible for retaining and growing a number of existing customer accounts, and generating new business by contacting prospective customers, qualifying opportunities and bringing the sales process to a mutually acceptable close. Typically, a Sales Executive will deal with a single point of contact for each sale, and will present a pre-considered value proposition. The entire sales process may be completed during a single customer ‘conversation’, or over a series of interactions.

A Sales Executive understands their organisation’s product(s) or service(s) in detail, and is an expert at analysing customer needs and creating solutions by selecting appropriate product(s) or service(s), linking their features and benefits to the customer’s requirements. A Sales Executive will develop customer relationships by establishing rapport and building trust and confidence in their own and their organisation’s capabilities through demonstration of detailed product knowledge, competitor knowledge and an understanding of the market in which they operate, and by ensuring a positive customer experience.