Skills
Technical Sales Representative Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in technical sales representatives, and how to build and show them.
Technical Sales Representatives need technical skills such as technical product knowledge, clinical or scientific terminology, and territory management, plus people skills like credibility and communication. They also use tools such as CRM systems and Product demonstration equipment.
Technical (hard) skills
- Technical product knowledge
- Clinical or scientific terminology
- Territory management
- Contract negotiation
- Product demonstrations
- Compliance
People (soft) skills
- Credibility
- Communication
- Persistence
- Relationship building
Tools, equipment and technology
- CRM systems
- Product demonstration equipment
- Clinical and technical literature
- Tablets and laptops
- Inventory systems
- Compliance tracking tools
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how technical sales representatives put their skills to work:
- How to present clinical data to a physician
- How to support a surgical case
- How to navigate a hospital value analysis committee
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Technical product knowledge” and “Clinical or scientific terminology.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “credibility,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as Certified Medical Representative (CMR) near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our technical sales representative glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Technical Sales Representative training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.