jobfacts

Business sales executives

SOC 2020 3552

Business sales executives provide advice to existing and potential customers, and receive orders for specialist machinery, equipment, materials and other products or services that require technical knowledge.

Also calledSales representativeSalespersonSales repField sales executiveSalesmanSales agentand 107 more titles
Typical full-time pay£37,9002025 Provisional
People in the job161,000across the UK
Demand for workersCritical
New adverts a month10,000↑ 6.6%on last year · 4th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time business sales executives earn between £30,200 and £52,100 a year.

What full-time business sales executives earn, 2025
£37,900 typical£25,400lowest 10%£57,000top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£30,200–£52,100)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£25,400
Lowest 20% earn less than£28,800
25%£30,200
Median£37,900
75%£52,100
Top 20% earn more than£57,000
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £37,900
South West!£44,500
London!£42,300
South East£39,700
East Midlands!£38,000
Yorkshire and The Humber!£37,200
West Midlands!£36,900
Scotland!£36,200
Wales!£35,600
North West!£35,400
East of England!£35,200
North EastNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £37,900
South West£44,500 (small sample)
London£42,300 (small sample)
South East£39,700
East Midlands£38,000 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£37,200 (small sample)
West Midlands£36,900 (small sample)
Scotland£36,200 (small sample)
Wales£35,600 (small sample)
North West£35,400 (small sample)
East of England£35,200 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £35,600
  • 2024 £36,700
  • 2025 Provisional£37,900
↑ 6.5% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 10,000 jobs for business sales executives are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as critical.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (3 in all)
Show as table
Aug 202610,277
Jul 202610,328
Jun 202611,799
May 202610,489
Apr 202610,062
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20268,815
Jan 202611,535
Dec 20256,230
Nov 202511,688
Oct 202513,858
Sept 202510,165
Aug 202510,828
Jul 2025Not published
Jun 2025Not published
May 202512,836
Apr 202510,158
Mar 202511,561
Feb 202511,492
Jan 202510,048
Dec 20245,211
Nov 20248,223
Oct 20249,328
Sept 20249,197
Aug 20249,871
Jul 202410,498
Jun 20249,598
May 202411,600
Apr 202410,765
Mar 20248,982
Feb 20249,139
Jan 202411,166
Dec 20238,035
Nov 20238,956
Oct 20239,235
Sept 20238,444
Aug 202310,733
Jul 202310,931
Jun 202314,194
May 202313,827
Apr 202311,735
Mar 202312,956
Feb 202314,539
Jan 202315,628
Dec 202212,881
Nov 202214,788
Oct 202215,552
Sept 202214,972
Aug 202217,186
Jul 202216,890
Jun 202216,888
May 202219,358
Apr 202214,622
Mar 202218,325
Feb 202216,839
Jan 202219,305
Dec 202113,906
Nov 202115,603
Oct 202116,535
Sept 202117,140
Aug 202116,208
Jul 202117,730
Jun 202115,951
May 202116,681
Apr 202113,315
Mar 202117,578
Feb 20219,518
Jan 20219,391
Dec 20208,841
Nov 20209,609
Oct 202011,208
Sept 20209,482
Aug 20208,550
Jul 20207,565
Jun 20206,216
May 20205,164
Apr 20209,055
Mar 202017,930
Feb 202021,463
Jan 202018,567
Dec 201913,857
Nov 201917,271
Oct 201917,618
Sept 201917,696
Aug 201917,355
Jul 201921,430
Jun 201920,530
May 201920,080
Apr 201915,337
Mar 201917,136
Feb 201916,411
Jan 201919,018
Dec 201811,988
Nov 201817,531
Oct 201817,587
Sept 201818,032
Aug 201817,137
Jul 201815,877
Jun 201818,117
May 201817,433
Apr 201815,876
Mar 201818,155
Feb 201817,010
Jan 201819,966
Dec 201714,060
Nov 201717,307
Oct 201718,167
Sept 201718,502
Aug 201719,613
Jul 201717,786
Jun 201725,660
May 201723,493
Apr 201720,662
Mar 201724,380
Feb 201720,404
Jan 201725,244
Is there a shortage of business sales executives?
Critical

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was elevated.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsWell above usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
24%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for sales, marketing and related associate professionals, which includes business sales executives. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London6,709
Manchester1,087
Birmingham806
Leeds716
Bristol, City of542
Glasgow City535
Nottingham383
Reading346
Sheffield343
Newcastle upon Tyne304
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where business sales executives are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 265 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from India, France, Germany, ranking it 58th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of business sales executives
19%!
26%
20%
15%
18%
3.3%!
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
16–2419% (small sample)
25–3426%
35–4420%
45–5415%
55–6418%
65+3.3% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent39%
Higher education below degree!5.6%
A levels or equivalent32%
GCSEs or equivalent16%
Other qualifications!3.1%
No qualifications!1.4%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent39%
Higher education below degree5.6% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent32%
GCSEs or equivalent16%
Other qualifications3.1% (small sample)
No qualifications1.4% (small sample)

Main employers: computer programming activities (7%), computer consultancy activities (6.3%), engineering activities and related technical consultancy (3%), sale of cars and light motor vehicles (2.4%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
39%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
3
from level 3, including degree apprenticeships
Apprenticeships take
1 to 3 years
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

University

You could do a degree before applying to join a company's graduate training scheme in sales. Most subjects are acceptable, for example business and marketing.

If you want to work in a specialist area of sales, you may need a degree related to that field, such as:

  • information technology
  • biomedical engineering
  • pharmaceutical science

Languages could also be useful, especially if you want to work with a company that sells worldwide.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do an apprenticeship, such as:

  • Customer Service Practitioner Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
  • IT Technical Salesperson Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
  • Sales Executive Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship
  • Business to Business Sales Professional Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship

Apprenticeships in marketing or retail may also give you useful skills for this career.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

Other ways in

Work your way up

You could start as an administrator in a sales office and move into a sales position after doing an apprenticeship or in-house training on the job.

Apply directly

You can apply directly for sales jobs.

Employers will set their own entry requirements but will expect applicants to have confidence, enthusiasm and excellent communication skills. Sales or customer service experience will also be very useful.

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

You can forge a sales career in many different sectors from vehicles, property and medical equipment to financial services and digital technology.

In job vacancies, the advertised salary may include on-target earnings (OTE), which depend on meeting individual or company sales targets. You should check what proportion of the salary is made up of OTE.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for sales representative. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

3 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • discusses customer requirements and advises them on the capabilities and limitations of the goods or services being sold
  • quotes prices, credit details, delivery dates and payment arrangements and arranges for delivery and installation of goods if appropriate
  • makes follow up visits to ensure customer satisfaction and to obtain further orders
  • stays abreast of advances in product/field and suggests possible improvements to product or service
  • maintains records and accounts of sales made and handles customer complaints

Skills

  • advise on merchandise features
  • answer requests for quotation
  • apply technical communication skills
  • carry out sales analysis
  • communicate with customers
  • contact customers
  • demonstrate motivation for sales
  • demonstrate products' features
  • ensure compliance with legal requirements
  • ensure compliance with purchasing and contracting regulations
  • ensure customer focus
  • guarantee customer satisfaction
  • have computer literacy
  • implement customer follow-up

Knowledge

  • characteristics of products
  • characteristics of services
  • customer relationship management
  • product comprehension
  • sales promotion techniques
  • sales strategies
  • advertising techniques
  • beverage products

Suits people who like

  • Leading and persuading
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for business and public service associate professionals, a group of 26 jobs that includes business sales executives.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 1.2%about 26,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.1 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.