How To Become A Sales Producer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a sales producer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Michael Neal Ph.D.

For people who have a head for numbers, and enjoy sales and marketing, a career as a sales producer may be both rewarding and worthwhile. A sales producer typically works in an office environment during a normal workweek and is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations related to sales. For example, duties include preparing quotes for the delivery of products or services, forging relationships with customers, and negotiating prices, production, and the distribution of goods and services to these customers.

A sales producer makes sure that clients and customers obtain the products and services they require to be successful. A sales producer is responsible for providing excellent customer service by processing payments, generating quotes, preparing sales policies for clients, underwriting sales plans, and preparing sales and marketing campaigns. This individual should also be comfortable with public speaking, as presentations and progress reports are often required by clients and upper management.

A sales producer should possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills can multi-task, works well independently, and is highly organized. Most sales producers have a background or education in marketing, business, or communications; however, an advanced degree is not necessarily required if the applicant has relevant experience. Sales producers make an average of $57,000 a year, and job growth in the US is projected to be 10% by 2029.

What general advice would you give to a Sales Producer?

Michael Neal Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Director, Rhetoric & Composition, Florida State University

The advice can be tricky, especially since our graduates go into a number of fields. My hope for them is that they continue to build upon what they learned in our program and apply it to new situations and contexts outside of school. I often tell students that editing, writing, and media aren't skills you master and then apply universally across contexts. Instead, we encourage students to keep growing and stretching themselves, since they will most likely face new genres, audiences, and contexts that they didn't see in college. Therefore, we teach them to be flexible, to be close readers, and analyze each rhetorical situation to determine how to best communicate within that context. Good writing isn't one-size-fits-all. Instead, it's a complex, negotiated relationship between writers, texts, contexts, audiences, media, modalities, etc.

ScoreSales ProducerUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,287

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.8

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.15%

Asian 4.92%

Black or African American 9.46%

Hispanic or Latino 16.23%

Unknown 3.56%

White 65.68%

Gender

female 46.79%

male 53.21%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress Level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.9

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.1

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a sales producer

Explore sales producer education requirements

Most common sales producer degrees

Bachelor's

59.6 %

Associate

18.0 %

High School Diploma

12.5 %

Start to develop specific sales producer skills

Skills	Percentages
Insurance Products	13.00%
Strong Work Ethic	9.83%
Business Relationships	7.81%
Insurance Sales	5.51%
Cross-Selling	5.45%

Complete relevant sales producer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New sales producers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a sales producer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real sales producer resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed sales producer usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed sales producer in most of states. 38 states require sales producers to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License Url
Alabama	-	-	Licensed Insurance Producer
Arkansas	Degree required	State exam required	Insurance Sales Producer (Agent)
Colorado	Specific course required	State exam required	Insurance Agent
Connecticut	Specific course required	State exam required	Producer License, Individual
Delaware	-	State exam required	Insurance Agent

Gain additional sales producer certifications

Sales producer certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific sales producer certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for sales producers include Certified Professional, Life and Health Insurance Program (CPLHI) and Certified Sales Professional (CSP).

More About Certifications

Research sales producer duties and responsibilities

Sell auto, home, boat, motorcycle and other specialty lines via leads, telemarketing, walk-ins, etc.
Generate production and leads through telemarketing sales.
Offer to clients annuities and other insurance products.
Learned and sell diverse health, life and Medicare insurance product line

Prepare your sales producer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your sales producer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a sales producer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Sales Producer Resume templates

Build a professional Sales Producer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Sales Producer resume.

Apply for sales producer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a sales producer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do sales producers rate their job?