# Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products

US SOC code 41-4012. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/41-4012

Also called: Sales rep, B2B sales rep, Outside sales rep, Field sales representative, Account executive.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **1,238,190** US wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives (except technical and scientific products), with median pay of **$72,080** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **1,505,930**, in May 2007. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/population-occupation/00312147ch2.pdf) of **58,000** from 1880, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era in this work: Marketing automation + sales engagement platforms, 2015 to 2023. Sales engagement platforms began compressing the ratio of inside-sales reps needed to generate a given number of qualified leads.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to change -0.9% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=41-4012&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **70.7%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1840
- Latest US employment: 1,238,190 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $72,080 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [17]
- Outlook: -0.9% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [36]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 64101)
  - Employment, 2020: 61,250. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [6]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 64101 Sales and account representatives - wholesale trade (non-technical), Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$71,500. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [19]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 64101 Sales and account representatives - wholesale trade (non-technical), Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.
- **United Kingdom** (UK SOC 3552)
  - Employment, 2025: 165,000. Source: ONS ASHE 2025 [9]. ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Table 14): employee jobs in SOC 3552 Business sales executives, United Kingdom, 2025 (ASHE "number of jobs", thousands x1000; excludes self-employment). Open Government Licence v3.0.
  - Median pay, 2025: £36,498. Source: ONS ASHE 2025 [22]. ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Table 14.7a): median gross annual pay for all employee jobs in SOC 3552 Business sales executives, United Kingdom, 2025. Open Government Licence v3.0.
- **Australia** (ANZSCO 6113)
  - Employment, 2025: 70,900. Source: ABS Labour Force Survey [10]. ABS Labour Force Survey (Detailed), table EQ08: employed persons in ANZSCO 6113 Sales Representatives, national (summed across sex and state/territory), annual average of 4 quarterly estimates.
  - Median pay, 2025: A$87,984. Source: ABS Employee Earnings May 2025 [23]. Annualised (x52) from A$1,692 median weekly earnings. ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025: median pay for full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate, before tax. Surfaced via the Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profile.

### All 33 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1880 | 58,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., IPUMS USA / US Census Bureau [1] |
| 1888 | 150,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Order of United Commercial Travelers of… [2] |
| 1910 | n/a | $1,200 (estimate) | Est., NEH Humanities [11] |
| 1920 | 350,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., HBS Working Knowledge [3] |
| 1950 | 700,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., HBS Working Knowledge [3] |
| 1960 | n/a | $8,500 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [12] |
| 1984 | n/a | $23,400 | BLS CPS 1984 [13] |
| 1988 | n/a | $28,000 | BLS CPS 1988 [14] |
| 1999 | n/a | $45,536 | Census 2000 [15] |
| 2000 | 1,550,000 (estimate) | $42,000 (estimate) | Est., O\*NET 41-4012.00 (employment) [4]; Est., BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (pay) [16] |
| 2003 | 1,421,660 | $43,860 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 1,385,630 | $45,400 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 1,436,800 | $47,380 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 1,488,990 | $49,610 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 1,505,930 | $50,750 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 1,493,760 | $51,330 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 1,409,780 | $50,920 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 1,367,210 | $52,440 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 1,390,480 | $53,540 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 1,414,030 | $54,230 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 1,403,770 | $54,410 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 1,394,640 | $55,020 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 1,409,550 | $55,730 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 1,404,050 | $57,140 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 1,391,400 | $56,970 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 1,350,180 | $58,510 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 1,344,530 | $59,930 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 1,278,670 | $62,070 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 1,242,490 | $61,600 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 1,273,400 | $63,230 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 1,288,920 | $65,630 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 1,266,860 | $66,780 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 1,238,190 | $72,080 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (108)

### Employment series

1. [IPUMS USA / US Census Bureau -- Comparative Occupation Statistics 1870-1930, Chapter II (commercial travelers enumeration)](https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/population-occupation/00312147ch2.pdf), US Census Bureau / IPUMS
2. [Order of United Commercial Travelers of America -- founding history, January 16, 1888, Neil House, Columbus, Ohio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_United_Commercial_Travelers_of_America), Wikipedia / Order of United Commercial Travelers
3. [HBS Working Knowledge -- "Birth of the American Salesman" (employment statistics, sales management professionalization)](https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/birth-of-the-american-salesman), Harvard Business School / Baker Library
4. [O\*NET 41-4012.00 -- BLS-sourced employment and occupational outlook (SOC 2000 introduction reference)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/41-4012.00), O\*NET / BLS
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
6. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada
7. ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3542, United Kingdom. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0., Office for National Statistics. Editions: [2002](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2002/2002-table-14.zip), [2006](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2006consistentw_007methodology/2006-table-14.zip), [2010](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2010revised/2010-revised-table-14.zip), [2011](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2011revisedbasedonsoc2010/2011-revised-table-14.zip), [2015](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2015/table142015revised.zip), [2020](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2020revised/table142020revised.zip)
8. [ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3552, United Kingdom, 2022. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2022revised/ashetable142022revised.zip), Office for National Statistics
9. [ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3552, United Kingdom, 2025. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2025provisional/ashetable142025provisional.zip), Office for National Statistics
10. [ABS: Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, table EQ08 (Employed persons by Occupation unit group, ANZSCO 2013), latest release](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/latest-release), Australian Bureau of Statistics

### Wage series

11. [NEH Humanities -- "Traveling Man" (commercial traveler earnings and working conditions, early 20th century)](https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2011/novemberdecember/statement/traveling-man), National Endowment for the Humanities
12. [University of Missouri Libraries -- Prices and Wages by Decade, 1960-1969 (BLS earnings sources for wholesale trade)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1960-1969), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
13. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook 1986-87: median annual earnings of full-time manufacturers' sales workers were about $23,400 in 1984; the middle 50 percent earned between $16,600 and $33,800 a year.](https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/occupational-outlook-handbook-3964/occupational-outlook-handbook-1986-87-edition-530770/fulltext), BLS-CPS
14. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook 1990-91: median annual earnings of full-time manufacturers' and wholesale sales representatives were about $28,000 in 1988; the middle 50 percent earned between $19,900 and $41,400 a year.](https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/occupational-outlook-handbook-3964/occupational-outlook-handbook-1990-91-edition-583132/fulltext), BLS-CPS
15. [U.S. Census 2000, Earnings by Detailed Occupation (Table 2): Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, year-round full-time median earnings $45,536 for 1999.](https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial/tables/2000/earnings-occupation/call2usboth.csv), U.S. Census Bureau
16. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook -- Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives (OOH 2000-01 edition)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/sales/wholesale-and-manufacturing-sales-representatives.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
17. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
18. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
19. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada
20. ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3542, United Kingdom. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0., Office for National Statistics. Editions: [2002](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2002/2002-table-14.zip), [2006](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2006consistentw_007methodology/2006-table-14.zip), [2010](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2010revised/2010-revised-table-14.zip), [2011](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2011revisedbasedonsoc2010/2011-revised-table-14.zip), [2015](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2015/table142015revised.zip), [2020](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2020revised/table142020revised.zip)
21. [ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3552, United Kingdom, 2022. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2022revised/ashetable142022revised.zip), Office for National Statistics
22. [ONS: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14.7a (Annual pay - Gross), 4-digit SOC 3552, United Kingdom, 2025. Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.](https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14/2025provisional/ashetable142025provisional.zip), Office for National Statistics
23. [Jobs and Skills Australia: Sales Representatives (ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025)](https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/occupation-and-industry-profiles/occupations/6113-sales-representatives), Jobs and Skills Australia / Australian Bureau of Statistics

### Tool eras

24. [NEH Humanities -- "Traveling Man": the sample case, railroad pass, and commercial hotel as tools of the 19th-century sales profession](https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2011/novemberdecember/statement/traveling-man), National Endowment for the Humanities
25. [Order of United Commercial Travelers of America -- the sample case as fraternal symbol and occupational emblem (founded 1888)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_United_Commercial_Travelers_of_America), Wikipedia
26. [Wikipedia -- Telephone: commercial adoption in business offices, 1876-1900](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone), Wikipedia
27. [HBS Working Knowledge -- "Birth of the American Salesman": telephone and standardized sales processes, early 20th century](https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/birth-of-the-american-salesman), Harvard Business School / Baker Library
28. [G2 Learning Hub -- "A Brief History of CRM" (Rolodex 1956, ACT! 1987, Siebel 1993 origins)](https://learn.g2.com/history-of-crm), G2
29. [The Quota -- "The First CRM: How Siebel Systems Shaped Modern Selling" (pre-Siebel rep information management)](https://www.thequota.co/articles/the-first-crm-how-siebel-systems-shaped-modern-selling), The Quota
30. [Salesforce "State of Sales" 6th Edition -- AI adoption in B2B sales teams (2024); 69% of teams using AI prospecting sequences](https://www.salesforce.com/sales/state-of-sales/), Salesforce
31. [Outreach -- Kaia conversation intelligence: real-time meeting transcription, AI-generated summaries, and action-item capture (product page)](https://www.outreach.ai/product/kaia/), Outreach
32. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 41-4012 Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products (2025: 1,279.4 thousand; 2035: 1,268.2 thousand; -0.9%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=41-4012&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
33. [Gong "State of Revenue AI 2026" -- AI impact on revenue teams, data from 7.1M opportunities, AI adoption as business imperative](https://www.gong.io/resources/guides/state-of-revenue-ai-2026-report), Gong
34. [ZoomInfo Copilot -- AI-powered intent signal prospecting and account prioritization (product page)](https://www.zoominfo.com/products/copilot), ZoomInfo
35. [Salesforce press release: "Salesforce's Agentforce Is Here: Trusted, Autonomous AI Agents to Scale Your Workforce" (October 29, 2024): general availability of Agentforce](https://www.salesforce.com/news/press-releases/2024/10/29/agentforce-general-availability-announcement/), Salesforce

### Forecasts and exposure studies

36. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 41-4012 Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products (2025: 1,279.4 thousand; 2035: 1,268.2 thousand; -0.9%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=41-4012&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
37. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 41-4012.00, human-rated β 0.707)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

38. [Order of United Commercial Travelers of America -- founding history, January 16, 1888](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_United_Commercial_Travelers_of_America), Wikipedia
39. [HBS Working Knowledge -- "Birth of the American Salesman" (John H. Patterson at NCR, first systematic sales training, 1893)](https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/birth-of-the-american-salesman), Harvard Business School / Baker Library
40. [Wikipedia -- Death of a Salesman (Arthur Miller, 1949 Broadway opening)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_a_Salesman), Wikipedia
41. [The Quota -- "The First CRM: How Siebel Systems Shaped Modern Selling" (1993 founding, 2006 Oracle acquisition)](https://www.thequota.co/articles/the-first-crm-how-siebel-systems-shaped-modern-selling), The Quota
42. [BLS Monthly Labor Review -- "Employment loss and the 2007-09 recession: an overview" (wholesale trade -10.4% employment, 2007-2010)](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/04/art1full.pdf), Bureau of Labor Statistics
43. [Gartner "AI in B2B Sales Technology" -- AI adoption forecast and vendor landscape (January 2026)](https://www.gartner.com/en/sales/trends/ai-in-b2b-sales), Gartner

### Predecessors & successors

44. [Wikipedia -- Peddler (history of traveling salesmen, pre-railroad commercial trade)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peddler), Wikipedia
45. [HBS Working Knowledge -- "Birth of the American Salesman" (manufacturers' agents replaced jobbers in direct-sales era)](https://www.library.hbs.edu/working-knowledge/birth-of-the-american-salesman), Harvard Business School

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-23
- [O\*NET 30.3 — Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing (41-4012.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/41-4012.00), accessed 2026-05-23
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives (1% growth 2023–2033)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/sales/wholesale-and-manufacturing-sales-representatives.htm), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Salesforce "State of Sales" 6th Edition — AI adoption in B2B sales teams (2024)](https://www.salesforce.com/sales/state-of-sales/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Gong "State of Revenue Growth 2025" — AI call summaries and quota attainment data](https://www.gong.io/resources/guides/the-state-of-revenue-2025), accessed 2026-06-21
- [McKinsey & Company — "Unlocking gen AI in B2B sales" — how gen AI reshapes B2B sales productivity and growth (2025)](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/unlocking-profitable-b2b-growth-through-gen-ai), accessed 2026-06-21
- [Harvard Business Review — "Why Some Sales Teams Are Actually Growing Alongside AI" — human advantage in complex B2B selling (Sep 2025)](https://hbr.org/2025/09/why-some-sales-teams-are-actually-growing-alongside-ai), accessed 2026-06-21
- [LinkedIn Economic Graph — research hub — workforce and skills reports including AI adoption in sales (2025)](https://economicgraph.linkedin.com/research), accessed 2026-06-21
- [Gartner "AI in B2B Sales Technology" — AI adoption forecasts and vendor landscape (Jan 2026)](https://www.gartner.com/en/sales/trends/ai-in-b2b-sales), accessed 2026-05-23
- [ZoomInfo Copilot — AI sales agent for intent signal prospecting and account prioritization](https://www.zoominfo.com/products/copilot), accessed 2026-06-21

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.