Stipend entirely commission-linked is the first thing to go wrong in most sales intern job descriptions — and the second is that they list requirements without ever describing the work. A student reading one cannot picture a Tuesday, so they either do not apply or apply to forty postings indiscriminately, and you get volume without fit.
The template below is the opposite shape. It opens with what this sales intern would actually do — research and build prospect lists in the target segment, among other things — states what success looks like by the end, prices the role as a number, and sets out a selection process built around a ninety-minute exercise: research five prospects and write the first outreach email to each. Everything in square brackets is yours to fill in; everything else is ready to post.
The template — copy this
Sales Intern — [City] ======================== ABOUT THE INTERNSHIP [Company name] is hiring a Sales intern for a 3-month internship based in [City]. This is a working internship on live projects — not a training programme and not shadowing. In your first week you will listen to real calls, then run your own first outreach with someone sitting in. You will have a named mentor, a scoped project, and a review at the midpoint and at the end. WHAT YOU WILL DO • Research and build prospect lists in the target segment • Run outbound outreach across calls, email and LinkedIn • Qualify inbound leads against agreed criteria • Keep the CRM accurate and up to date daily WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE A pipeline of qualified opportunities the intern sourced. We will tell you at the start exactly what we will be assessing, and you will get written feedback at the midpoint so nothing at the end is a surprise. WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR • BBA, MBA, B.Com or any degree with genuine communication skills. Final-year students and recent graduates are both welcome. • Working familiarity with prospecting and outreach • Working familiarity with cRM hygiene • Working familiarity with discovery questioning • Working familiarity with objection handling • Working familiarity with follow-up discipline • The ability to ask a clear question when you are stuck, rather than staying stuck WHAT WE OFFER • A stipend of [stipend] per month, paid monthly • A 3-month internship starting [start date] • A named mentor and a weekly one-to-one, not an unassigned desk • A certificate and a written reference reflecting your actual work • Time with the people who actually make the decisions, not only with your mentor • A pre-placement offer for interns who meet the bar — this is a real path, not a maybe SELECTION PROCESS • Application review — we read every application and reply either way • A 20-minute screening call about your background and what you want from the internship • A practical task: a ninety-minute exercise: research five prospects and write the first outreach email to each. It is timeboxed, we will tell you what we are looking for, and someone will read it and give you feedback either way. • A final conversation with the team you would be joining • Decision and offer within a week of the final round HOW TO APPLY Apply through this listing by [application deadline]. Attach your CV. If you have written anything persuasive — a proposal, a pitch, an outreach email you were proud of — send that too. [Company name] is an equal-opportunity employer; we assess every application against the same criteria, and we reply to everyone who reaches a screening call.
What this sales intern will actually do
These are the responsibilities the template uses. They are deliberately concrete: an intern can picture the work, and you can assess against them at the end.
- Research and build prospect lists in the target segment
- Run outbound outreach across calls, email and LinkedIn
- Qualify inbound leads against agreed criteria
- Keep the CRM accurate and up to date daily
What to screen for in a sales intern
How do they handle the third "no" in a row? That one question separates candidates for this role far more reliably than the CV does, because almost nobody applying has directly relevant work history. The practical way to ask it is a ninety-minute exercise: research five prospects and write the first outreach email to each — timeboxed, reviewed, and with a line of feedback back either way.
- Prospecting and outreach
- The one to insist on. Depth here beats a passing acquaintance with everything else on this list.
- CRM hygiene
- Working familiarity is enough at intern level — this is learnable on the job if the first item is genuinely there.
- Discovery questioning
- Working familiarity is enough at intern level — this is learnable on the job if the first item is genuinely there.
- Objection handling
- Working familiarity is enough at intern level — this is learnable on the job if the first item is genuinely there.
- Follow-up discipline
- Working familiarity is enough at intern level — this is learnable on the job if the first item is genuinely there.
Why this JD converts
- It is honest that the work is outreach and rejection. Sales internships that hide this have the highest drop-out rate of any category, usually in week three.
- It names CRM hygiene as a responsibility, which is what separates an intern whose pipeline you can use from one whose work evaporates when they leave.
- It defines the outcome as qualified opportunities sourced by the intern, so the internship produces something the sales team keeps.
What employers get wrong hiring sales interns
- Stipend entirely commission-linked
- For an intern with no network and no track record this reads as unpaid work with extra steps. It filters out everyone who has other options.
- No target, or an unreachable one
- No target means no feedback loop. An unreachable one means the intern disengages by week four. Set a target you would be pleased with, not one you would be impressed by.
- Calling it "business development" when it is cold calling
- Candidates find out on day two, and the ones who feel misled leave immediately.
What to pay a sales intern
For a three-month, in-office internship at a mid-sized company, the benchmark band for this role in a tier-1 metro is ₹9,500–₹30,000 a month, and roles priced in the upper-middle of that band fill fastest. Adjust down for tier-2 cities and remote work, up for large enterprises and GCCs. State the number in the JD — "as per company norms" reads as "low", and the strongest applicants filter it out before you ever see them. For this role specifically, the thing candidates weigh against the stipend is a pipeline of qualified opportunities the intern sourced — a credible answer there is worth several thousand rupees a month in how fast the role fills.
Who to open this sales intern role to
The template uses a deliberately wide eligibility line: BBA, MBA, B.Com or any degree with genuine communication skills. Widen it rather than narrowing it. Long undifferentiated requirement lists measurably suppress applications from candidates who would have succeeded, and the effect is strongest among exactly the candidates most internship programmes say they want to reach. BBA, MBA, B.Com and — worth remembering — any discipline. Sales is one of the few internships where the degree predicts almost nothing and a twenty-minute conversation predicts a great deal.
Frequently asked
Should a sales internship be commission-based?+
Not commission-only. For an intern with no network and no track record, a commission-only package reads as unpaid work with extra steps, and it filters out everyone who has another option. A real stipend with commission on top attracts candidates you would actually want, and it is what the market pays.
How honest should the JD be about rejection?+
Completely. Sales internships have the highest drop-out rate of any category and almost all of it happens in week three, when the reality of outreach arrives. A JD that says plainly "this is outreach, and most of it is a no" loses you some applicants at the top of the funnel and saves you the ones who would have left.
What target should we set for a sales intern?+
One you would be pleased with, not one you would be impressed by. No target means no feedback loop and no way to assess; an unreachable one produces disengagement by week four. Set it so that a competent intern clears it with effort, and say in the JD that the target exists.
Can we use this sales intern template commercially?+
Yes — copy it, edit it and post it anywhere, with no attribution required. On JD length and structure generally, the master internship job description template covers what applies to every role; this page covers what is specific to hiring a sales intern.