Energy in old salesperson after elevating sausage (9)
I believe the answer is:
pepperoni
'sausage' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'energy in old salesperson after elevating' is the wordplay.
'energy' becomes 'pep' (personal energy, vim).
'old' becomes 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English).
'salesperson' becomes 'rep' (I've seen this before).
'after elevating' says the letters should be written backwards (in a down clue, letters go up).
'in'+'o'+'rep'='inorep'
'inorep' backwards is 'peroni'.
'pep'+'peroni'='PEPPERONI'
(Other definitions for pepperoni that I've seen before include "Spicy salami" , "meat product" , "Hard, spicy beef and pork sausage" , "Seasoned beef/pork sausage" , "spicy stuff" .)