Whether in charge of selling retail products or spare and replacement parts, sales associates help customers find what they need. They are the user interface between clients and the workplace. Bellow, we’ll take a look at what exactly the sales associate job description stands for. Some of the topics we are going to approach are the sales associate training habits and necessary qualifications. We will also be looking at the work hours put in by people in this profession.
Job Overview: What Does a Sales Associate Professional Do?
Generally, people with the sales associate job description can work in any of a wide array of environments. Sales associates are common throughout retail stores all over the world, often referred to as sales representatives. Any business wanting to sell any sort of product will be in need of a sales associate.
Sales Associate Job Duties
The sales associate job description varies greatly from one workplace to another. So, we have compiled a list of the responsibilities and duties of most sales associates. Whether working for Walmart, Home Depot, Old Navy, or a simple general store, you have duties to expect. For example, the Old Navy sales associate job description duties include:
- Greeting customers as they enter the store.
- Quickly and accurately determining their possible needs, and recommending merchandise to them.
- Giving directions to customers and directing them to the appropriate aisles, shelves, or employees.
- Giving advice to customers on safe and proper product use, and helping customers with any sort of store and product information they might need.
- Showcasing how merchandise works to customers who request it.
- Keeping customers up to date on prices, credit terms, discounts, sales, delivery services, warranties, credit terms, and other such details.
- Helping customers pick the products best suited to their needs and building customer confidence in the firm.
- Knowing the type, amount, and quality involved in ordering any sort of merchandise.
- Documenting sales, processing cash and card transactions, and updating and creating customer profile records.
- Stocking merchandise on shelves, attaching price tags to items on the shelves, and always keeping a full-enough stock.
- Reporting problems, disturbances, and discrepancies to supervisors, and keeping the workplace clean and tidy.
- Balancing cash registers with receipts and refunding customers in accordance to store policies.
- Dealing with customer complaints, and being on the lookout for shoplifters, fake bills, and fraudulent credit cards.
- Reserving products for online delivery and taking care of product delivery in case of online purchases.
Sales Associate Job Essential Skills
Communication skills. A sales associate has to possess superior communication skills and very good interpersonal skills in order to connect with the customer.
Sales skills. The sales associate job description involves being able to increase the number of sales and having a very high level of knowledge about the products. To be privy to some level of merchandising experience is also important. Having at least some experience doing inventories and being able to pull all-nighters for inventories are also mandatory for this job position.
Knowledgeable. This professional has to be familiar with technology, basic-level math, and especially very well-versed in problem-solving. Knowing how to best manage time and store resources is also very important for this job.
Customer service skills. Having excellent written and verbal communication skills and being a customer-oriented person are an important feature of any professional working in customer service. A high attention to details and being a team player are also important.
Becoming a Sales Associate Professional
Most employers hiring sales associates don’t ask for any particular educational standards. Instead, they often prefer experience over education. However, since it is an entry-level job, one can easily become a sales associate without experience. They will have to continue their studies if they want to apply for a management position.
Qualifications and Training
The sales associate job description is one of the most sought-after out there. The main reason for this is the complete lack of educational requirements. It also helps that experience standards aren’t as high as for other jobs. Some higher positions, such as management, will require employees to take a number of college courses.
The majority of working-class Americans with the sales associate or customer service job description have some pretty well-defined responsibilities. However, some workplaces like to overwork their employees, even giving them tasks that aren’t in the customer service job description.
As for the training required by the occupation, most employers go by the premise that practice makes perfect. So, new hires will often learn how to operate a POS, the register, the internal computer system, and the layout of the place. Other than that, they are on their own. However, colleagues often prove helpful in such cases.
Work Experience
As mentioned before, there really aren’t any educational requirements when it comes to the sales associate job description. However, experience does matter when it comes to determining the sales associate salary.
According to Payscale, the sales associate salary can grow by more than $10,000 over the course of a career. Estimating the starting salary for the sales associate job description at around $21,000 per year, the website says a career longer than twenty years can get you a $33,000 a year salary.
Working Hours
According to 2015 statistics, about one-third of all individuals with the sales associate job description work part-time. This is very fortunate, as a large number of employees choose to do this as a second job. Plus, most sales associates have to work weekends, evenings, and even most holidays.
The average sales associate can work anything between 40 and 60 hours a week. Meanwhile, part-time sales associates can work between 30 and 45 hours a week. Plus, once a month, they have to pull all-nighters in order to perform inventories.
Job Outlook & Advancement Opportunities
The employment rate for the profession will go up 7 percent by 2024. That is just under the 8 percent average for all occupations in the United States. Despite this fact, the job competition is very high.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for someone with the sales associate job description in 2016 was at $11.01 an hour, or $22,900 per year. That is owed to the nonexistent educational standards and the relatively low difficulty of the profession.
Despite the low salary and high amounts of work, a huge number of working-age citizens choose to apply for the position. This is because of the low educational standards, as well as thanks to a number of other benefits. Being able to work part-time is another determining factor, as is the potential for promotions and advancements.
Conclusion
Belonging to one of the least-paid professions in America, the sales associate job description is very sought-after. It comes with a large number of responsibilities, as well as with long work hours. However, the easily obtainable promotions, the low experience and educational requirements, and the possibility of part-time help the job gain advantages.
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