How to hire a commissioned sales associate

How to hire a commissioned sales associate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step commissioned sales associate hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a commissioned sales associate job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new commissioned sales associate
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a commissioned sales associate do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The commissioned sales associate hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A commissioned sales associate's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, commissioned sales associates from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents commissioned sales associate salaries for various positions.

   Type of Commissioned Sales Associate	Description	Hourly rate
   Commissioned Sales Associate	Retail sales workers include both those who sell retail merchandise, such as clothing, furniture, and automobiles, (called retail salespersons) and those who sell spare and replacement parts and equipment, especially car parts (called parts salespersons). Both types of workers help customers find the products they want and process customers’ payments.	$11-27

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Excellent Organizational
   • Customer Service
   • Customer Relationships
   • Sales Floor
   • Commission Sales
   • Jewelry
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Client Relationships
   • Sales Environment
   • Retail Sales
   • POS
   • Product Knowledge
   • Inventory Control
   • Sales

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Sell washers, dryers, dishwashers, micro-hoods, and stoves.
   • Service and repair domestic electrical and/or gas appliances such as clothes washers, refrigerators, stoves, and dryers.
   • Promote home depot credit cards.
   • Train to sell refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, ranges and more.
   • Assist contractors in areas of plumbing, electrical, lighting, installation, and shipping.
   • Assist customers correctly identify home-repair products and direct them to appliances, plumbing, kitchen and bath items.

   More commissioned sales associate duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your commissioned sales associate job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A commissioned sales associate salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a commissioned sales associate in Indiana may be lower than in Massachusetts, and an entry-level commissioned sales associate usually earns less than a senior-level commissioned sales associate. Additionally, a commissioned sales associate with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average commissioned sales associate salary

   $36,949yearly

   $17.76 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level commissioned sales associate salary

   $23,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 17, 2026

   Average commissioned sales associate salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$45,883	$22
   2	Colorado	$44,885	$22
   3	Arizona	$43,667	$21
   4	Illinois	$42,272	$20
   5	California	$42,212	$20
   6	Minnesota	$41,873	$20
   7	New York	$40,646	$20
   8	Wisconsin	$39,545	$19
   9	Maryland	$39,122	$19
   10	Nevada	$38,845	$19
   11	Missouri	$38,080	$18
   12	Virginia	$36,688	$18
   13	New Jersey	$36,257	$17
   14	Texas	$35,936	$17
   15	North Carolina	$35,352	$17
   16	Florida	$34,702	$17
   17	Oregon	$33,761	$16
   18	Washington	$32,704	$16
   19	Georgia	$32,605	$16
   20	North Dakota	$31,771	$15

   Average commissioned sales associate salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Jacobs Engineering Group	$80,866	$38.88
   2	Mazda	$55,743	$26.80	10
   3	Clarins	$46,222	$22.22	17
   4	ICONMA	$44,114	$21.21
   5	Medical Company	$43,394	$20.86
   6	Slumberland Furniture	$41,017	$19.72	2
   7	Horizon Engineering Associates	$40,867	$19.65
   8	American Fence	$40,287	$19.37
   9	J. J. Keller & Associates	$40,045	$19.25
   10	DISH Network	$39,139	$18.82
   11	FST Technical Services	$37,771	$18.16
   12	Jacobs Enterprises	$37,762	$18.15	4
   13	Kitchen Tune-Up Franchise System	$37,606	$18.08	18
   14	GIDDY UP RACING LLC	$37,502	$18.03
   15	North American Risk Services	$37,306	$17.94
   16	The Hertz Corporation	$37,204	$17.89	10
   17	Home Run	$36,935	$17.76	17
   18	Northern Tool + Equipment	$36,845	$17.71	48
   19	Comcast	$36,507	$17.55	372
   20	Lexus of Pembroke Pines	$35,685	$17.16	3

4. Writing a commissioned sales associate job description

   A job description for a commissioned sales associate role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a commissioned sales associate job description:

   Commissioned sales associate job description example

   **Must be at least 18 years old to be considered.**

   Overview:

   Position Overview

   The Equity Mining Sales Associate is focused and specifically trained for driving incremental sales and acquiring additional inventory for their dealership by actively prospecting our current sales and service databases, as well as identifying conquest customers in our service drives. The Associate will maximize utilization of the Equity Mining Tool (EMT), AutoNation's proprietary Equity Mining software, to increase incremental sales and customer retention, while achieving target unit goals and delighting every customer along the way. Lastly, the Associate will align with the service department to achieve these goals without disrupting our service operations or the customer experience.

   The Equity Mining Sales Associate interacts with hundreds of customers to help guide them in their vehicle purchase in our no-haggle sales environment. With your outstanding communication and listening skills, you'll offer to buy a customer's vehicle, and when appropriate help select their perfect vehicle, negotiate terms that ensure payment options meet their lifestyles, budgets, and expectations and close the deal.

   Our Sales Associates provide an exceptional customer experience, driving loyalty by following up to ensure customer satisfaction and helping transition customers to the Service department to support their ownership experience.

   Pay Plan

   Commission

   Control your financial future. Commissioned sales professionals at AutoNation earn competitive commissions on vehicles sold, plus bonuses based on vehicles purchased, your longevity with the company and more.

   What are the requirements?

   • High school diploma or equivalent
   • Proven ability to provide an exceptional customer experience
   • Drive to set and achieve targeted goals
   • Prior sales experience, retail preferred
   • Excellent communication, consultative, interpersonal and organizational skills
   • The willingness to follow up with customers
   • Experience and desire to work with technology
   • Valid in-state driver's license and an acceptable, safe driving record

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right commissioned sales associate for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with commissioned sales associates they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit commissioned sales associates who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your commissioned sales associate job on Zippia to find and recruit commissioned sales associate candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as salesjobs, salesheads, allretailjobs.com, sales trax.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit commissioned sales associates, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new commissioned sales associate

   Once you've found the commissioned sales associate candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new commissioned sales associate. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a commissioned sales associate?