Key holder vs senior sales associate

The differences between key holders and senior sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior sales associate has an average salary of $53,906, which is higher than the $31,779 average annual salary of a key holder.

The top three skills for a key holder include sales floor, product knowledge and visual standards. The most important skills for a senior sales associate are customer service, product knowledge, and phone calls.

Key holder vs senior sales associate overview

	Key Holder	Senior Sales Associate
Yearly salary	$31,779	$53,906
Hourly rate	$15.28	$25.92
Growth rate	-6%	-
Number of jobs	431,956	420,823
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	43	41
Years of experience	6	-

What does a key holder do?

A keyholder is responsible for ensuring the store's daily security before and after the operation. Keyholders' duties include assisting with administrative tasks, handling customers' inquiries, managing and escalating customers' complaints, monitoring the alarm system, keeping track of the deliveries, supporting staff training, cooperating in company's events, and recommending operational strategies to meet business goals and objectives. A keyholder must have excellent customer service and time-management skills, as well as the ability to multi-task, especially during high customer volume.

What does a senior sales associate do?

A senior sales associate is responsible for overseeing the operations in a retail establishment's sales floor. They reach out to customers and respond to inquiries, help them obtain the product they are looking for, or recommend other goods should it be necessary. As a senior sales associate, they are in charge of mentoring less experienced colleagues and shaping them into more competent workforce members. They must also implement sales policies and regulations, devise strategies to reach sales targets, find new opportunities to strengthen client base, produce reports, and maintain inventory.

Key holder vs senior sales associate salary

Key holders and senior sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Key Holder	Senior Sales Associate
Average salary	$31,779	$53,906
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $39,000	Between $22,000 And $128,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Wisconsin	California
Best paying company	Connecticut Children's Medical Center	Goldman Sachs
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Pharmaceutical

Differences between key holder and senior sales associate education

There are a few differences between a key holder and a senior sales associate in terms of educational background:

	Key Holder	Senior Sales Associate
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 35%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Delhi	-

Key holder vs senior sales associate demographics

Here are the differences between key holders' and senior sales associates' demographics:

	Key Holder	Senior Sales Associate
Average age	43	41
Gender ratio	Male, 28.1% Female, 71.9%	Male, 46.3% Female, 53.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 6.6% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 7.4% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	9%	7%

Differences between key holder and senior sales associate duties and responsibilities

Key holder example responsibilities.

Achieve and exceed store and company sales and KPI goals.
Manage monetary transactions and POS operations.
Used upselling techniques daily when selling gaming systems and accessories.
Maintain operational duties in the manager's absence including scheduling and review of KPI reports.
Used social networking, such as Facebook, to keep customers update on new arrivals and merchandise.
Maintain a cleanly environment for customers, employees, and other animals, especially after any pet messes.

Senior sales associate example responsibilities.

Manage organizational standards, cleanliness of store and safety procedures/policies; manage and maintain store appearance, provide exceptional customer service.
Operate POS and administrative computer systems.
Receive new product and incorporate it into current inventory via POS inventory management system.
Maintain retail garden center through daily cleanliness and product up-keep and display including pruning/dead-heading product.
Partner in managing operations of multiple retail outlets, including hiring, performance management, scheduling, and merchandising management.
Demonstrate strong leadership, communication and supervisory skills by providing coaching and feedback to maximize individual and store performance.

Key holder vs senior sales associate skills

Common key holder skills

Sales Floor, 18%
Product Knowledge, 11%
Visual Standards, 9%
Bank Deposits, 7%
Loss Prevention, 7%
Store Management, 6%

Common senior sales associate skills

Customer Service, 17%
Product Knowledge, 10%
Phone Calls, 9%
Customer Satisfaction, 8%
Cleanliness, 6%
PowerPoint, 6%

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Key Holder
Key Holder vs Senior Sales Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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