How to hire a major sales associate

How to hire a major sales associate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step major 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 major sales associate job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new major sales associate
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a major sales associate, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a major sales associate to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a major sales associate that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of major sales associates.

   Type of Major Sales Associate	Description	Hourly rate
   Major 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.	$14-23
   Sales Clerk	A sales clerk is responsible for assisting customers in purchasing products, responding to customer inquiries, and providing product recommendations. Sales clerks require excellent customer service and communication skills to offer the best services to the customers and maintain good customer feedback for the business... Show more	$7-18

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Phone Calls
   • Sales Process
   • Product Knowledge
   • Customer Service
   • Donor Database
   • Jewelry
   • Sales Floor
   • Donor Relationships
   • Front End
   • Member Service
   • Costco
   • Credit Card
   • TVS

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Master delivering technical product information to doctors on training and teaching proper injection technique to achieve optimal results for patients.
   • Monitor product inventory flow by querying Costco's AS400 (MRP, CRM) terminal.
   • Assist Costco members with the purchase of large-ticket items such as televisions, computers, appliances, and jewelry.
   • Create new donor records in AS400 system.
   • Oversee product shipment and delivery data through AS400 software.
   • Repair and troubleshoot electronics including: computers, cameras and TVs.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your major sales associate job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A major sales associate can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, major sales associates' average salary in virginia is 40% less than in hawaii.
   • Seniority. Entry-level major sales associates 38% less than senior-level major sales associates.
   • Certifications. A major sales associate with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a major sales associate's salary.

   Average major sales associate salary

   $38,538yearly

   $18.53 hourly rate

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   Entry-level major sales associate salary

   $30,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

4. Writing a major sales associate job description

   A major sales associate job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a major sales associate job description:

   Major sales associate job description example

   Role: Associate Major Gifts
   
   Location: Fully remote with a strong preference for major metropolitan areas.
   
   Reports to: Deputy Director - Major Gifts
   
   The opportunity
   
   The Major Gifts Associate will be a strong team coordinator and systems-builder with an exceptional eye for detail, a strong sense of professional judgment and responsibility, and solid organization, writing, and communications skills. You'll manage, strengthen, and create critical systems for donor stewardship and gift administration, improve the efficiency of our donor data, and keep our sub-team organized and on track as we grow. You'll eagerly jump into strategic projects to help move us more quickly towards our revenue goals, including leading our sub-team efforts to research, identify, and connect with new major gifts prospects. You will also have the opportunity to manage a small portfolio of donors with guidance and oversight from the Deputy Director, Major Gifts.
   
   + Proposal and Reporting Support: Support the Development team by helping to collate information and create first drafts of new proposals and reports. Play a role in liaising with other teams, including programmatic colleagues in East Africa to ensure we are including the latest updates and information in our donor communications. Be an excellent editor with an eye for detail to ensure that all of our written materials are polished and ready to present to funders.
   
   + New Donor Research and Pipeline Development: Conduct research and analysis on current donor networks and prospective donors to identify new funding opportunities. Think creatively to help surface new methods for sourcing these opportunities. Help identify strategies to connect with and engage new donors. Work with the Business Development Coordinator to manage our prospective donor data and pipeline to ensure our records are up to date.
   
   + Revenue Stream Coordination and Portfolio Support: The Major Gifts Associate will keep the team up to date on the latest trends in major gifts and the field of philanthropy; help prepare the team for donor meetings, conferences, and events; and help to provide an excellent experience for Major Donors. With support from their direct supervisor, the right candidate will have the opportunity to manage a portfolio of donors and take on increasing responsibility and autonomy.
   
   Job Competencies (Knowledge, Experience, and Attributes / Skills).
   
   Academic Qualifications:
   
   • Bachelor's degree in communications or a related field;
   
   • Relevant professional qualification;
   
   Work experience required:
   
   • 1 to 3 years of professional experience in office administration, operations, business development/fundraising, or similar work with exposure to systems management and administrative support.
   
   • Exposure to the field of fundraising/development and experience working with donor management and/or CRM software.
   
   • Experience providing support to senior executives.
   
   Competencies/Attributes:
   
   + Passion for Living Goods' mission and alignment with its values.
   
   + Superb writing and oral communication skills.
   
   + Customer Service Orientation
   
   + Excellent organization and time management skills, with experience managing multiple projects simultaneously and producing high-quality work under deadlines. Comfortable with switching between time-sensitive, day-to-day tasks, and long-term projects as priorities require.
   
   + Ability to work independently, as well as collaboratively across departments, cultures, and time zones.
   
   + Exceptional judgment, including a high level of discretion when handling confidential materials.
   
   + Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and Outlook. Willingness to quickly learn new systems and tools such as donor databases, donor prospecting/research tools, and Microsoft Dynamics 365.
   
   + English language fluency. French speaker a plus to liaise with Living Goods' team in Burkina Faso.
   
   Compensation:
   
   A competitive salary and benefits package commensurate with experience including health insurance and annual performance bonus pay opportunity. This is an opportunity to be your best while making lives better for those in need.
   
   Living Goods is an equal opportunity employer and will consider every qualified applicant for employment. Living Goods does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
   
   Our current job openings are displayed on our website, where you can search for open positions and apply directly. Living Goods does not offer any positions without an interview and never asks candidates for money. If you are asked for money, we strongly recommend not responding and not sending money or personal information.
   
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5. Post your job

   To find major sales associates for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any major sales associates they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level major sales associates with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your major sales associate job on Zippia to find and recruit major 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

   Your first interview with major sales associate candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   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 major sales associate

   Once you've found the major 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 important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   To prepare for the new major sales associate first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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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