How to hire a retail sales consultant

How to hire a retail sales consultant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step retail sales consultant hiring guide:

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

What does a retail sales consultant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The retail sales consultant 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 retail sales consultant's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, retail sales consultants 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 retail sales consultant salaries for various positions.

   Type of Retail Sales Consultant	Description	Hourly rate
   Retail Sales Consultant	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.	$15-25
   Sales Agent	A sales representative is responsible for offering goods and services to potential and existing clients. Sales representatives must display a strong knowledge of the company's products to assist customers with their inquiries and concerns... Show more	$10-45
   Product Consultant	A product consultant is a professional who collaborates with client managers and project managers to analyze client requirements and provide optimal products. Product consultants are required to leverage industry and product knowledge to answer customer inquiries and provide customer consultations... Show more	$32-62

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Retail Sales
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • POS
   • Sales Objectives
   • Customer Relationships
   • Product Knowledge
   • Sales Consultants
   • Cross-Selling
   • Sales Floor
   • Store Operations
   • Customer Billing
   • Help Support
   • DIRECTV
   • Retail Store

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Achieve quarterly and yearly bonus goals by controlling business expenses and effectively managing payroll costs.
   • Excel selling requirements with geek squad protection, attachment rate, and sales quota.
   • Exploit selling techniques such as up-selling/ bundling to improve sale quotas.
   • Promote Samsung products as a subject matter expert to target specific sales goals.
   • Work as a sales associate for the wireless kiosk inside Sam's club.
   • Have a primary knowledge of smartphones, wearables/activity trackers, portable speakers, headphones, and networking/routers.

   More retail sales consultant duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, retail sales consultants' average salary in west virginia is 33% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level retail sales consultants 39% less than senior-level retail sales consultants.
   • Certifications. A retail sales consultant 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 retail sales consultant's salary.

   Average retail sales consultant salary

   $42,323yearly

   $20.35 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level retail sales consultant salary

   $33,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 13, 2026

   Average retail sales consultant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$49,958	$24
   2	Massachusetts	$47,486	$23
   3	Oregon	$47,403	$23
   4	California	$47,243	$23
   5	Maine	$46,890	$23
   6	New Hampshire	$45,804	$22
   7	Connecticut	$45,652	$22
   8	District of Columbia	$44,856	$22
   9	Utah	$44,456	$21
   10	Minnesota	$44,425	$21
   11	Colorado	$43,984	$21
   12	Nevada	$43,403	$21
   13	Nebraska	$42,656	$21
   14	New Mexico	$42,368	$20
   15	Missouri	$42,106	$20
   16	Wisconsin	$42,100	$20
   17	Arizona	$42,066	$20
   18	Kansas	$41,197	$20
   19	Oklahoma	$41,075	$20
   20	New York	$40,924	$20

   Average retail sales consultant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Anastasia Beverly Hills	$48,019	$23.09
   2	Volvo Trucks	$47,964	$23.06	3
   3	Carnegie Mellon University	$47,053	$22.62
   4	Crutchfield	$44,972	$21.62	1
   5	Verizon Communications	$43,931	$21.12	3
   6	Prime Communications	$43,600	$20.96
   7	AT&T	$43,577	$20.95	1,321
   8	T-Mobile	$43,168	$20.75	440
   9	Marlo Furniture	$43,103	$20.72
   10	Office Depot	$42,937	$20.64	95
   11	Southern Glazer's	$42,862	$20.61	281
   12	Cellular Sales	$42,853	$20.60	732
   13	Cracker Barrel	$42,769	$20.56	590
   14	Columbia Sportswear	$42,475	$20.42	70
   15	Verizon Services Corp.	$42,378	$20.37	484
   16	KeHE	$42,378	$20.37	7
   17	APX	$42,331	$20.35
   18	Comcast	$42,166	$20.27	442
   19	Windstream	$42,013	$20.20	23
   20	Great Southern Homes	$41,589	$19.99	1

4. Writing a retail sales consultant job description

   A good retail sales consultant job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a retail sales consultant job description:

   Retail sales consultant job description example

   At Office Depot and Office Max, the Sales Advisor is a part-time role, providing exceptional customer service by performing duties as cashier, provides logistics support, stocking, restocking, down stocking, inventory control, cleaning the store and protecting company assets. S/he will quickly build and maintain customer relationships and become a trusted advisor by utilizing basic training of Technology products/services and print offerings.
   
   The associate in this role will demonstrates a passion for the brand, technology products, furniture, services, print and other services/products offered to our customers. S/he will utilize Office Depot and Office Max’s proven sales principles to proactively engage customers, in order to drive the sales of our total offerings and properly assess customer needs to ensure satisfaction in every interaction.
   
   Required successful completion of current basic Tech and Print Certification and continued education in these areas. The essential functions of this position may require you to consent to periodic comprehensive background checks conducted by a third-party.
   Primary Responsibility: 1. Provides exceptional customer service by performing duties as cashier, provides logistics support, stocking, restocking, down stocking, inventory control, cleaning the store and protecting company assets. 2. Performs merchandise-related activities to ensure merchandise presentation guidelines are met through implementing plan-o-gram changes and updates, merchandise set and price changes. Sets weekly ads, including price changes, and any associated updates to store signage.
   
   3. Follows the established sorting and stocking guidelines and completes freight processes. Ensures freight sorting area is organized and setup in accordance with guidelines. Scans, investigates and fills inventory lows and outs daily.
   
   4. Proactively acknowledges and engages every customer to ensure a positive customer experience. Utilizes and understands the selling program to promote the sale of the best solution as well as additional product and/or services solutions. Maintains awareness of planned advertisements and promotions. 5. Able to evaluate the customer’s needs to determine what additional offerings or services that a customer may need in addition to determining if a customer should be referred to the Contract Sales organization. 6. Works to develop personal selling skills and specialized product knowledge through sales and service tools provided. Drives Technology, Tech Services, Furniture and Print sales by supporting all related current programs, new product launches and special initiatives. 7. Ensures compliance with company policies, procedures and practices; and supports company loss prevention efforts.
   Education & Experience
   High School diploma or equivalent education preferred
   Retail sales experience preferred How to Apply Click the Apply Now button and follow the instructions on each page. When you have completed the application, click the submit button. Pay, Benefits & Work Schedule Office Depot and OfficeMax offers competitive salaries, a benefits package, which includes a 401(k) and more, along with plenty of opportunity to move and grow within our organization! For immediate consideration for this exciting position, please click the Apply Now button. Equal Employment Opportunity Office Depot and OfficeMax is committed to providing equal employment opportunities in all employment practices. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), gender (including gender identity and expression), ancestry, national origin, citizenship status, marital status (including registered domestic partnership status), age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military and veteran status, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Other Information Must possess strong interpersonal and communication skills, which are necessary to establish a selling relationship with customers Possess excellent verbal and written communication skills Must possess the ability to use technology applicable to role, and to access information necessary to complete daily responsibilities Must possess ability to process information/merchandise through POS register system Must possess an interest in continually developing personal selling skills and product knowledge; Positive and Engaging Action Oriented Integrity & Trust Demonstrate passion for the brand, products, services and solutions offered to our customers Must possess a desire to continually develop personal selling skills and product knowledge Ability to work a flexible work schedule as business dictates Customer Focus Self Learning Approachability Fair Chance Ordinance We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records City & County of San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right retail sales consultant 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 retail sales consultants they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit retail sales consultants 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.

   To find retail sales consultant candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as salesjobs, salesheads, allretailjobs.com, sales trax.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting retail sales consultants requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete 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 retail sales consultant

   Once you've decided on a perfect retail sales consultant candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new retail sales consultant. 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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