How To Become A Sales Assoc: What It Is and Career Path

What is a sales assoc and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Joseph Hancock

If you are up to date with the current trends and would like to work towards helping others pick out the right clothing and other brands, then this is the position you should look into. As a sales associate, your purpose will be to promote a company's products and services while providing excellent customer service.

Some of the duties and responsibilities that you will be performing in this capacity include welcoming the customers into the stores or shops, keeping up-to-date about the company's range of offerings, recommending customers which products are best suited to their needs, promoting special sale offers, and accepting or processing orders on the POS register. Essential skills required to successfully complete these tasks include communication, customer service, computer skills, and interpersonal skills.

Qualifications required for the position include at least a high school diploma or a GED. However, what is important is prior work experience and the ability to persuade potential buyers. The average hourly pay for this position is $14.88, which amounts to $30,956 annually.

What's a day at work look like for a sales assoc?

Joseph Hancock

Research Professor, Program Director, Former Retail Operations Manager, Drexel University, Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design

New graduates will need to be self-disciplined and self-motivated. No one is going to hold your hand and tell you "get to work" or you will soon be looking for a new job. The new world may be one where you don't go to an office, but instead work right from home, scheduling appointments and doing your own calendar. My last years working for Target in a regional field position taught me that no one was going to motivate me each day, I had to motivate myself. Also, it can be lonely working from home as a new graduate, so find outside interests and ways to make friends. I am from the old fashion ideologies that getting a hobby is extremely important, and that hobby is not going to the gym or watching television. It includes something that enriches your life to be a better person in society.

ScoreSales AssocUS Average

Salary

5.2

Avg. Salary $66,072

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

7.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.77%

Asian 6.12%

Black or African American 10.99%

Hispanic or Latino 18.04%

Unknown 5.80%

White 58.27%

Gender

female 56.91%

male 43.09%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.5

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.5

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a sales assoc

Explore sales assoc education requirements

Most common sales assoc degrees

High School Diploma

38.9 %

Bachelor's

22.8 %

Associate

20.8 %

Start to develop specific sales assoc skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	31.60%
Sales Objectives	23.59%
Retail Sales	22.85%
Store Appearance	8.06%
Sales Floor	2.40%

Complete relevant sales assoc training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New sales assocs learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a sales assoc based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real sales assoc resumes.

Research sales assoc duties and responsibilities

Supervise women's department, manage jewelry department, assist customers on finalizing purchases
Service retail customers by processing purchase orders/request and deliveries; displaying specific POS materials for advertisement and product announcement.
Improve customer solicitation pitch to increase Kohl's credit card application solicitations.

Prepare your sales assoc resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your sales assoc resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a sales assoc resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable sales assoc resume templates

Build a professional sales assoc resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your sales assoc resume.

Apply for sales assoc jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a sales assoc job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do sales assocs rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Sales assoc reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2021

Pros

I like mostly that I work with team oriented people. Some people that care and will help and that help others whether it's work related or not. That have good employee morale amongst each other not necessarily management but amongst each other.

Cons

Double standards extra work extra tasks that aren't in the job description you're doing assumptions that you know everything you're doing and you know the right way of everything that you're doing even though no one's ever trained you to do what you're doing and what you're doing isn't necessarily in the jobs description for the title for lack of a better word that you actually have