What does a sales associate/manager do?
As the name entails, sales associates or associate managers are responsible for helping the store manager organize and run the retail stores. Their roles and responsibilities include ensuring that the store's goals are met by the sales team, hiring and training sales staff, and monitoring inventory. They are also expected to analyze consumer behavior, look for competitive products in the market, and communicate and evaluate clients' needs. To be qualified for this position, you should have experience as an assistant manager, organizational and leadership skills, and proficiency in MS Office.
Sales associate/manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real sales associate/manager resumes:
- Partner in managing operations of multiple retail outlets, including hiring, performance management, scheduling, and merchandising management.
- Execute marketing and visual merchandising initiatives and organize POS merchandise display.
- Partner in managing operations of multiple retail outlets, including hiring, performance management, scheduling, and merchandising management.
- Start as a part time associate and are promoted to full time Keyholder within 90 days.
Sales associate/manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 34% of Sales Associate/Managers are proficient in Customer Service, Sales Floor, and Strong Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Sales Associate/Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 34%
Achieved high sales percentage with consultative, value-focused customer service approach -Provided personalized customer service to match every customer individualized needs.
- Sales Floor, 13%
Performed merchandising duties by setting up sales floor according to provided plan-o-grams
- Strong Customer Service, 9%
Increased sales by over 20% in two years through strong customer service and sales skills.
- Retail Sales, 4%
Improved data collection process between retail sales and brand teams delivering higher accuracy levels for brands supply forecast
- Payroll, 4%
Supported payroll, company administration, managing of multiple location including schedules and projects.
- Product Knowledge, 4%
Mentor new and existing sales representatives on customer relationship management, solutions-selling strategies, advanced product knowledge and customer programs.
Most sales associate/managers use their skills in "customer service," "sales floor," and "strong customer service" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential sales associate/manager responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a sales associate/manager to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "sales managers must collect and interpret complex data to target the most promising geographic areas and demographic groups, and determine the most effective sales strategies." Sales associate/managers often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "employed analytical skill sets when processing inventory and handling customer relations. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform sales associate/manager duties is communication skills. Sales associate/managers responsibilities require that "sales managers need to work with colleagues and customers, so they must be able to communicate clearly." Sales associate/managers also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "experienced in problem solving, leadership and communications, sales training, and customer relations. "
Customer-service skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of sales associate/managers is customer-service skills. This skill is critical to many everyday sales associate/manager duties, as "when helping to make a sale, sales managers must listen and respond to the customer’s needs." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "received specialized corporate training in sales techniques and customer service excellence awards. "
Leadership skills. A big part of what sales associate/managers do relies on "leadership skills." You can see how essential it is to sales associate/manager responsibilities because "sales managers must be able to evaluate how their sales staff performs and must develop strategies for meeting sales goals." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical sales associate/manager tasks: "engage and participate in management leadership training to ensure asset management and loss prevention guidelines are met at all times. "
The three companies that hire the most sales associate/managers are:
- Tire Discounters114 sales associate/managers jobs
- Furniture Row96 sales associate/managers jobs
- UniFirst33 sales associate/managers jobs
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Compare different sales associate/managers
Sales associate/manager vs. Manager, sales person
Assistant store managers of sales are executive professionals who are responsible for assisting store managers in supervising staff members as well as store operations. These assistant managers are required to provide excellent customer service and store management to meet the company standard in the overall store presentation. They must develop and implement company policies and procedures so that they can achieve high-quality products and customer service consistently. These assistant managers are also required to monitor budget and payroll records while reviewing financial transactions to ensure that expenditures are authorized.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between sales associate/managers and manager, sales person. For instance, sales associate/manager responsibilities require skills such as "loss prevention," "store sales," "cash drawers," and "stock room." Whereas a manager, sales person is skilled in "direct sales," "real estate," "personal sales," and "cold calls." This is part of what separates the two careers.
On average, managers, sales person reach similar levels of education than sales associate/managers. Managers, sales person are 1.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Sales associate/manager vs. Assistant store manager of sales
A co-manager's role is to supervise business operations and perform administrative tasks as support to a manager. One of the primary functions of a co-manager is to delegate tasks of team members and arrange schedules. They also evaluate progress, produce the necessary documentation, maintain a record of data, identify issues and opportunities, and assist in coordinating with other employees. A co-manager may also have the task of hiring and training new workforce members, enforcing policies and regulations at all times.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real sales associate/manager resumes. While sales associate/manager responsibilities can utilize skills like "strong customer service," "stock room," "credit card transactions," and "sales transactions," assistant store managers of sales use skills like "kpi," "sales strategies," "sales training," and "business results."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Assistant store managers of sales tend to reach similar levels of education than sales associate/managers. In fact, they're 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sales associate/manager vs. Co-manager
A floor manager is responsible for supervising the general operations of a specific department in an organization. Floor manager tasks include assisting customers, ensuring prompt resolution of clients' inquiries, distributing tasks to the staff, and monitoring the employees' performance. A floor manager will be in charge of checking inventories and report inadequate supplies, identifying business opportunities to increase the company's sales and profitability, developing strategic procedures to maintain customer satisfaction, and managing disputes from the customers and employees. A floor manager must have excellent leadership and communication skills to address specific concerns and process customers' requests as needed.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, sales associate/managers are more likely to have skills like "strong customer service," "retail sales," "credit card transactions," and "sales transactions." But a co-manager is more likely to have skills like "food safety," "perform routine maintenance," "basic math," and "cleanliness."
Co-managers make a very good living in the retail industry with an average annual salary of $64,497. On the other hand, sales associate/managers are paid the highest salary in the manufacturing industry, with average annual pay of $41,297.Most co-managers achieve a similar degree level compared to sales associate/managers. For example, they're 1.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sales associate/manager vs. Floor manager
Updated January 8, 2025
