How To Become A Sales Lead/Sales Associate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a sales lead/sales associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Joseph Hancock

A sales lead is a member of the sales team at a retail store. The position is a stepping stone toward management and comes with the responsibility of managing the team, supporting management, and making sure sales goals are met.

A talent for sales for a sales lead is a non-negotiable requirement. On top of that, they also need to have leadership skills and excel at serving customers. Knowing your way around the products and services of your store, perhaps, goes without saying.

The average annual salary of a retail sales lead is $31,193, which is about $15 an hour. This will, of course, increase significantly once you reach that coveted manager position.

What's a day at work look like for a sales lead/sales associate?

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 Lead/Sales AssociateUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $31,954

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

8.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.65%

Asian 6.94%

Black or African American 8.44%

Hispanic or Latino 17.85%

Unknown 4.65%

White 61.46%

Gender

female 64.74%

male 35.26%

Age - 42

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 - 42

Stress level

9.4

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.2

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a sales lead/sales associate

Explore sales lead/sales associate education requirements

Most common sales lead/sales associate degrees

Bachelor's

36.5 %

High School Diploma

30.8 %

Associate

21.6 %

Start to develop specific sales lead/sales associate skills

Skills	Percentages
POS	15.79%
Cash Control	13.50%
Customer Service	9.01%
Bank Deposits	8.08%
Inventory Control	7.72%

Complete relevant sales lead/sales associate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New sales lead/sales associates 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 lead/sales associate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real sales lead/sales associate resumes.

Research sales lead/sales associate duties and responsibilities

Partner in managing operations of multiple retail outlets, including hiring, performance management, scheduling, and merchandising management.
Complete customer transactions using POS register system and fraud security protocol.
Monitor inventory accountability by physically checking inventory, running inventory reports, receiving shipments, and completing transfers in the POS.
Demonstrate strong leadership, communication and supervisory skills by providing coaching and feedback to maximize individual and store performance.

Get sales lead/sales associate experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a sales lead/sales associate. The most common roles before becoming a sales lead/sales associate include sales associate, cashier team lead and customer service representative.

Prepare your sales lead/sales associate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your sales lead/sales associate 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 lead/sales associate 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 lead/sales associate resume templates

Build a professional sales lead/sales associate 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 lead/sales associate resume.

Apply for sales lead/sales associate jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a sales lead/sales associate 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 lead/sales associates rate their job?

-/5

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Sales lead/sales associate 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.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Cons

Handling the details for all the issues is sometimes hard to manage.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019