What does a Sales Lead/Sales Associate do?
Sales lead and sales associates are two different sales positions in the retail industry. A sales lead is in charge of supervising the sales department. Sales leads perform administrative duties like recruiting and training staff, monitoring inventories, and maintaining sales performance. On the other hand, sales associates guide potential customers to acquire the products or services that fit their needs. The associates notify clients of sales promotions then present to them the product or service. Employees for these positions are looking for candidates with relevant experience in sales and related degrees like marketing and sales.
Sales lead/sales associate responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real sales lead/sales associate resumes:
- 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.
Sales lead/sales associate skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Sales Lead/Sales Associates are proficient in POS, Cash Control, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Interpersonal skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Sales Lead/Sales Associates that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- POS, 16%
Completed customer transactions using POS register system and fraud security protocol.
- Cash Control, 13%
Maintain 100% accountability of cash, key control, and adherence to company security practices and cash control procedures.
- Customer Service, 9%
Modeled and directed sales associates in applying proper customer service techniques in order to resolve customer complaints and heighten customer satisfaction.
- Bank Deposits, 8%
Run store when managers were unavailable-Handle all money, bank deposits, paperwork-Take orders-Assist with inventory
- Inventory Control, 8%
Trained in forklift operation in shipping and receiving emphasizing inventory control.
- Sales Transactions, 7%
Completed sales transactions, replenished merchandise displays, supported bi-annual inventory counts and semi-annual sales.
"pos," "cash control," and "customer service" are among the most common skills that sales lead/sales associates use at work. You can find even more sales lead/sales associate responsibilities below, including:
Customer-service skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a sales lead/sales associate to have is customer-service skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "retail sales workers must be responsive to the wants and needs of customers." Sales lead/sales associates often use customer-service skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "coached and developed sales associates, training sales techniques, inventory management, merchandising and customer service. "
Interpersonal skills. Another essential skill to perform sales lead/sales associate duties is interpersonal skills. Sales lead/sales associates responsibilities require that "a friendly and outgoing personality is important for these workers because the job requires almost constant interaction with people." Sales lead/sales associates also use interpersonal skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "exhibited great customer relationships ensuring returning customers utilized interpersonal, analytical and strategic skills during audits and customer scenarios. "
Math skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of sales lead/sales associates is math skills. This skill is critical to many everyday sales lead/sales associate duties, as "retail sales workers must have the ability to calculate price totals, discounts, and change owed to customers." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "demonstrated customer service kept store organized and clean operated cash register handled cash utilized math skills supervised store operations"
Selling skills. sales lead/sales associate responsibilities often require "selling skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "retail sales workers must be persuasive when interacting with customers." This resume example shows what sales lead/sales associates do with selling skills on a typical day: "coached and strengthened proper sales techniques with team members, set weekly goals to motivate the staff and focus on corporate goals"
The three companies that hire the most sales lead/sales associates are:
- Dollar General37,075 sales lead/sales associates jobs
- Petco Holdings, Inc.450 sales lead/sales associates jobs
- PVH33 sales lead/sales associates jobs
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Sales lead/sales associate vs. Assistant manager, sales
An assistant sales manager assists the sales manager in supervising the daily store operations. It is their responsibility to develop strategies to improve the store's profit, effectively resolve client's issues, and manage the recruitment of sales staff. They need to train and guide the sales staff to learn sales strategies to enhance their sales performance. Assistant sales managers must have strong management and leadership skills so they can do the duties of the sales managers in case of their absence. Candidates applying for the job should have excellent customer service skills and relevant experience in sales.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between sales lead/sales associates and assistant manager, sales. For instance, sales lead/sales associate responsibilities require skills such as "cash control," "sales transactions," "cash handling," and "front end." Whereas a assistant manager, sales is skilled in "excellent interpersonal," "sales training," "payroll," and "strong analytical." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Assistant managers, sales tend to make the most money working in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $36,707. In contrast, sales lead/sales associates make the biggest average salary, $30,271, in the retail industry.On average, assistant managers, sales reach similar levels of education than sales lead/sales associates. Assistant managers, sales are 2.9% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Sales lead/sales associate vs. Associate/team lead
An associate/team lead oversees the performance of team members while ensuring that clients get to receive optimal services. Their responsibilities typically include establishing guidelines and objectives, managing schedules, generating leads, performing market research and analysis, and developing strategies to optimize the daily operations. They may communicate with clients and assist them by identifying their needs, answering inquiries, and resolving issues and concerns. Moreover, as an associate/team lead, it is essential to guide and encourage staff to reach goals, all while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that sales lead/sales associate responsibilities requires skills like "cash control," "cash handling," "front end," and "stock merchandise." But an associate/team lead might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "excellent interpersonal," "basic math," "quality standards," and "math."
In general, associate/team leads achieve similar levels of education than sales lead/sales associates. They're 3.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sales lead/sales associate vs. Retail sales lead
Retail sales leads are responsible for the recruitment and training of new sales team members, assisting the management in selling products, and creating sales reports. Some duties and responsibilities of a retail sales lead include customer services such as answering inquiries and complaints, providing assistance and product information, suggesting items and opinions. Such experiences are an advantage for them to be promoted if they perform their tasks effectively and efficiently.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, sales lead/sales associates are more likely to have skills like "front end," "stock merchandise," "pet," and "boats." But a retail sales lead is more likely to have skills like "math," "basic math," "punctuality," and "strong work ethic."
Retail sales leads earn the best pay in the professional industry, where they command an average salary of $41,099. Sales lead/sales associates earn the highest pay from the retail industry, with an average salary of $30,271.When it comes to education, retail sales leads tend to earn similar degree levels compared to sales lead/sales associates. In fact, they're 1.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Sales lead/sales associate vs. Lead sales representative
A lead sales representative is responsible for selling goods and services to existing and potential customers through electronic communications and area visits. Lead sales representatives should be highly-knowledgeable of the products that the company offers to discuss and demonstrate the features to the client accurately. They take orders, process orders, and ensure the correct distribution details according to the customers' specifications. A lead sales representative also monitors the team's sales performance and strategize opportunities to maximize selling techniques and increase profitability.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between sales lead/sales associates and lead sales representatives, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a sales lead/sales associate might have more use for skills like "cash control," "sales transactions," "cash handling," and "front end." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of lead sales representatives require skills like "cleanliness," "medicare," "outbound calls," and "sales process. "
Lead sales representatives reach similar levels of education compared to sales lead/sales associates, in general. The difference is that they're 1.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of sales lead/sales associate
Updated June 25, 2024