What does a sales person do?

A salesperson is in charge of ensuring that the products, goods, or services of the company get sold to customers. They are trained to market the products well, understand what the customer needs, and find the product that best fits the customer's needs. As such, the salesperson should be familiar with all of the company's products and should be able to explain the features of each. They should know how to approach customers and to close out sales. Salespersons are expected to have good communication, interpersonal, and persuasion skills.
Sales person responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real sales person resumes:
- Clean CDL and aptitude for relationship building lead to point of sales position.
- Manage product deliveries, and maintain overall orderliness and cleanliness of facility to optimize customer experience.
- Perform sales responsibilities utilizing mobile POS system while marketing company membership services, ensuring client satisfaction.
- Gain in-depth knowledge of Chrysler vehicles and differentiate them to existing and potential customers.
- Assist customers in load calculations, design, and implementation of a variety of HVAC systems.
- Create PowerPoint presentations and promote products at meetings and continuing education programs
- Operate POS register system, using perpetual inventory and automate reordering software.
- Route Salesman/Delivery - perform delivery to numerous businesses, maintaining CDL license.
- Maintain company Facebook page by updating with project pictures and promotional offers.
- Maintain cleanliness of storefront by constantly organizing clothing racks/shelves and rotating outfits on mannequins.
- Develop business driven information system and product investments with complete ROI calculations, including cross- functional cost analysis.
- Handle all sales inquiries regarding all fine jewelry items including gold, diamonds, pearls and other precious and semi-precious gems.
- Advise customers on quality, cuts, and value of jewelry and gems and in selecting mountings and settings for gems.
- Check in with DSD receiver's.
- Deliver frozen and refrigerate foods in a DSD environment.
Sales person skills and personality traits
We calculated that 27% of Sales People are proficient in Basic Math, Phone Calls, and POS. They’re also known for soft skills such as Selling skills, Math skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Sales People that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Basic Math, 27%
Performed basic mathematical skills while preparing orders.
- Phone Calls, 18%
Screened high volume of telephone calls, including directing Japanese-language callers to appropriate departments.
- POS, 18%
Weekend job where I poured and sold wine and merchandise while maintaining tasting room, product inventory, POS and displays.
- Cleanliness, 16%
Performed general automobile assessment upon arrival that included overall mechanical condition, and cleanliness.
- Math, 13%
Organized and attentive with the math skills to make basic negotiations.
- Customer Service, 3%
Provided customers with exceptional customer service to encourage repeat business and/or referrals to friends, family and co-workers.
"basic math," "phone calls," and "pos" are among the most common skills that sales people use at work. You can find even more sales person responsibilities below, including:
Selling skills. The most essential soft skill for a sales person to carry out their responsibilities is selling skills. This skill is important for the role because "retail sales workers must be persuasive when interacting with customers." Additionally, a sales person resume shows how their duties depend on selling skills: "provided direct sales to major engineering and contracting firms within north america, regarding international projects. "
Math skills. Many sales person duties rely on math skills. "retail sales workers must have the ability to calculate price totals, discounts, and change owed to customers.," so a sales person will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways sales person responsibilities rely on math skills: "completed online classes by honda, which demonstrated effective sales techniques and product facts and statistics. "
Interpersonal skills. This is an important skill for sales people to perform their duties. For an example of how sales person responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "a friendly and outgoing personality is important for these workers because the job requires almost constant interaction with people." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a sales person: "developed customer service and sales techniques using analytical and interpersonal skills. ".
Customer-service skills. For certain sales person responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "customer-service skills." The day-to-day duties of a sales person rely on this skill, as "retail sales workers must be responsive to the wants and needs of customers." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what sales people do: "scheduled prospective customer appointments to direct sales traffic to dealership. "
The three companies that hire the most sales persons are:
- Advance Auto Parts5,309 sales people jobs
- Nordstrom63 sales people jobs
- Breylan Deal-Eriksen - Windermere Real Estate29 sales people jobs
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Sales person vs. Sales associate and customer service
Sales and customer service associates are employees who are responsible for closing out sales deals and attending to customer needs. They are in charge of selling company goods and services to potential clients, often citing the common needs of prospective clients to ensure sales. They also handle customer inquiries and complaints and try their best to mitigate any problems that would arise. They are expected to be experts on company products to ensure that they can provide the best service to customers. Sales and customer service associates should have strong interpersonal skills, customer service skills, and communication skills.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a sales person are more likely to require skills like "basic math," "cleanliness," "real estate," and "sales process." On the other hand, a job as a sales associate and customer service requires skills like "plumbing," "sales associates," "booking," and "cross-referencing." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that sales associate and customer services earn slightly differ from sales people. In particular, sales associate and customer services are 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a sales person. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sales person vs. Adviser sales
Adviser sales are responsible for reaching out to clients through calls and correspondence to promote and sell products or services. With a sales target to reach, they must secure sales by prioritizing customer satisfaction. There are also instances when they have to perform follow-up calls, conduct surveys or polls, process payments or refunds, and even handle complaints, issues, and concerns. Furthermore, it is essential to coordinate with the team and adhere to company policies and regulations.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, sales person responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "basic math," "cleanliness," "math," and "real estate." Meanwhile, an adviser sales has duties that require skills in areas such as "loss prevention," "good communication," "store management," and "issue receipts." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, adviser sales achieve similar levels of education than sales people. They're 0.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sales person vs. Commissioned sales associate
Commissioned sales associates are professionals who conduct sale transactions that can generate additional compensation by increasing selling operations. These associates are must collaborate successfully with fellow associates in regard to sales and commission distribution. They must provide excellent customer service so that they can establish long term relationships with customers and ensure high satisfaction. Commissioned sales associates must also assist the department managers with visual merchandising to arrange racks so that they can place and stock new merchandise.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, sales people are more likely to have skills like "basic math," "phone calls," "cleanliness," and "math." But a commissioned sales associate is more likely to have skills like "excellent organizational," "excellent interpersonal," "customer relationships," and "commission sales."
Most commissioned sales associates achieve a similar degree level compared to sales people. For example, they're 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sales person vs. Furniture sales associate
A furniture sales associate is, basically, responsible for selling furniture. They have to keep their sales pitch polished, because they are required to make customers buy products, even if they are unwilling. Selling is not their only responsibility, however. They also do the job of an advertiser to promote the products of the business and attract new customers. Good communication and interpersonal skills will be a strong asset in this role, since it involves face-to-face or phone communication with potential customers.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between sales people and furniture sales associates, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a sales person might have more use for skills like "phone calls," "cleanliness," "real estate," and "sales process." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of furniture sales associates require skills like "sales associates," "furniture sales," "good communication," and "stock merchandise. "
The average resume of furniture sales associates showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to sales people. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 1.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.3%.Types of sales person
Updated January 8, 2025











