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What is a sales representative/assistant and how to become one
Do you have a passion for customer service and have good interpersonal skills? If you have these essential skills, working as a sales representative might be the perfect role. This is a very rewarding job that enables you to pursue management options.
Sales representatives, also known as retail sales partners or salespeople, support buyers in choosing goods and motivating them to buy. Other responsibilities include welcoming clients, sales contracts planning, and sales record keeping. These specialists often work indoors in cozy shopping spaces but often have to take on full shifts. Holidays are typically the busiest times of the year for shops, so they devote additional hours in these periods.
There is no requirement to work as a sales representative. However, some employers prefer candidates to have at least a high school diploma or equivalent. Sales representatives selling technical goods such as vehicles or electronics may be required to undergo on-the-job training. Often potential sales representatives will improve their job opportunities by evidence of selling expertise and experience of the currently available innovations and goods.
What general advice would you give to a sales representative/assistant?
Frederik Beuk
Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Akron
Avg. Salary $38,112
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 4%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%
Asian 5.18%
Black or African American 3.86%
Hispanic or Latino 14.40%
Unknown 3.72%
White 72.60%
Genderfemale 64.49%
male 35.51%
Age - 48American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 48Stress level is high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is challenging
7 - challenging
Work life balance is fair
6.4 - fair
Sales representative/assistant career paths
Key steps to become a sales representative/assistant
Explore sales representative/assistant education requirements
Start to develop specific sales representative/assistant skills
Skills Percentages Product Knowledge 24.23% Brand Awareness 19.75% Sales Associates 19.10% Store Associates 2.50% Sales Reports 2.39% Complete relevant sales representative/assistant training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New sales representative/assistants 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 representative/assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real sales representative/assistant resumes.Research sales representative/assistant duties and responsibilities
- Manage organization website and Facebook page; writing articles for websites and newsletters.
- Execute weekly on premise promotions and off-site special events that generate brand awareness, increase distribution and additional sales.
- Create and maintain purchase and sales orders for clients through use of POS systems.
- Operate a well-establish POS system which include POS reporting tools to better assist the sales team.
Prepare your sales representative/assistant resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your sales representative/assistant 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 representative/assistant 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 representative/assistant resume templates
Build a professional sales representative/assistant 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 representative/assistant resume.
Apply for sales representative/assistant jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a sales representative/assistant 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 did you land your first sales representative/assistant job
Are you a sales representative/assistant?
Share your story for a free salary report.
Average sales representative/assistant salary
The average sales representative/assistant salary in the United States is $38,112 per year or $18 per hour. Sales representative/assistant salaries range between $30,000 and $47,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do sales representative/assistants rate their job?
Sales representative/assistant reviews
Pay was consistent and you pick your own rate based on the commission you choose to bring in. Spending so much time together created a bond between the team where uplifting one another on bad days became part of the job. I guess it depends on your particular work environment but the bonds created kept us going.
Felt like I was chained to the table, changes were made on a daily basis, and work became a race against the clock for 9 hours. Managers look down at you as a number on their chart and not a human being, good workers became poor workers, great workers were barely good, and the robots working exactly as needed were the only ones lucky enough to escape the cubicle prison.
Communicating and helping my clients.
The travel was extensive. Sometimes. It took more than month to close a deaĺ.
i enjoy the interaction with people, listen the customer in order to convert him/her into your friend, detect and help customer with his/her needs.
People without vision, dreams and selfishness.
Updated January 8, 2025
