Sales team member vs sales associate

The differences between sales team members and sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales team member has an average salary of $33,827, which is higher than the $32,167 average annual salary of a sales associate.

The top three skills for a sales team member include sales floor, wine and cleanliness. The most important skills for a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.

Sales team member vs sales associate overview

	Sales Team Member	Sales Associate
Yearly salary	$33,827	$32,167
Hourly rate	$16.26	$15.46
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	585,314	579,849
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	-	-

What does a sales team member do?

A sales team member is responsible for selling goods and services to the customers, responding to their inquiries and concerns, and updating them with new services and promotional offers. Sales team members play a huge role in generating revenues for the business by maintaining existing clients and attracting potential customers. They assist with developing sales strategies for brand awareness, creating sales pitches, and identifying sales opportunities by researching current market trends. A sales team member must have excellent communication and customer service skills to negotiate with the customers and ensure their highest satisfaction.

What does a sales associate do?

Sales associates are responsible for promoting the company's goods or services. They are expected to provide exceptional customer service to prospective buyers. They should be familiar with all features of the company's products or services so that they can answer the customers' inquiries. Sales associates also assist customers in processing their checkouts, refunds, returns, and other needs. They should be customer-oriented, and they should have great communication skills. They should know how to sell their products or services to customers. They are considered the company's representatives on the ground.

Sales team member vs sales associate salary

Sales team members and sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Sales Team Member	Sales Associate
Average salary	$33,827	$32,167
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $45,000	Between $21,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Barclays
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between sales team member and sales associate education

There are a few differences between a sales team member and a sales associate in terms of educational background:

	Sales Team Member	Sales Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Sales team member vs sales associate demographics

Here are the differences between sales team members' and sales associates' demographics:

	Sales Team Member	Sales Associate
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 48.0% Female, 52.0%	Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 6.9% White, 56.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between sales team member and sales associate duties and responsibilities

Sales team member example responsibilities.

Manage the hardlines department of the store.
Lead a team of eighteen people in the apparel department through development, talent management, and training.
Supervise women's department, manage jewelry department, assist customers on finalizing purchases
Serve customers, stock shelves, organize products, correct merchandise pricing, train newly hire employees, POS system
Stock merchandise, groceries, clothes, shoes, and household items.
Prepare, print & bound PowerPoint sales presentation packages and investment review reports.

Sales associate example responsibilities.

Supervise women's department, manage jewelry department, assist customers on finalizing purchases
Gain experience with credit cards, mathematics, as well as customer service.
Utilize forklift, order picker reach truck, electric ladder, or roll ladders to transfer merchandise to the sales floor.
Create Facebook page for Ohco Import/Export division.
Increase sales by upselling products and follow up sales calls.
Assist customers with the purchase of the perfect piece of jewelry

Sales team member vs sales associate skills

Common sales team member skills

Sales Floor, 14%
Wine, 10%
Cleanliness, 10%
Ladders, 9%
Customer Service, 8%
Basic Math, 7%

Common sales associate skills

Customer Service, 15%
Sales Floor, 13%
Cash Handling, 9%
Retail Sales, 9%
Loss Prevention, 7%
Basic Math, 5%

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Sales Team Member
Sales Team Member vs Sales Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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