Automatically apply for jobs with Zippi

Upload your resume to get started.

Senior sales associate skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

6 min read

Quoted experts

Adry S. Clark Ph.D.,

Andrea Dixon Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical senior sales associate skills. We ranked the top skills for senior sales associates based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 16.6% of senior sales associate resumes contained customer service as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a senior sales associate needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 senior sales associate skills for your resume and career

1. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how senior sales associates use customer service:

Developed wide-range of product knowledge that aided in technical support for both customers and co-workers and informative customer service.
Implemented intensive customer service and sales techniques while improving overall quality of merchandise selling and profitability of the store

2. Product Knowledge

Product knowledge is the skill of having better information and knowledge about the product you are selling. Product knowledge is essential for the employees of the companies so they can communicate and inform the customers about the product. Having great product knowledge is essential for a better sales pitch and to give the customer a better and complete idea of the product that will influence him to buy the product eventually.

Here's how senior sales associates use product knowledge:

Developed product knowledge, maintained trend awareness, and provided exceptional customer care to create positive shopping experience and improve profitability.
Demonstrated outstanding sales and product training, practicing superior selling techniques through advanced product knowledge and outstanding customer service.

3. Phone Calls

Phone calls are a wireless or wired connection made over a telephone or a mobile phone between two people. Two parties are involved in a phone call, the caller and the receiver. A caller dials the number of the one he wants to call, and the recipient hears a bell or a tune to which he picks up the call. The call establishes a connection between them through which they can communicate. The voice is converted into signals and is transmitted through wired or wireless technology.

Here's how senior sales associates use phone calls:

Develop agents to make better phone calls by indicating areas of opportunity and utilizing desired client behaviors.
Direct customers to on-line options and facilitated phone calls with on-line representatives for customers.

4. Customer Satisfaction

Here's how senior sales associates use customer satisfaction:

Provided attentive customer service and developed relationships with new and existing clients in order to increase customer satisfaction.
Controlled inventory ensuring additional items were ordered to maintain a steady sales flow and to maintain customer satisfaction.

5. Cleanliness

Here's how senior sales associates use cleanliness:

Managed organizational standards, cleanliness of store and safety procedures/policies; managed and maintained store appearance, provided exceptional customer service.
Managed store inventory and preserved store standards on organization and cleanliness

6. PowerPoint

Here's how senior sales associates use powerpoint:

Prepared and customized client proposals for Branch Managers & Field Sales Representatives using PowerPoint, BusinessMap Pro and Adobe Acrobat.
Worked extensively with MS Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint to prepare correspondence, presentations and compile reports.

Choose from 10+ customizable senior sales associate resume templates

Build a professional senior sales associate resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior sales associate resume.

7. Sales Floor

The sales floor is the area in a company or a business that is specified for retail activities or is designated as the selling area of the shop. A car showroom can be considered a sales floor, as it has cars in its display which are to be sold. A sales floor is generally crowded with sales assistants who are there to help you out while you can search and check out the products. Generally a sales floor has free access to the public and they can observe, view and get information about the product that is being sold.

Here's how senior sales associates use sales floor:

Merchandised sales floor and received weekly shipments Trained new employees and kept staff up to date on new company policies and procedures
Work with the Inventory Specialist to check in all incoming inventories and placing these products timely on the sales floor.

8. POS

POS is an abbreviation of "Point of Sale" which is the time and place where a customer completes a transaction. It can either be a physical shop that consists of POS terminals or a virtual shop. A POS system helps simplify the retail functions and track important sales data.

Here's how senior sales associates use pos:

Provided excellent customer service* Processed sales on POS system* Assisted customers in a friendly and timely manner* Participated in visual merchandising.
Received new product and incorporated it into current inventory via POS inventory management system.

9. Data Entry

Data entry means entering data into a company's system with the help of a keyboard. A person responsible for entering data may also be asked to verify the authenticity of the data being entered. A person doing data entry must pay great attention to tiny details.

Here's how senior sales associates use data entry:

Managed data entry of applications with efficiency and accuracy that was transmitted to underwriting for review and rating.
Perform sales, financial data entry/transactions, cash reconciliation and excellent customer service.

10. Retail Store

Here's how senior sales associates use retail store:

Maintain organizational responsibility for the overall operations of a retail store.
Handled order management of various video game platforms for worldwide retail store distribution; orders processed through direct and EDI sales.

11. Customer Issues

Here's how senior sales associates use customer issues:

Provided exceptional customer services to clients; investigated and resolved customer issues in a timely matter.
Distributed cash drawers and directed resolution of customer issues pertaining to individual sales.

12. Retail Sales

Retail sales are the method to track consumer demand for finished goods by assessing the purchases of durable and non-durable products over a definite period. Data on retail sales is accumulated monthly by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Here's how senior sales associates use retail sales:

Delivered clear, concise, technology-driven presentations to Retail Sales Traders, providing value-added information on the Introducing Broker/Independent Research platform.
Retail sales position requiring extensive nutrition product/fitness knowledge and strong sales and customer service abilities.

13. Store Merchandise

Here's how senior sales associates use store merchandise:

Monitored store merchandise and restocked inventory.
Improved interactions with customers to provide excellent customer service and assist in answering questions about store merchandise and policies.

14. Loss Prevention

The steps taken by a business to prevent theft is called loss prevention. There are multiple methods for loss prevention for example usage of automated cash handling, secure physical location, product security staff buy-in, and attentive customer service.

Here's how senior sales associates use loss prevention:

Ensured accuracy and consistency while performing detail-oriented tasks such as inventory management and cash reconciliation, exceeding corporate loss prevention goals.
Focused on loss prevention and asset protection by implementing company policies and procedures thoroughly.

15. Client Relationships

Here's how senior sales associates use client relationships:

Develop one-to-one client relationships through regular communication
Maintained a balanced budget; conducted payroll, overhead and productive distributor/client relationships.

5 Senior Sales Associate resume examples

Build a professional senior sales associate resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 5+ resume templates to create your senior sales associate resume.

Create my resume

Build a professional resume in minutes using this template.

What skills help Senior Sales Associates find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on senior sales associate resumes?

Adry S. Clark Ph.D.

Director, Western Oregon University

The skills that stand out on resumes fall into two categories: 1) Skills required to do the job and 2) Skills almost all employers look for. The most important aspect of resumes is to make sure it reflects exactly what the employer needs. Study the job description, identify key skills, and have them reflected on your resume. Think about transferrable skills, not the specific roles you've had.

Most employers look for skills such as communication (written/oral), flexibility, proactivity, problem-solving, project management, and technical. Make sure to cultivate those skills in whatever role you have, and have examples that demonstrate those skills.

What soft skills should all senior sales associates possess?

Andrea Dixon Ph.D.

Executive Director, Center for Professional Selling, Frank and Floy Smith Holloway Endowed Professorship in Marketing, President, University Sales Center Alliance 2019-2021, Baylor University

Since sales professionals have a lot of information available to them today via customer relationship management (CRM) systems, the sales manager's "supervisory" role is less important (especially for experienced sellers). Consequently, the sales manager needs to be more of a coach and enabler of high performance. Having confidence balanced with humility allows the sales manager to engage more effectively with their salespeople.
One of the critical soft skills for sales managers going forward will be the ability to connect members of the sales team to others in the organization - in other words, the sales manager of the future needs to have strong skills in network building for others. Sellers have access to data which helps them build success.
They also need access to the right people to turn to when they need specific expertise or assistance.

What hard/technical skills are most important for senior sales associates?

Andrea Dixon Ph.D.

Executive Director, Center for Professional Selling, Frank and Floy Smith Holloway Endowed Professorship in Marketing, President, University Sales Center Alliance 2019-2021, Baylor University

One of the growing technical skill requirements for sales managers is in the area of data analytics. Our performance and customer systems provide a myriad of data, and the role of the sales manager is to be a sense-maker of that mound of data. What are the implications for changes in strategy or behavior evident in last quarter's activity? How can the sales manager help a specific seller "see" where the data suggest new approaches?

What senior sales associate skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Kerri Orders

Assistant Professor of Business, Aquinas College

In terms of a gap year, I recommend that international business students acquire tangible skills, relevant experience and/or certifications which will enhance their success in their desired area of interest. For example, a gap year could consist of gaining technical or digital training overseas, which would also further the students' cultural intelligence and language proficiency. These types of enriching gap year experiences will assist students to distinguish themselves in a highly competitive market. Furthermore, students should focus on broadening and maintaining their global network during a gap year in order to be ready for the job market once the gap year is concluded.

What type of skills will young senior sales associates need?

Michael Mikitka

Executive Vice President, MHI – Material Handling Industry

Courses and internships are essential. While the required depth of knowledge may vary from one position to another, employers are generally looking for candidates with strong "people-related" skills, those who are willing to continue to learn, and those with the ability to be flexible and adapt.

By "people-related" skills, I mean the abilities associated with effective communication (listen and express ideas and direction) and the skills related to working independently and a team.

As for the interest to continually learn... from a technology, data, and equipment perspective, today's supply chain looks very different than it did 10-years ago. The willingness and ability to continually learn are essential for anyone in a leadership role.

As for flexibility and adapting...supply chain/logistics is as much about responding to disruption and demand as it is planning for it. There is a predictable demand (i.e., seasonal...everyone knows when back-to-school shopping begins). Then there is the unpredictable demand (i.e., power-outages, wildfires, pandemic) that impact market and the ability to operate. Candidates that express flexibility and problem-solving skills will be much sought-after.

What technical skills for a senior sales associate stand out to employers?

Joseph Hancock

Research Professor, Program Director, Former Retail Operations Manager, Drexel University, Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design

Technologically savvy is necessary, so what will set you apart are your soft skills, patience, the ability to think beyond yourself. Again, don't be ethnocentric, be multi-centric. I believe technology only exposes us to a virtual world of acceptance, and really if you are going to be sales, you need to be cultured beyond the computer and social media. Understand others and their needs, be a person who tells the potential employer how you are going to go the extra mile to care for customers and make sure their needs are met through your excellent customers service skills (and give solid examples). Most importantly, know what you are selling and realize that the person you are talking to, might know more than you! There have been so many times I walk into a retail store only to have the store associate or manager talk to me as if I know nothing about the product they are selling. Ask your customers questions do not just talk at them, talk with them.

Do you want to know more?

List of senior sales associate skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a senior sales associate resume and required skills for a senior sales associate to have include:

Customer Service
Product Knowledge
Phone Calls
Customer Satisfaction
Cleanliness
PowerPoint
Sales Floor
POS
Data Entry
Retail Store
Customer Issues
Retail Sales
Store Merchandise
Loss Prevention
Client Relationships
Business Development
Sales Process

Cash Control
Sales Targets
Store Management
Store Operations
Bank Deposits
Inventory Control
Top Sales
Sales Transactions
Cash Drawers
Customer Complaints
Sales Reports
Sales Quota
Customer Relations
Sales Training
Sales Techniques
Repeat Business
Stock Room

Customer Care
Customer Inquiries
Inventory Management
Upselling
Credit Card Transactions
Store Opening
Media Sales
Financial Transactions
Stock Shelves
Quality Customer Service
Enterprise Solutions
Led Training
Customer Transactions
Store Policies
Floor Stock

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse sales jobs