A salesperson is responsible for helping the customers what they are looking for. They arouse interest within the consumers in the products they are selling. They also bring forward all the positive aspects of the product in a way a customer would like to have. A person needs to have some common traits in order to pursue a career in retail sales. You should have the patience and tactics to deal with stubborn customers. You should also have a neat appearance because that creates the first experience. Clear and efficient communication skills are very important, because without them it is virtually impossible to convince customers.
No formal education qualification is required to start a career in this field; but some employers prefer a high school graduate or its equivalent. A specialization study in sales could take you to higher posts in shorter time. There are some skills required to be successful in a sales career. You should be able to communicate in more than one language so that you have wider scope of customers to deal with. Manipulating skills help as you can divert a customer buying another product towards your product instead.
A person may not be well versed with the product he is about to sell. So training should be provided in order to get full details of the product. This training may require 15 days to 1 month of time. The training should be product specific. Employers of larger stores usually look for salespersons having a certain amount of experience in related field as that helps to reduce the amount of training. The BLS (Bureau of Labor Studies) predicts that among all occupations retail sales will provide maximum number of jobs through the year 2016. As more and more retail stores and departmental stores are being opened this job's prospect is not going to die at least until 2020.
Advancement prospects are also good in this field. As seniority and experience grow, positions of greater responsibilities are provided. Larger stores provide managerial positions, while positions for smaller stores are limited, as most of the managerial functions are done by the store owner. There is also great scope for those who want work a part-time as the demand will be high during peak selling periods.
Most of the retail-salesperson is dependent in the number of sales for their earnings. According to a survey median hourly earnings, including commissions, was around $9.50, where the top 10% earning more than $18 per hour. The earnings vary slightly with the department you are working for and compensations are provided on the sales target being given.
Retail-salesperson use techniques, along with their knowledge of products to help customers and promote sales. Some of the other jobs which use same skills are insurance agents, real estate brokers, etc.
