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Sales Assistant
Retail

How to become a Sales Assistant

What does a Sales Assistant do?

Are you a people person? You should be a Sales Assistant…

Sales Assistants sell the products or services of their business. Generally they are customer-facing, they are often the first and primary form of contact to help ensure people find what they’re looking for. Sales Assistants can work in a number of different settings, including supermarkets, retail outlets and concessions, but their main purpose remains the same – to help customers find what they’re looking for.

Typical duties for a Sales Assistant include:

  • Approaching customers to identify their needs
  • Answering questions and using product knowledge to make recommendations on what to purchase
  • Processing payments to complete the sale
  • Receiving deliveries, replenishing and restocking sales areas and helping with in-store displays
  • Cashing up tills at the end of the day
  • Keeping all sales areas clean and tidy
  • Hitting any sales targets set by the business, both personally and as a team

Is a career as a Sales Assistant right for me?

To be successful as Sales Assistant, excellent communication and interpersonal skills are absolutely vital. Regardless of what industry they’re working in, great Sales Assistants all have one thing in common – providing excellent customer service to each and every customer.

Unfortunately, this rule also applies no matter how rude or obnoxious they may be…

Other key skills include:

  • Excellent customer service skills
  • A friendly and approachable nature
  • Enthusiasm
  • Good sales skills, and the ability to upsell or add-on at point of purchase
  • Excellent team working skills

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Career progression and salary expectations for a Sales Assistant

1

Sales Assistant

| Up to £20,000
2

Assistant Manager

| Up to £25,000
3

Store Manager

| Up to £30,000

Get qualified as a Sales Assistant

No formal qualifications are needed to become a great Sales Assistant. However, gaining a qualification specific to the industry or dedicated sales and customer service training are all great ways to get ahead.

Recommended Sales courses

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What's it like to be a Sales Assistant?

"I love shopping, and I love fashion. So working as a Sales Assistant in a fashion store made a lot of sense to me. Essentially, I get paid to help people find the perfect outfit, and give my opinion on what people should wear. The hours can be long and the customers can be difficult at times (don’t even get me started on sales), but I get to work with people I really get on with, pursue my passion for fashion and get paid to be around clothes. Oh, and did I mention employee discount?"

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