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Sales Associate skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
Quoted Experts
Meegan Feori Ph.D.,
Travis Kurowski Ph.D.
Sales Associate Example Skills

To juggle the responsibilities of a sales associate job, you'll need to possess certain hard and soft skills. Customer service is the most important hard skill to focus on, as this will likely be the most important aspect of your job. Prior experience working in retail sales, especially working directly on the sales floor, is obviously a big plus.


As far as soft skills go, communication is one of the most important for sales associates. Not only in being able to communicate with customers who may be pleasant or difficult, but in communicating work needs to other team members.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical sales associate skills. We ranked the top skills for sales associates based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 14.5% of sales associate resumes contained customer service as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a sales associate needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 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 sales associates use customer service:
  • Implemented daily activities that provided a level of efficiency needed to ensure excellence in customer service and customer experiences.
  • Assisted military consumers with purchasing various electronics, providing excellent knowledgeable customer service and satisfaction.

2. 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 sales associates use sales floor:
  • Assisted in execution of merchandising and operational functions to company standards within sales floor areas where assigned
  • Assisted customers with merchandise stock and organize products on sales floor, provided great customer service, aware of sales & promotions

3. Cash Handling

Here's how sales associates use cash handling:
  • Cashier-Received and disbursed money, assisted customers with their purchases, ability to multitask, cash handling experience preferred
  • Cultivated positive and enduring relationships with customers while ensuring all cash handling and safety policies were followed.

4. 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 sales associates use retail sales:
  • Answered questions about merchandise and provided product information to enhance retail sales and ensure ongoing customer satisfaction.
  • Assisted manager in revamping store focused on Business to Business retail sales

5. 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 sales associates use loss prevention:
  • Cleaned and inspected customers high-value possessions and followed loss prevention and security procedure for customer pieces and store-owned jewelry.
  • Worked toward optimizing store operations for loss prevention, merchandise display and inventory management.

6. Basic Math

Here's how sales associates use basic math:
  • Cashier experience; basic math skills, finalizing sales, handling money and credit card transactions.
  • Use basic math skills to compute tax in different cities for various items on the spot.

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7. Cleanliness

Here's how sales associates use cleanliness:
  • Prepared quality food products, processed accurate register transactions, maintained general appearance and cleanliness of store premises.
  • Attained Cashier experience Provided great customer service skills in fast paced environment Ensure cleanliness of food preparation area
Select Skills To Add To Your Resume

8. Customer Satisfaction

Here's how sales associates use customer satisfaction:
  • Processed customer transactions and generated sales through personalized assistance to maximize customer satisfaction during the holiday season.
  • Provided excellent customer service focusing on customer satisfaction Introduced items to customers Helped customers find what they wanted

9. Math

Here's how sales associates use math:
  • Exhibited rudimentary math skills and advanced communication skills when efficiently cashiering in a fast paced environment.
  • Advanced math Organization and filing Customer service Problem solving

10. 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 sales associates use pos:
  • Serviced retail customers by processing purchase orders/request and deliveries; displaying specific POS materials for advertisement and product announcement.
  • Operated POS register and balanced corresponding drawer.

11. Ladders

Here's how sales associates use ladders:
  • Recognized for excellent customer relationship and sales by reaching 1st and 2nd place on top seller list for Little Giant Ladders.
  • Certified on, forklifts, reach truck, electric pallet jack, slip truck, and electric ladders and order pickers.

12. Stock Shelves

To "stock shelves" is referred as the process of putting the supplies on the shelves in the store. It is important to stock the shelves timely as empty shelves can cost a business too much.

Here's how sales associates use stock shelves:
  • Processed shipments and sales transactions accurately and maintained organized stock shelves.
  • Stock shelves Journey's prefers to hire motivated, energetic, knowledgeable, and courteous individuals to fill sales associate jobs.

13. Retail Store

Here's how sales associates use retail store:
  • Major Responsibilities Included: Utilizing proprietary rewards and Point-of-Sale System to assist retail store customers in purchasing goods.
  • Encountered domestic and non-domestic customers in a friendly and inviting manner in this extremely fast-paced flagship retail store.

14. Retail Environment

A retail environment can be defined as the environment in which things are sold on a commercial scale. It is the sum of the variables and forces inside and outside the company that can influence retail decisions. Businesses in this sector sell a wide range of products to consumers and companies, ranging from groceries, clothing, hardware, household items, and office supplies.

Here's how sales associates use retail environment:
  • Assisted customers in a retail environment during the holiday shopping season -Neatened and arranged product displays for a more positive shopping experience
  • Fast paced retail environment located at Miami International Airport where I facilitated sales of the latest electronic merchandise.

15. Sales Transactions

Sales transaction is defined as the completed agreement between two or more parties involved in selling and payment of goods or services in exchange for money. The steps or procedure done is called sales transaction, which may include negotiation or bargaining, settlement of agreement including the agreement on the price, discount, and payment method whether this will be on cash basis or installment. The buyer may inquire about the product or services during the sales transaction and making the necessary adjustment with the seller until they come up with a specific agreement.

Here's how sales associates use sales transactions:
  • Balanced providing customer with creating high-quality products - Performed sales transactions and cash management duties - Managed salesroom displays and backroom inventories
  • Completed sales transactions by accepting payments following established procedures for different types of transactions and calculating discounts when appropriate.
top-skills

What skills help Sales Associates find jobs?

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

What Sales Associate skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

M

Meegan Feori Ph.D.Meegan Feori Ph.D. LinkedIn Profile

Associate Professor, San Diego Mesa College

My recommendation is to combine your interests and career goals. For example, if you are an avid rock climber, you could apply for an internship with the North Face or start a retail position at an REI near Red Rock, Nevada, a place known for excellent rock climbing. If relocating for your gap year is not possible, then seek out a local option such as working at the nearby climbing gym. Customers are crucial to the fashion industry, enhancing your customer service skills during your gap year will benefit you. You could apply to be a Stitch Fix stylist, a boutique, or a non-profit resale salesperson. Even customer service jobs outside of the fashion industry will build experiences that will enhance your abilities to design, produce, or sell amazing products. Another option is to pursue an entrepreneurial venture. Dedicating yourself to creating an influential Instagram account, podcast, or YouTube channel could showcase your skills and build your network. Opening a Poshmark, Depop, Teespring, Etsy, or another digital retail store could let you apply your skills. Finally, keep investing in yourself through learning. There are many massive open online courses and community college offerings that could further your career.

What technical skills for a Sales Associate stand out to employers?

T

Travis Kurowski Ph.D.Travis Kurowski Ph.D. LinkedIn Profile

Assistant Professor of Creative Writing, Writing Program Lead, York College of Pennsylvania

Honestly, good writing skills are always in high demand. You'll see this in almost every field because at every level of business-from information management to internal communication to engaging customers, clients, and partners-clear, effective communication is critical. Other writing graduate skills that stand out to employers are project management skills, editing; quantitative and qualitative research; and practical design. It's not a technical skill, perhaps, but I can't help note that high up on the lists for almost all employers is creativity, a skill interlaced through many courses in quality writing programs.

What soft skills should all Sales Associates possess?

A

Alexander Nagel Ph.D.Alexander Nagel Ph.D. LinkedIn Profile

Assistant Professor, Assistant Chair, Art History and Museum Professions, Fashion Institute of Technology

Soft skills needed are flexibilities to adapt quickly to new opportunities, to be open to non-traditional career paths. Being organized and responsive to email correspondence, being friendly and kind, having empathy are values that will never be out of fashion. FIT is known for being home to "unconventional minds," and our students are super creative, engaged, and ready to take on challenges.

List of sales associate skills to add to your resume

Sales Associate Skills

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

  • Customer Service
  • Sales Floor
  • Cash Handling
  • Retail Sales
  • Loss Prevention
  • Basic Math
  • Cleanliness
  • Customer Satisfaction
  • Math
  • POS
  • Ladders
  • Stock Shelves
  • Retail Store
  • Retail Environment
  • Sales Transactions
  • Store Appearance
  • Stock Room
  • Customer Complaints
  • Inventory Control
  • Customer Transactions
  • Customer Issues
  • Cash Registers
  • Stock Merchandise
  • Quality Customer Service
  • Sales Techniques
  • Customer Inquiries
  • Floor Stock
  • Cash Control
  • Clean Store
  • Demonstrated Time Management
  • Security Practices
  • Bank Deposits
  • Store Merchandise
  • Security Risks
  • Excellent Guest
  • Brand Positioning
  • Merchandise Displays
  • Develop Proficiency
  • Customer Relations
  • Inventory Management
  • Develop Long Term
  • PowerPoint
  • Good Planning
  • Repeat Business
  • Dollies
  • Various Maintenance
  • Alertness
  • Cash Drawers
  • Store Displays
  • Product Selection

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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.

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