Additional Information
Decide what kind of business you would like to sell for. Find some retail
salespeople who are already working in that type of business and ask if they
would be willing to tell you about their job.
Read up on the business you're interested in. For example, if you want
to sell computers, it's a good idea to read magazines and journals about computers.
If you want to sell clothing, reading fashion magazines can help.
Most people in this field learn on the job. That's because each company
trains its employees differently. But post-secondary training will improve
your chances of advancement. Retail workers with business training will likely
land more challenging retail positions in management, marketing and cost analysis.
According to people already in this career, being a good salesperson has
a lot to do with your personality. "It's a mix of several different things:
positive attitude, persistence, enthusiasm, people skills, self-discipline
and excellent communications skills," says salesperson Pat Weber.
Try to get some experience by working part time. Many places will hire
people at Christmas and other busy times of the year. There's nothing like
getting in there and selling to see if you're cut out for this kind of work.
While experience definitely helps, it's not always necessary. Many store
managers are willing to take a chance on an inexperienced person as long as
he or she has an outgoing personality and enthusiasm.
Many people get jobs in retail sales by dropping off resumes at stores
where they might like to work.
Finally, remember that good communications skills and good people skills
are some of the most important skills you can bring to retail work. If you've
mastered this part, experts say, the rest will probably fall into place.
Point-of-sale data entry and computer scanning systems are used increasingly
in the retail sector. Sales personnel will need to be familiar with this technology.