Everything you need to know about the sales consultant profession

The apparent simplicity of the sales assistant profession is deceiving. In the realities of life, this work requires deep and extensive knowledge in certain trade areas. Special personal traits of character, knowledge of psychological nuances, knowledge of digital technology are also relevant here. Only then can one count on more or less decent income.

The profession of a seller-consultant emerged relatively recently - in the last century, due to the emergence of large trading complexes and firms. Previously, people who distributed and sold goods were classified as traders, merchants, or simply peddlers.

From a scientific point of view, this profession is classified as a type "Man-man". In the current Russian conditions, it is characterized by a low social status, coupled with the previous stereotypes of a negative attitude towards trade, high physical, moral and psychological costs.

The characteristic and specificity of the profession is that it provides for a high degree of sociability and mobility, that is, endurance, both mentally and physically. Perhaps due to this very specificity, a significant level of staff turnover is recorded here.

A high degree of stressfulness of work and emotional burnout of employees is caused, on the one hand, tension and duration of regular communication with various people, a high level of dependence of the number of sales on the level of demand, quality of marketable products, marketing effectiveness of the organization, with another - communicative methods of interaction with "difficult" clients.

Factors contributing to occupational stress and burnout for these professionals include:

• significant number interactions with target, potential and real customer contingent;
• wide variety of clients their difference in individual psychological qualities;
• high level of requirements for the communication component of competence and social skills to influence buyers (the ability to find the right note in communicating with a client, to persuade him to make a purchase), etc.;
• non-rationing workday and the presence of a direct dependence of the amount of salary on the number of sales and purchase transactions, and therefore a non-stop work process for 10-12 hours;
• force majeure.

For the position of a specialist, the employer often considers candidates in the age range of 18-40 years. If the field of activity is the sale of vehicles, building materials, electrical engineering, then the priority is given to men, if it is perfume, clothing, jewelry and toys, then in this case the priority is given to girls. Of course, there are also niches where gender does not matter (points of sale for cellular communications).

The activities of sales consultants cover a wide commercial area. They function, for example, in the sale of sanitary ware, cosmetics, footwear, sports nutrition, etc.

The workplace of a sales assistant is a part of the trading floor area where equipment, inventory, tools and a place for the specialist are located. It is necessary to work in specially designed halls, pavilion rooms and exhibitions.

According to the specialist's professiogram, his typical job duties and instructions, he is engaged in:

• checking the status of current product groups in the department before starting the work process;
• pre-sale preparation of products (location, design, placement of price tags);
• product display and customer service;
• presenting the assortment to the buyer and providing assistance in choosing a product;
• informing customers about the purpose, properties and qualities of the goods;
• acquaintance of the buyer with brief information about the technological features of the production of products;
• informing customers, which includes: price level, preparation of receipts, calculation of the cost of the product;
• the issuance of purchased products by checks or acceptance of direct payment for goods, the exchange process of goods (if there are checks);
• taking care of order in the shop window, at workplaces during working hours;
• checking and demonstrating the properties and qualities of the goods;
• informing clients about fashion trends in the season;
• execution of warranty documents;
• checking the complete set of products.

The Senior Specialist position is primarily trade-specific and has broader oversight roles and responsibilities, including assisting subordinate professionals. This makes the senior specialist a significant figure in the trading process in terms of functions and level of responsibility.

The qualities that ensure the effectiveness of a specialist's professional activity are required by every specialist. These include:

• understandable, substantive and expressive speech;
• excellent reaction;
• productive memory and imagination;
• ability to concentrate, quick switching of attention;
• a high degree of endurance and artistry.

Emotional-volitional components of professional activity include:

• the formation of purposefulness, perseverance, perseverance, decisiveness, courage, endurance, self-control, independence, initiative;
• provide for the presence of a high level of stress resistance, emotional flexibility, a positive attitude, empathic qualities, a sense of humor, tolerance to a different opinion.

Intellectual and creative components of professional efficiency presuppose:

• special competencies and achievements (high proficiency in all elements of the actual professional activity, systemically formed professional knowledge, clarity of mastering skills and abilities, a tendency to independently design their further professional development);
• personal competencies (free handling of the volume of knowledge, as well as methods of a creative approach to self-expression and self-development, the ability to actualize one's own potential and self-organization in general, effective use of knowledge and means of counteracting personal professional deformation);
• individual aspects (practical application of knowledge and methods of self-regulation, striving for growth in a professional sense; the ability not to grow old professionally, a tendency to rational organization of their work).

The purely personal properties and skills of specialists include: sociability and resistance to stress, the ability to manage oneself in an emotional and behavioral sense, patience, self-control and condescension, a balanced attitude towards people, emotional stability, promptness in thought and action, concentration, responsibility and honesty, friendly attitude towards the clientele, observation and persuasion ...

Effective professional activity of a specialist is hampered by: weak memory, speech defects, weak reaction, inaccuracy, rude behavior and incontinence.

An important personal property of a specialist is a high level of emotional intelligence, which is focused on using his own emotional states, as well as the emotions of other people.

In fact, a specialist consultant does not just sell various products, but helps the client to make the right choice. The key features of a specialist are that it is he who acts as the initiator of the establishment and maintenance of favorable relationships with customers. In other words, the product of his labor is not a thing-commodity, but a certain interaction situation - a transaction. That's why the most important features of his personality are: poise, restraint, perseverance, the ability to achieve specific goals, the ability to persuade. Experienced sales consultants do not have difficulties in communication, easily make contacts, have leadership qualities, and are able to withstand high emotional stress in working with clients. They are characterized by such characteristics as activity, endurance, a high level of dominance, efficiency, dedication, the ability to take the initiative and make a decision.

It is extremely important for them to have a developed memory and the ability to think logically.... Working with a large number of clients, he must keep in mind a lot of information about products, services and customers. This requires the ability to classify and structure diverse information, draw correct conclusions and generalize.

In practice, as a rule, the degree of work efficiency in this profession is revealed according to the following scheme, defining his rights and level of responsibility:

• compliance of the level of the personal sales plan with typical indicators (main parameter);
• the extent to which customer service standards have been met;
• the presence of complaints and comments from clients and management;
• the level of the state of the display of goods, price tags in the area of ​​responsibility;
• the degree of compliance with labor discipline;
• the degree of loss of goods as a percentage.

Everyone has the opportunity to try their hand at this position. Applicants can be both school graduates and people who have graduated from universities.

Usually, to start working as such a specialist, it is quite enough to have a secondary specialized education... In most cases, students are employed for this position, for them such work is temporary.

There is also a specialized higher education in this area, but besides it, the market is also rich in short-term training courses for the profession (from a week to a year). Large trading enterprises often practice short-term employee training.

Often, sales consultants are hired by specialists who in the past dealt with the production of relevant products. That is, already possessing the necessary knowledge. For example, a worker who has previously dealt with electric motors can become a good specialist for the power tools department.

The results of labor market research show that young women often apply for the position of sales consultant - they constitute up to 70% of applicants. Usually, such work is considered as the first career stage, therefore, young people dominate among the candidates (about 85% under the age of 30). Nowadays, university graduates make up about 17% of salespeople, 28% with a partial higher education, 35% with a specialized secondary education, 20% with a secondary education. With the presence of English - about 7%.

The average salary of specialists in the capital is about 30,000 rubles. In St. Petersburg, they receive about 23,000 rubles. per month. In Yekaterinburg, they earn about 21,000 rubles.

The starting salaries for job seekers with no work experience are low. For example, in the capital, young specialists can expect a salary of 15,000-20,000 rubles, in St. Petersburg - 12,000-16,000 rubles, in Yekaterinburg - 9,000-13,000 rubles, and even less in Kazan - 7,000-9,000 rubles.

Employers offer higher salaries to job seekers with 6 months or more experience in retail. The ability to work with a PC will be useful. Such specialists receive about 25,000 rubles in the capital, up to 21,000 rubles in the northern capital, and up to 16,000 rubles in Yekaterinburg.

Good skills in working with computer cash registers, as well as work experience in the trading system over one year, significantly increase the level of monthly salary. Such applicants in Moscow are offered salaries of up to 35,000 rubles, in St. Petersburg one can hope for a salary of up to 27,000 rubles, and in Yekaterinburg - up to 22,000 rubles.

The highest salary for such specialists is fixed in the capital - up to 65,000 rubles. Offers in St. Petersburg reach 52,000 rubles, in Yekaterinburg - up to 40,000 rubles.