Sales associates are frontline sales professionals who help customers identify solutions for their needs. It is expected of them to possess extensive product knowledge, answer customer inquiries and promote specials and promotions.
Your team members need to be quick learners for them to succeed at their roles; this means quickly adapting to brand new products when they arrive on store shelves, as well as company policies and industry trends that evolve over time.
Customer Service
Customer service refers to the manner in which a company’s sales and support teams interact with its customers before, during, and after purchases. This could involve helping a customer find products that best suit their needs, providing instructions for using those products correctly, and addressing issues as necessary.
Sales associates work directly with their customers to meet their product-related needs, such as demonstrating product features, answering inquiries, resolving complaints and processing payment refunds. In addition, they may assist with merchandising efforts by selling promotional items or managing incoming calls, as well as operating cash registers.
Idealy, salespeople should communicate regularly with the customer success team so that their positioning matches up with customers’ needs. For instance, if a customer subscribes to a basic subscription and later discovers it is insufficient for their requirements, customer success can notify sales to inform them that a more suitable product might be available so they can upsell when appropriate.
Product Knowledge
Product knowledge training equips employees with all of the crucial information regarding a company’s products, such as their features and how they will benefit customers.
Knowledgeable salespeople are also better equipped to analyze competitors, explaining why the products of one company are superior compared to those offered by others in terms of price, quality, target audience or integrations.
General rule is for customer service and sales associates of any organization to possess as much knowledge about its products as possible so they can answer customers’ queries with confidence and provide a pleasant customer experience. This should include how the product relates to its mission statement and development to current state, as well as any complementary offerings that may exist that enhance each other. Doing this helps build customer trust while building brand loyalty; confidence that sales staff have in their abilities increases revenue growth while knowledge helps overcome objections during sales processes.
Inventory Management
Inventory management involves tracking, planning and ordering raw materials and finished products to meet customer demands. It involves setting reorder points, cycle counting and other inventory control measures. Small businesses may rely on manual spreadsheets while larger manufacturers utilize software as a service (SaaS) platforms or enterprise resource planning systems to manage inventory effectively.
Monitoring inventory helps lower costs by not producing or storing more than necessary. This reduces production, storage and insurance expenses as well as risk for lost or stolen goods.
An effective inventory management strategy includes using either FIFO (first in, first out) or LIFO (last in, first out) valuation methods to value stock. Furthermore, this strategy should evaluate supplier performance to avoid sales from delayed deliveries, prioritizing high-turn items which sell quickly for maximum profit and should receive top priority over slower-moving inventory which requires expensive production and storage space.
Visual Merchandising
Visual merchandising encompasses window displays, mannequins, signage or interactive experiences such as augmented reality; all designed to draw customers in and encourage purchases. While often associated with physical stores only, visual merchandising has also become increasingly prevalent online.
Retail merchandising sales associates collaborate with merchandise managers and retail buyers to design displays that align with brand goals, while staying informed on lifestyle and design trends to shape their own merchandising concepts.
Entry-level visual merchandising positions generally only require high school qualifications, but if you wish to advance your career you could pursue a degree in visual design, fashion management or retail marketing – these higher education paths can help build a portfolio and gain experience that will set up for success as visual merchandiser. Furthermore, courses focused on specific product categories or types such as jewelry or beauty products could also prove beneficial.
