Perhaps the most in-demand profession in sales is a sales consultant. Another common job title is sales manager.
Although this specialty is not taught in educational institutions, the functional requirements for candidates for this position are the highest.
And this is no coincidence: every company involved in trade, in conditions of great competition, tries to offer the best service to its customers in order to establish long-term relationships, thereby increasing the level of sales.
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Responsibilities and tasks
The job description of a sales consultant contains a description of all the tasks that a specialist must perform.
A sample instruction can be downloaded.
A sales consultant is a specialist who conducts consultative sales, which means the seller is the initiator and offers the buyer a product using persuasion methods.
The specifics of the work are determined by the field of activity of the enterprise; the key functions can be identified as follows:
- Professionally advises clients on the product in compliance with company standards.
- Displays goods if required by work regulations.
- Engaged in pre-sale preparation. Product integrity check, testing, packaging.
- Knows how to correctly draw up documentation (draw up a sales contract, issue invoices, invoices, warranty cards, etc.).
- Works with complaints if this is within his competence. Most often this is done by a senior manager or individual.
It is worth noting: The effective work of a sales consultant is one of the most important keys to the success of any enterprise.
Based on the salesperson's work, the buyer gets a general impression of the company, and even if the client is satisfied with the purchase, but he did not like the service, he will certainly tell his friends and family about it. And, conversely, a satisfied and loyal client will definitely bring new customers and return himself.
Requirements
The main requirements that employers indicate to future candidates:
- Excellent knowledge of the product, its technical characteristics, features, advantages and disadvantages.
- Good communication skills, competent speech, knowledge of etiquette standards.
- Stress resistance . A sales consultant must always be polite and be able to work with objections.
- Good health. Often, a sales consultant spends the entire day on his feet; this requires good physical endurance.
- Learning ability. Not everyone comes to a sales position with knowledge of the specifics of the product. A novice specialist can first work as an assistant to a sales consultant in order to understand all the intricacies of the profession.
- Skill to work in team. Mutual assistance and mutual assistance, participation in team projects - these are the main components of teamwork.
- Experience. Since the main job of a salesperson is sales, employers are more willing to hire a specialist with experience.
Often, applicants are presented with additional requirements that are important to the employer:
- Ability to use a computer, knowledge of basic office or graphics programs.
- Knowledge of cash register. The sales consultant must have the skills.
- Knowledge of foreign languages. When working with foreign partner companies, this may be the main requirement of the employer.
- Possession of a driver's license or own car. For example, a car sales consultant will not be able to work without a license.
- Availability of a health certificate. For example, if your place of work is in a grocery store or supermarket.
- Availability of specialized education. Thus, to work in a pharmacy, a candidate must have a pharmaceutical education;
- A presentable appearance will be important for working as a sales assistant in a jewelry store.
Expert advice: When sending your resume to a sales consultant position, you should write down what additional skills you have. It would be a good idea to indicate personal and professional achievements in your work in the questionnaire.
Where are they in demand?
As a rule, these are large companies offering a large range of products, which the client himself is often unfamiliar with or requires additional advice and assistance.
Most often, sales consultants are required in the following places:
- store (sales floor employee);
- furniture and home goods store;
- cosmetics store, women's and men's perfumes;
- shoe store;
- clothing and lingerie store;
- car dealerships;
- construction company office;
- building and finishing materials store;
- shop .
Often, an employer needs a generalist salesperson who, as a single person, can ensure the high-quality operation of a store or outlet. In job descriptions you can often find pictures showing a future specialist - a smiling, attractive salesperson and a happy buyer, this is exactly what the employer expects from a future employee.
Watch the video in which experts explain the basics of successful work as a sales consultant:
What kind of job is this - a sales consultant? What is his main task? Let's figure it out. The job descriptions of a sales consultant boil down mainly to two requirements. This means knowing “perfectly” the product line and being able to select the right product in accordance with the needs of a particular buyer.
Where does he work?
Sales consultants are most often in demand in large companies with a large range of products combined into various groups. It is among them that a representative of this profession must be able to quickly navigate.
Another type of business in which his services are applicable is the sale of complex goods: furniture, custom-made windows, building materials or doors. The sales consultant meets and serves the client directly in the sales area or office or makes a presentation on its territory, draws up documents (sales receipts, contracts, etc.).
An indicator of its work is the number of transactions or contacts with potential clients, as well as the number of refusals with reasons. All this, as a rule, is entered into a special reporting form, which is most often established independently by different companies.
What does he do
Initially, the seller needs to establish contact with the client. Through several leading questions, he will have to identify human needs and, based on them, make a presentation of the product from an advantageous angle. Skillfully handle client objections. If the transaction is successfully progressed, the sales consultant documents it and offers related products that increase the average purchase price.
If the client takes a break to think, the seller’s goal is to take his contacts with subsequent attempts to achieve the desired result. It is important to make a list of such doubtful clients and systematize the reasons for refusals with the development of a list of recommendations for reducing them.
Recommended measures in this case may be a change in the assortment, price offer or form of its presentation. To do this, he will need well-developed professional skills in the form of a high level of communication skills, politeness, competent speech, learning ability, and stress resistance.
What exactly is required
As a rule, the typical requirements for a candidate for a position are age of majority and secondary education, absence of a criminal record and serious illnesses, as well as good command of the Russian language. Experience in this profession is always welcome.
If you have above average education, this can be an additional bonus for taking the vacancy you are interested in. Nowadays, employers are increasingly specifying in their requirements that candidates have a higher education. Obviously, it is assumed that such people are more trainable.
Knowing a foreign language will also not be superfluous. And an additional advantage for you as a candidate for the specified vacancy is experience in completing training in sales technology, working with clients and identifying their needs.
Beginning of work
As a rule, a new salesperson is assigned a mentor from among experienced employees. Regardless of the existing experience in similar work, in the first days after employment, the sales consultant is required to undergo a certain legal minimum of training. It consists of getting acquainted with the enterprise, the rules of the routine and working hours, studying the range of products sold and becoming familiar with your own workplace, which takes one or two working days.
Some time is devoted to studying the theory in the form of express sales training and familiarization with basic terms. Then, for about three working days, the newcomer works under the close supervision of his mentor. Upon completion of this training stage, management comes to the conclusion about the possibility or impossibility of admitting the newly hired employee to permanent work.
Required sales consultant skills
As you can see, we briefly examined the very essence of the duties of such an employee. Now let's touch on each aspect in more detail. So, let's get back to the requirements. Although entry into this position does not require any special highly specialized skills or mandatory specialized education, the requirements can be quite serious.
And they relate, first of all, to the personal qualities of the applicant. First of all, we are talking about benevolence, restraint, sociability, competent speech and knowledge of etiquette standards. It is important to mention such a necessary physical quality as endurance. After all, a sales consultant will most often have to be on his feet all day long with little or no rest. Good health and endurance are essential components of successful activity.
Of course, experience in a similar position is always welcome. Any employer would be more willing to work with a professional who can quickly and competently respond to any emergency situation.
What else do you need?
In addition, additional requirements exist in each highly specialized industry in which the sales consultant works. Technology, for example, requires knowledge of the complex characteristics and features of the product being sold. Graduates of universities of a certain profile are sometimes hired for such a position. A clothing sales consultant should at least understand fashion. In addition, a clear knowledge of the size range and various international designations are mandatory requirements in such work. If you are looking for a sales consultant for a jewelry store, you must have a well-developed aesthetic taste and the ability to understand jewelry. In addition, it should look more than presentable. A furniture sales consultant must understand materials and their performance characteristics. A representative of this profession sometimes requires a good level of proficiency in a foreign language or other serious skills.
In some places, the gender of the employee is also important, for example, in a lingerie store, a male employee is unlikely to be appropriate.
The main task of a sales consultant
Sales, as we know, can be transactional or consultative. The first option is when the buyer independently selects the product and his prevailing initiative. For the second one, sales consultants are needed. This type of sales, the most common these days, involves full information support, active persuasion and combating the client’s objections.
These actions are the most important component on which his work is based. The sales consultant must also be a good psychologist with an understanding of available sales technologies. That is why large companies spare no money and time to train employees through various seminars, trainings, and theoretical courses.
Another important professional skill of a sales consultant is proficiency in the necessary computer programs related to product accounting (in particular, “1C: Trade and Warehouse”).
Job Descriptions of a Sales Consultant - Contents
So, what are the main responsibilities listed in this mandatory document?
The list of them, despite all the specific differences, is quite similar.
A representative of this profession is required to negotiate with clients at all levels, serve customers in accordance with available sales technologies, and provide them with all kinds of consulting assistance on the characteristics and quality of the product, rules of operation, care and maintenance.
Besides
He calculates the final cost of the purchase, packages it, deals with complaints, and also (if necessary) accepts and exchanges goods. This also includes responsibilities for checking the serviceability of the products sold, visual inspection for compliance with the name on the packaging.
These actions relate to pre-sale preparation. Of course, this list is far from exhaustive. Job descriptions for a sales consultant may include a number of additional requirements. Their content directly depends on the specifics of the company’s activities, its trade policy and much more.
Sales consultant resume
When drawing up this important document, a candidate for a position should understand that the interest of a potential employer directly depends on information about the mastery of sales techniques, which is largely due to previous work experience. Therefore, if the latter is present, you need to describe in detail your achievements in previous places or in related areas.
It should be taken into account that the image of the trading enterprise is important to the employer. In this regard, it is worth especially emphasizing in the resume of a sales consultant your own compliance with the required qualities (friendliness, non-conflict, etc.). Sometimes you can show a little trick by creating a resume to suit the requirements of a specific company. But you should not resort to obvious deception, which will still be discovered.
We work with documents
In addition to his immediate responsibilities, the sales consultant must be aware of regulatory and legislative documentation, the rules of this particular company, basic orders and regime issues. He will have to constantly study the assortment of products, memorizing the properties and quality characteristics of each of them.
You will need to keep in mind a wide variety of prices, manufacturers, storage conditions and rules for using the products sold. He must thoroughly understand the procedure for completing documentation during a sale. It is important to be familiar with the technical base of the enterprise and know its main competitors.
How to communicate with buyers
In terms of communication with clients, the work of a sales consultant is quite creative. Each specific case requires an individual approach. In addition to the ability to politely and competently conduct negotiations and overcome objections, the sales consultant is required to create the most complete conditions for the buyer to become familiar with the product and the rules for its use.
Sometimes you need to answer a huge number of unexpected and even tricky questions from clients. In order not to damage the image of both himself and the company, the sales consultant needs to keep in mind at the same time a lot of numbers, data, qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the product.
When inevitable conflict situations arise, he must take the necessary measures to resolve them tactfully. Having identified existing shortcomings in customer service, the seller is obliged to notify management. And in the future take the most active measures to eliminate them.
Handyman
The sales consultant must be able to offer an alternative product if the one you need is unavailable, and have a good knowledge of the range of regular customers and their preferences. At the same time, he should take measures to prevent theft or damage to goods by outsiders. During pre-sale preparation, if a discrepancy is identified (for example, an incomplete product or a defect), his task is to notify his superiors.
A sales consultant must master basic merchandising techniques, that is, be able to correctly place goods on the sales floor in accordance with accepted criteria - frequency of demand, price, types and groups. His tasks also include constantly checking the presence of the necessary price tags and markings, and the integrity of the packaging of the products sold.
In addition, he is required to monitor the main points of consumer demand and prepare requests for missing products if customers ask to add them to the assortment. Knowing the expected date of future deliveries is also important.
In addition to these main responsibilities, which contain the job descriptions of a sales consultant, a number of others are possible by order of management in case of production necessity.
“Why should I do this? This is not my job. I won't." Want to avoid such statements? Make sure that the job description sales consultant was clear, and the section about the job responsibilities of the sales consultant was carefully read by him. To make your first task easier, we offer a sample job description for a sales consultant.
Job Description for Sales Consultant
(Job description of the seller)
I APPROVED
CEO
Last name I.O. ________________
"________"_____________ ____ G.
1. General Provisions
1.1. A sales consultant belongs to the category of technical performers.
1.2. A sales consultant is appointed to the position and dismissed from it by order of the general director of the company / store director.
1.3. The sales consultant reports directly to the store director/section manager.
1.4. During the absence of a sales consultant, his rights and responsibilities are transferred to another official, as announced in the order of the organization.
1.5. A person with primary vocational education, without requirements for work experience, or secondary vocational education, without requirements for work experience, or secondary (complete) general education and special training according to an established program, without requirements for work experience, is appointed to the position of sales consultant. work experience.
1.6. The sales consultant is guided in his activities by:
- legislative acts of the Russian Federation, including the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights;
- The company’s charter, internal labor regulations, and other regulations of the company;
- orders and instructions from management;
- this job description.
2. Job responsibilities of a sales consultant
The sales consultant performs the following job responsibilities:
2.1. Monitors the availability of a sufficient amount of goods on the sales floor and replenishes them if necessary.
2.2. Helps customers when choosing a product, gives advice to customers on the range of goods offered for sale in the store, on the consumer properties and features of the goods.
2.3. Takes part in stimulating sales of certain types of goods, in store promotions: draws customers' attention to a given product by placing it in the most visible places, through additional consultations with customers on the features and advantages of this product, and in other ways.
2.4. Helps the merchandiser or store director receive goods.
2.5. Prepares goods for sale: unpacking, assembly, kitting, checking performance properties, etc.
2.6. Monitors the presence of price tags for goods, their correct placement and the correct indication of all information in the price tag (name of product, price, weight, etc.). The seller sticks on the price tags prepared and handed over to him by the merchandiser or director: after acceptance and placement of the goods; after price update; in case of detection of a price tag that does not comply with the requirements of trade rules; in other cases, as directed by the director or merchandiser.
2.7. Participates in inventory taking.
2.8. Monitors the timing of the sale of goods. If goods are discovered that have expired, the seller must immediately remove the goods from the place of sale and give this information to the merchandiser or director.
2.9. Resolves controversial issues with customers in the absence of administration representatives.
2.10. Participates in classes (training) conducted for sellers to improve the level of knowledge on the properties and features of products, merchandising of goods, working at the cash register and other knowledge and skills necessary for work.
2.11. Participates in store team meetings.
2.12. Informs the store director about all emergency situations in his work.
The seller is obliged to carry out other orders of the administration, not described in this job description, caused by production necessity.
3. Rights of the sales consultant
The sales consultant has the right:
3.1. Make proposals for improving work related to the responsibilities provided for in this job description.
3.2. Report to senior management about all identified deficiencies within your competence.
3.3. Require management to provide organizational and technical conditions and prepare established documents necessary for the performance of official duties.
3.4. Make decisions within your competence.
4. Responsibility of the sales consultant
The sales consultant bears collective financial responsibility for the safety of the goods in the store.
In addition, the sales consultant is responsible for:
4.1. For failure to perform and/or untimely, negligent performance of one’s official duties.
4.2. For failure to comply with current instructions, orders and regulations on maintaining trade secrets and confidential information.
4.3. For violation of internal labor regulations, labor discipline, safety and fire safety rules.
A sales consultant is the most in-demand profession in the trading industry. The requirements for people applying for this position are very high. Each employee in the trade sector has a specific job description. This document lists all the duties and functions the employee must perform.
Before concluding an employment relationship, you must read this document and sign it.
General provisions of the sales consultant
1. The sales consultant is a technical performer.
2. Acceptance and departure from a position is carried out with the help of the director of a trading enterprise.
3. The employee must report to the store director.
4. The transfer of rights and responsibilities to another employee occurs during the absence of a sales consultant from his position.
5. A sales consultant can carry out labor activities without experience only if he has special education.
6. When performing work activities, an employee must take into account:
- legislative act of the Russian Federation;
- orders of the director of a trading enterprise;
- the charter of the organization and its labor regulations;
- job description.
Main job responsibilities of a sales consultant
The rights and responsibilities of a sales consultant depend on the organization in which he works. Most often, the development of rules is carried out by the director of a trading enterprise or employees of the human resources department.
A mandatory requirement for the position is advising customers about any product. It is necessary to know all its characteristics, features and rules of use, as well as mandatory participation in the inventory. The seller must have the ability to use a cash register, cash and a POS terminal - a device for paying for purchases using credit cards. The responsibilities of a sales consultant include receiving goods and placing them on store shelves, as well as checking the availability of goods and replenishing them on the sales floor. Pre-sale preparation, careful checking of price tags and sale of damaged products also falls on the shoulders of the seller.
Functional responsibilities of the employee:
- Resolution of conflict situations and disputes with customers;
- Polite and friendly communication with clients, as well as consultation about a particular product;
- Prevent theft and damage to the condition of the product.
If the rules specified in the document are not followed, the director of the trading enterprise can legally terminate the employment relationship with the sales consultant.
What are the main rights of a sales consultant?
Trade workers have very limited rights. Protection of seller rights in Russia is practically non-existent.
In any conflicts and disagreements between an employee and a buyer, the court is very often on the side of the latter. Unfortunately, there is not even a document that would spell out the rights of the seller. Because of this, “consumer extremism” is rapidly progressing, that is, the manipulation of legislation on consumer rights in order to obtain benefits and monetary income.
Job Description for Sales Consultant – Responsibility
Disciplinary responsibility:
- For poor performance of one’s official duties and negligent attitude towards work;
- For violation of the rules established by the trade organization;
- For disclosure of information about the accounting of goods, revenue, etc.;
- For inappropriate communication with customers.
Legislative:
- For intentionally causing harm to property or other employees of the enterprise;
- For the preparation of documents for transactions that contradict the legislation of the Russian Federation;
- For violation of the rights and regulations governing the activities of the organization.
Job description for sales consultant - sample 2018
The document is printed in two copies. One of them is issued to the employee, the other is given to the HR department for storage. Drawing up instructions is entirely their responsibility. Since there is no specific standard for creating such documents, the organization can personally develop the employee’s job responsibilities and legitimize them.
The profession of a sales consultant does not require specialized education or highly specialized skills. However, a number of requirements for the personality of the applicant applying for this position still exist. Most often, these include general wishes related to the lifestyle and character of the applicant:
- communication skills;
- goodwill;
- restraint;
- grammatically correct speech;
- politeness and knowledge of etiquette.
Besides, responsibilities of a sales consultant, as a rule, require long-term standing on your feet without the possibility of rest during the working day. Therefore, the requirements for endurance and excellent health can be considered quite fair.
No less true is the employer’s desire to get an experienced employee who can quickly make decisions when emergency situations arise.
Depending on the type of activity of the enterprise inviting a sales consultant to work, additional requirements may be put forward. For example, fluency in a foreign language, knowledge of the characteristics of the product being sold, etc. Sometimes the gender of the employee also matters (for example, in a women’s underwear store, a female salesperson would be more appropriate).
Don't know your rights?
Key sales consultant skills, abilities and capabilities
A sales consultant is a specialist in consultative sales. Unlike transactional sales, when the buyer independently takes the initiative to purchase and selects a product, consultative sales involve information support, the use of persuasion methods, and sometimes overcoming objections. All this is included in responsibilities of a sales consultant. 
That is, he must master the basic methods and techniques of psychological and verbal interaction with clients, as well as have an understanding of existing sales technologies. Of course, in the absence of work experience, it is almost impossible to obtain such skills, which is why many companies practice preliminary training for employees: theoretical courses, seminars, trainings, etc.
One more professional skills of a sales consultant Necessary for successful work is the ability to work with documents and product accounting programs (for example, “1C: Trade and Warehouse”). Otherwise, the seller runs the risk of providing the client with incorrect information regarding the availability of the desired item in the store.
Main responsibilities of a sales consultant: for a resume and successful work
As a rule, in job responsibilities of a sales consultant includes the following functionality:
- Negotiating with clients of all levels;
- customer service in accordance with sales technologies;
- providing consulting assistance to customers regarding the properties, characteristics of goods, rules of their use, pre- and post-sales service, care;
- calculation of the final purchase price;
- packaging of goods;
- handling complaints;
- acceptance and exchange of goods;
- checking the serviceability of the product, compliance with its name printed on the packaging, visual inspection, etc. (that is, pre-sale preparation).
This list can by no means be considered exhaustive - it all depends on the company’s trade policy, the direction of its activities and many other factors. For example, often official sales consultant instructions contains a clause on monitoring consumer demand, although this is more within the competence of the marketer.
Contents and example of a resume for a sales consultant
Main responsibilities of a sales consultant- this is providing the buyer with complete and reliable information about the product, providing practical and advisory assistance in choosing it and, ultimately, completing the sales cycle, that is, selling the product.
Therefore, in order for a potential employer to show interest, sales consultant resume should contain information about ownership of the subject of sale, that is, knowledge of its characteristics, purpose, main target audience, etc. If you have experience in a similar or related field, it is worth dwelling on this in more detail and describing your own achievements in the same place.
In addition, the image of the company (store), and therefore the level of customer loyalty to it, directly depends on the sales consultant. Thus, the resume should indicate compliance with the requirements for employees whose work involves interaction with customers: lack of conflict, friendliness, etc.
Sometimes a little trick helps increase the chances of getting the desired position: usually, when posting a vacancy announcement, the employer quite fully indicates the requirements for the applicant; When writing a resume, it’s enough to rephrase the specified qualities a little - and here it is, compliance! But this is only permissible if it does not contradict the truth too much - otherwise you can end up in an awkward situation.
It will easily help you overcome difficulties with formulations and descriptions of previous achievements. sample resume for sales consultant. It’s easy to find it on the Internet, but it’s better to specify the request and indicate the sales area in which employment is planned: for example, “ resume sample sales consultant hardware store."
