Greet customers and ascertain what each customer wants or needs.
Open and close cash registers, performing tasks such as counting money, separating charge slips, coupons, and vouchers, balancing cash drawers, and making deposits.
Maintain knowledge of current sales and promotions, policies regarding payment and exchanges, and security practices.
Compute sales prices, total purchases and receive and process cash or credit payment.
Maintain records related to sales.
Watch for and recognize security risks and thefts, and know how to prevent or handle these situations.
Recommend, select, and help locate or obtain merchandise based on customer needs and desires.
Answer questions regarding the store and its merchandise.
Describe merchandise and explain use, operation, and care of merchandise to customers.
Ticket, arrange and display merchandise to promote sales.
Prepare sales slips or sales contracts.
Place special orders or call other stores to find desired items.
Demonstrate use or operation of merchandise.
Clean shelves, counters, and tables.
Exchange merchandise for customers and accept returns.
Bag or package purchases, and wrap gifts.
Help customers try on or fit merchandise.
Inventory stock and requisition new stock.
Prepare merchandise for purchase or rental.
Sell or arrange for delivery, insurance, financing, or service contracts for merchandise.
Estimate and quote trade-in allowances.
Estimate cost of repair or alteration of merchandise.
Estimate quantity and cost of merchandise required, such as paint or floor covering.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
There are no formal educational requirements for this occupation, although a high school diploma or the equivalent is increasingly preferred by employers. Employers seek persons who enjoy working with the public and who have the tact and patience to deal with difficult customers. The ability to speak more than one language may be helpful in communities where people from various cultures live and shop. Some large department stores conduct intensive training programs for salespeople including the history of the company, policies, effective presentation, answering customer questions, and entering an order. For related information and recommended courses to prepare for this occupation, Tennessee high school students may visit the Marketing Education Standards, Competency Profiles, and Resource Links online.
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public - Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships - Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
First Interest High-Point - Primary-Rank Descriptiveness
Social - Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Self Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Social Orientation - Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Working Conditions - Workers on this job have good working conditions.
Co-workers - Workers on this job have co-workers who are easy to get along with.
Supervision, Human Relations - Workers on this job have supervisors who back up their workers with management.
Supervision, Technical - Workers on this job have supervisors who train their workers well.
Support-Mean Extent - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Advancement - Workers on this job have opportunities for advancement.
Relationships-Mean Extent - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Achievement - Workers on this job get a feeling of accomplishment.
Activity - Workers on this job are busy all the time.
Variety - Workers on this job have something different to do every day.
Recognition - Workers on this job receive recognition for the work they do.
Social Service - Workers on this job have work where they do things for other people.
Company Policies and Practices - Workers on this job are treated fairly by the company.
Working Conditions-Mean Extent - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Independence - Workers on this job do their work alone.
Autonomy - Workers on this job plan their work with little supervision.
Achievement-Mean Extent - Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
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