“Those who are consistently successful in sales can write their own ticket,” says Côté.
Experience as a sales assistant can open doors that would otherwise be closed to someone outside the industry. “Corporations need numbers, and they don’t like to waste money on hiring and training unless they must. A proven track record, industry knowledge and established contacts make salespeople indispensable, and can lead to advancement.”
Sales is a field that thrives on human relationships. A sales assistant who nurtures their customer and professional relationships is well positioned to advance to higher-level roles in sales. For instance, if you work for an organization that sells materials to a company that builds and sells its own products, you have the opportunity to not only impress within your own organization, but also make connections and potentially earn recommendations for sales roles within the organizations you’re selling to. Networking is a natural part of the job that can lead to unexpected opportunities.
Friedmann says hard working sales assistants have strong prospects for continuing on into fields like sales and marketing as they continue building relationships.
“They can become sales managers, regional managers, marketing professionals, and even pivot their careers into content management and other related fields,” Friedmann says.
What skills do you need to be a sales assistant?
Working in sales is all about thriving in a dynamic work environment. A sales assistant needs to enjoy an ever changing workplace and stay aware of new customer expectations.
“The sales landscape has dramatically changed in the last 10-15 years,” Côté says. “The pace is faster, and consumers generally prefer to communicate over email rather than phone.”
Additionally, Côté says familiarity with customer relationship management (CRM) software is a big plus for sales professionals as it helps them maintain and build relationships with clients by storing and organizing important customer information.
In the age of technology, sales workers need to stay ahead of new trends such as artificial intelligence as a customer interface.
“Sales will change over the next several years as technology evolves, and those working in the industry will evolve alongside these shifts,” says Friedmann. “As we see the rise in AI and other technological advancements, salespeople will generally need to focus even more on providing an outstanding customer experience for the experiential factor consumers crave.”
Beyond a comfort level with technology, sales assistants need to be organized, dependable and excellent communicators. They’re often facilitating sales calls, filing order paperwork and following up with additional information—the last thing a salesperson wants is to have a potential customer relationship sour because of a mistake in these areas.
