How to Develop Salespeople Job Specifications

When a person is hired, an important first step is to pre­sent the new employee with a written job description clearly indicating your expectations and identifying any persons to whom the new employee is responsible.

Too often, retail salespeople are hired with little or no understanding of the owner's expectations. They are advised to "ring up all sales, be polite, and keep the area clean. If you have any questions, just ask."

Frequently, the new employee will not even know what ques­tions to ask. Eventually, all employees have questions as to the owner's expectations. These questions may be spoken or unspoken, but nevertheless the questions exist. Frequent­ly, these questions can be answered through the written job description. The use of a written job description offers several advantages as follows:

Represents an informal "contract" between employer and employee, committing both parties to its provisions.

Provides a disciplined atmosphere for employee supervision and performance review, eliminating the customary pleas of ignorance concerning responsibility.

Reduces the chances of misunderstandings between employer and employee. The person with little understanding of what is expected on the job has little chance of fulfilling it. As a result, both owner and employee soon become dis­satisfied. The owner is dissatisfied because the salesperson is not living up to expectations. The salesperson is dis­satisfied because of inability to understand why the owner is dissatisfied. Dissatisfaction is usually obvious; the cause of it is often elusive. Unless the cause is known, it cannot be corrected.

Typical Job Description

A typical retail selling job description appears on the following pages. This description, prepared for a person selling power tools in a home supply center, clearly describes the person's authority and responsibilities for product knowledge, selling skills, customer service, store policy, sales, and profit.

Performance Evaluation

Such a description assists the owner and the employee in evaluating performance from time to time. It provides a check list so that all responsibilities can be reviewed and the need for corrective action can be identified. The employer and the employee can meet to determine those areas where the employee is living up to expectations, those where improvement is in order, and how this improvement will be achieved.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Retail Sales - Home Power Tools

Function

Assist customers in the purchase of power tools. Responsibilities and Authority

Product Knowledge

Have working knowledge of product line.

Be familiar with use and application of various power tools in order to provide reasonable technical assistance for customers.

Be reasonably familiar with competitive products in order to point out advantages of our  line.

Selling Skills

Be able to present features of various power tools in terms of customer benefits.

Close sales quickly.

Suggest related sales such as bits with drills, blades with saws, safety, glasses with all tools, etc.

Upgrade customer's purchase when appropriate.

Customer Service

Explain warranty requirements to customers.

Assist customers in forwarding tools for repair.

Advise customers of tool maintenance and operation tips.

Advise customers of availability of any tools that are out of stock; follow up with telephone call or card when available.

Explain credit policies to customers.

Store Policies

Be courteous and cordial with all customers at all times.

Refer all complaints to the manager, unless they can be handled to the customer's satisfaction immediately.

Have all customers' checks approved by manager before acceptance.

Record all sales, showing amount, department number, manufacturer, and product code.

Refer all credit requests, including layaway and budget plans, to manager.

Accept merchandise returns, whether for credit or exchange, only if original packing is available and undamaged.

Notify manager of credit requests so that credit authorization can be signed by manager in the customer's presence.

Total sales daily, recording cash receipts, credit memos, and charge slips separately. Reconcile cash balance.

Maintain department in a neat and orderly fashion.

Notify manager of need for additional display stock.

Conform with all provisions such as appearance, punctuality, working hours, etc., as described in the store's general conditions of employment.

Read and understand all memos describing changes in store policy.

Sales and Profit

Meet with store manager to establish goals for sales and profit.

Review department's performance with manager each month to develop recommendations for sales and profit improvement.

Reports to

Owner

This Report Provides managing your business tips and Handle business advice. However, you are not ready to begin your own business
till you have given some thought to managing it. A company is a continuous activity that does not run itself. As the supervisor
you'll have to set goals, determine how to reach those goals and make all the required decisions. You'll have to purchase or
create your product, cost it, promote it and market it.

You will need to keep records, and determine costs. You'll Have to Control stock, make the ideal buying decisions and keep costs
down. You'll need to employ, train and motivate employees now or as you develop.

Setting Business Management Goals. Great small business management Is the key to success and good management starts with setting
goals. Set goals for yourself for the achievement of the many tasks required in starting and managing your business successfully.
Be specific. Write down the goals in measurable terms and conditions of functionality. Break major goals down into sub-goals,
demonstrating what you expect to achieve in the next two to three weeks, the subsequent six months, another year, and the next
five decades. Beside each target and sub-goal set a specific date showing when it is to be achieved.

Plan the action you need to take to attain the goals. While the effort Required to achieve each sub-goal should be great enough to
challenge one, it should not be so great or unreasonable as to dissuade you. Do not plan to achieve too many targets all at one
time. Establish priorities.

Plan in advance how to quantify results so you can know exactly how Well you are doing. This is what is meant by"measurable"
targets. If you can't keep score as you go along you're very likely to lose motivation. Re-work your plan of action to permit for
obstacles which may stand in your way. Attempt to foresee obstacles and plan strategies to avert or minimize them.

Buying. Skillful buying is an important essential of Managing a business. This is true whether you're a wholesaler or retailer of
merchandise, a manufacturer or a service company proprietor. Some retailers say it is the most significant single factor.
Merchandise which is carefully bought is easy to market.

Deciding what to buy means finding out the type, type, quality, Brand, size, colour, style -whatever applies to your particular
inventory - which will sell the best. This requires close attention to salespeople, trade journals, catalogs, and especially the
likes and dislikes of your regular clients. Assess your earnings documents. The producer should see the issue through the eyes of
clients before determining what materials, parts, and supplies to buy.

Know your regular clients, and also make a Fantastic evaluation of this People you hope will become your customers. Just what
socioeconomic category are they? Are they homeowners or renters? Are you currently searching for price, style or quality? What's
the predominant age group?

The age of your customers can be a prime consideration in Establishing a purchasing pattern. Young people purchase more frequently
than many older people. They want more, have fewer responsibilities, and invest more on themselves. They are more aware of style
trends whether in wearing apparel, cars or electronic equipment. In case you choose to cater to the young trade because they seem
dominate in your town, your purchasing pattern will be completely different than when the more conservative middle-aged clients
seem to be in most.

Study trade journals, newspaper advertising, catalogs, window Displays of businesses similar to yours. Request advice of
salespeople supplying you product, but purchase sparingly from several providers instead of one, testing the water, so to speak,
until you know exactly what your best lines will be.

Locating suitable merchandise sources isn't simple. You will buy Directly from producers or producers, from wholesalers,
distributors or jobbers. Select the providers who sell what you want and can deliver it if you want it. (Distributors and jobbers
are utilized by the majority of business people for fast fill-ins involving mill shipments.)

You may distribute purchases one of many suppliers to gain more Favorable prices and promotional material. Or you might
concentrate your purchases among a small number of suppliers to reevaluate your credit issues. This may also help you become known
as the seller of a certain brand or line of product, and to maintain a fixed standard in your goods, if you're buying materials
for manufacturing purposes.

When to purchase is essential if your business will have seasonal Variations in sales volume. More stock will be required prior to
the seasonal upturn in sales quantity. As sales decrease, less product is needed. This means purchases of goods for resale and
materials for processing must vary accordingly.

At the start, how much to purchase is insecure. The best coverage is To be frugal till you've had enough expertise to judge your
needs. On the flip side, you cannot sell merchandise if you don't have it.

To help solve purchasing problems, you should Start to maintain stock Control records at once. This can allow you to maintain the
stock in equilibrium - neither too large nor too little - with a proper proportion and decent range of merchandise, sizes,
colours, styles and attributes.

Basically there are two Kinds of inventory control - control in Bucks and command in physical components. Dollar controls reveal
the sum of money spent in each product category. Unit controllers indicate the number of individual items when and from whom
purchased by category. A good stock control system can help you determine everything, from whom, when, and how much to buy.

Pricing. Much of your success in manage a business will depend on How you price your services. If your prices are too low, You
Won't cover Costs; too high and you'll lose sales volume. In both cases, you will not Earn a profit.

 imitation-jewelry immigration-consultant income-tax iphone-repair iptv irrigation it-onsulting iv jam janitorial japan-surplus jeans jerky jet-ski-rental jewelry-making job-consultancy job-placement joinery journal juice jumper-rental junk-hauling junk-removal junk-shop junkyard jute-bag kaju karaoke-dj kayak-rental kebab keto kettle-corn key-cutting kiosk kitchen kitchen-remodeling korean-bbq kurti lash lawn-care lawn-fertilizer lead-generation leaf-raking leather led-bulb lip-balm lipgloss lipstick liquidation locksmith logo-design lottery lounge-bar lumber-yardhtm lumper-service lunch-truck lunch-truck lure-making luxury-car-rental luxury-watch