The 5 Types of Salespeople You’ll Need For A Great Retail Experience

Jobstreet content team – updated on 10 March, 2022

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Are you thinking about getting into sales? Singapore's retail industry has always been a bustling sector. Singapore prides itself in a vibrant mix of local and international brands, offering numerous products and services such as food, clothing, and home essentials. The 2018 report "How Global is the Business of Retail?" even named the city-state of the top 10 retail destinations around the world, with global retailers making up 46.7% of its brand offerings.

The COVID-19 pandemic, however, disrupted Singapore's diverse retail landscape as consumer behaviour primarily moved to the digital sphere. Physical retailers and local brands took a hit and were forced to adapt to digitalisation.

New shopper habits, as well as the further emergence of e-commerce, have changed the game: demand for online shopping has spiked, as consumers contend with new priorities. From stocking up on work-from-home gadgets and computer equipment, furniture and home accessories, food supplies, and snacks such as bubble tea, creature comforts are just a click away.

As consumers learn to adapt to the new normal, the sales landscape has changed, and so has its roles -- different types of salespeople are needed to cover the new and more diverse facets of retail, aside from the old brick-and-mortar model.

While some salespeople deal with direct purchases by consumers, different types of sales experts work to influence various aspects of the sales funnel to complete the consumer's journey. From conducting the pre-sales groundwork and laying its foundation, studying the market and business feasibility, to generating leads that lead to acquired clients and the completion of consumers down the conversion funnel, there are appropriate sales officers for these various phases and facets of sales.

Sales workers must be able to venture out of their comfort zone. This way, they can find prospects and build relationships with them until they eventually become repeat customers.

Why get into sales?

The field of sales is not for everyone. While some may be apprehensive at the thought of having to sell to people regularly, others thrive on leveraging their people skills and persuasion skills to close a sale.

If you consider yourself a driven and independent person, enjoy variety in your day-to-day schedule, and love the idea of incentives and rewards, then a career as a salesperson may just be for you.

There are now several pathways an individual may pursue in sales to advance in the career ladder. As a salesperson, you may be expected to be comfortable with travelling regularly. You will also need a healthy dose of discipline and work ethic to motivate yourself to hit your targets and KPIs. Aside from social and persuasive skills, you must also be able to look at the big picture.

Ready? Based on Skills Future, here are some of the different types of salespeople you find while working in retail.

Retail Operations

As part of retail operations, your job is to ensure that a store's day-to-day operations run without a hitch. Retail operations ensure that packages arrive on time, employees are where they should be stationed, and systems are in place.

Brand Management

Ever wonder why there are brands, regardless if they have a physical or online store, that you just can't stay away from? It is brand management at work -- it fosters brand loyalty and shapes a consumer's experience and interaction with the brand.

Marketing

Marketing gets people interested in your product or service and generates potential clients. It refers to the process of understanding your customers and building and maintaining relationships with them.

Merchandising

Merchandising is the most straightforward track in sales -- it refers to the entire practice of placing items on display, promoting them and selling these products to customers. Roles in merchandising cover the selection of these goods, their visual arrangement, and selling them to customers.

E-Commerce

E-commerce has risen in Southeast Asia in the past years. Some of the most prominent shopping websites, such as Shopee and Lazada, are even based in Singapore. Staying at home has caused e-commerce activity to surge, increasing the need for e-commerce specialists across various kinds of businesses. This has made e-commerce an emerging career with potentially high rewards in the new normal.

E-commerce Specialist

How to get into sales

Although door-to-door and face-to-face sales transactions still exist, sales have grown beyond direct purchases and the power of persuasion. As the field of sales continues to undergo disruption, various aspects and roles will continue to grow and emerge -- calling for different personalities and experiences. Today's sales strategies rely on data and machine learning, in addition to creative skills, in generating leads, engaging prospective consumers, and learning their desires and pain points to best serve them and constantly achieve your brand's KPIs.

With different types of roles in sales today, one does not need to possess a particular degree to enter the world of sales. That said, specific degree programmes provide a competitive edge. Depending on the department and responsibilities involved, graduating with a degree in Business, Marketing, or Communication can augment your qualifications, especially in roles that deal with pre-sales and problem-solving.

Moreover, certain industries that deal with highly technical services and product offerings may prefer talents with a similar background. They may be able to can explain technical questions or high-level concepts that won't easily be picked up at product briefings. It can also help them think on their feet.

Consider these instances: companies selling manufacturing components such as fragrances, solutions, and other substances may appreciate having industry salespeople with a chemistry or chemical engineering background who understand their offerings inside and out, and as well as those who know how to handle these with care. Meanwhile, sales executives with a background in food technology or similar programmes will be able to handle the supply of wholesale ingredients, maintaining optimal rates in food production and safety.

In these cases, graduating with a relevant university degree will be a huge advantage in becoming a sales executive for a particular company. That said, there are a handful of sales positions that require a particular degree. Hands-on experiences and actual accomplishments will play an even bigger factor when it comes to getting the job and thriving in it.

Discover a new passion in the field of sales and find the #JobsThatMatter. Update your profile on JobStreet for relevant skills and knowledge -- you can also use the hashtag #WorkNow so employers know that you're immediately available for work.

For more expert career advice, visit our Career Resources Hub.

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