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Date: 05/31/2025

Retail Salespersons

Sell merchandise, such as furniture, motor vehicles, appliances, or apparel to consumers.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Prepare sales slips or sales contracts.
    • Maintain knowledge of current sales and promotions, policies regarding payment and exchanges, and security practices.
    • Rent merchandise to customers.
    • Ticket, arrange, and display merchandise to promote sales.
    • Sell or arrange for delivery, insurance, financing, or service contracts for merchandise.
    • Sell or arrange for delivery, insurance, financing, or service contracts for merchandise.
    • Inventory stock and requisition new stock.
    • Inventory stock and requisition new stock.
    • Estimate quantity and cost of merchandise required, such as paint or floor covering.
    • Estimate cost of repair or alteration of merchandise.
    • Answer questions regarding the store and its merchandise.
    • Maintain records related to sales.
    • Compute sales prices, total purchases, and receive and process cash or credit payment.
    • Describe merchandise and explain use, operation, and care of merchandise to customers.
    • Help customers try on or fit merchandise.
    • Compute sales prices, total purchases, and receive and process cash or credit payment.
    • Describe merchandise and explain use, operation, and care of merchandise to customers.
    • Watch for and recognize security risks and thefts and know how to prevent or handle these situations.
    • Greet customers and ascertain what each customer wants or needs.
    • Greet customers and ascertain what each customer wants or needs.
    • Clean shelves, counters, and tables.
    • Exchange merchandise for customers and accept returns.
    • Demonstrate use or operation of merchandise.
    • Open and close cash registers, performing tasks such as counting money, separating charge slips, coupons, and vouchers, balancing cash drawers, and making deposits.
    • Prepare merchandise for purchase or rental.
    • Place special orders or call other stores to find desired items.
    • Bag or package purchases and wrap gifts.
    • Estimate and quote trade-in allowances.
    • Recommend, select, and help locate or obtain merchandise based on customer needs and desires.

    Skills

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    Knowledge

    • 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.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • 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.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • 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.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • 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.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 30070/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 14.46/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 116,550
    • Yearly Projected Openings 16800

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Enterprising: People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Attention to Detail
    • Cooperation
    • Integrity
    • Self Control
    • Adaptability/Flexibility

    Tools

    • Adjustable widemouth pliers
    • Adjustable wrenches
    • Bar code reader equipment
    • Cash registers
    • Desktop computers
    • Domestic clothing irons
    • Domestic sewing machines
    • Electronic funds transfer point of sale equipment
    • Fluid regulators
    • Garment steamer
    • Hammers
    • Label dispensers
    • Ladders
    • Magnetic stripe readers and encoders
    • Personal computers
    • Pocket calculator
    • Point of sale POS terminal
    • Point of sale payment terminal
    • Screwdrivers
    • Tape measures
    • Ticket dispensing machines

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Cloud-based data access and sharing software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Customer relationship management CRM software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Desktop publishing software
    • Development environment software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • Human resources software
    • Instant messaging software
    • Internet browser software
    • Inventory management software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Point of sale POS software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Video conferencing software
    • Video creation and editing software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Word processing software
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    Need help on how to research education and training programs? Download the Guide to Higher Education (PDF).

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    Workforce Supply Tool

    Workforce Supply Tool

    The Workforce Supply Tool provides statistics for the occupations in highest demand throughout Ohio.

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