First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers
Overview
Salary
Demand
Core Tasks
Technology Skills
Tools Used
Top 10 Knowledge Required
Top 10 Skills
Top 10 Abilities
Top 10 Work Activities
Detailed Work Activities
Work Context
Education
Majors
Interests
Top 10 Work Styles
Work Values
Related Careers
Overview
Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Experience
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Education
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Examples
Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include real estate brokers, sales managers, database administrators, graphic designers, chemists, art directors, and cost estimators.
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of sales workers other than retail sales workers. May perform duties such as budgeting, accounting, and personnel work, in addition to supervisory duties.
Salary Salary
Salary at 10th Percentile: $44K
Salary at 25th Percentile: $58K
Median Salary: $78K
Salary at 75th Percentile: $109K
Salary at 90th Percentile: $151K
Demand
Core Tasks
Monitor sales staff performance to ensure that goals are met.
Formulate pricing policies on merchandise according to profitability requirements.
Provide staff with assistance in performing difficult or complicated duties.
Visit retailers and sales representatives to promote products and gather information.
Prepare sales and inventory reports for management and budget departments.
Direct and supervise employees engaged in sales, inventory-taking, reconciling cash receipts, or performing specific services.
Examine products purchased for resale or received for storage to determine product condition.
Examine merchandise to ensure correct pricing and display, and that it functions as advertised.
Hire, train, and evaluate personnel.
Keep records pertaining to purchases, sales, and requisitions.
Listen to and resolve customer complaints regarding services, products, or personnel.
Analyze details of sales territories to assess their growth potential and to set quotas.
Confer with company officials to develop methods and procedures to increase sales, expand markets, and promote business.
Inventory stock and reorder when inventories drop to specified levels.
Coordinate sales promotion activities, such as preparing merchandise displays and advertising copy.
Plan and prepare work schedules, and assign employees to specific duties.
Attend company meetings to exchange product information and coordinate work activities with other departments.
Prepare rental or lease agreements, specifying charges and payment procedures for use of machinery, tools, or other items.
Technology Skills
Technology
Example
Hot Technology
Tools Used
Tool
Example
Top 10 Knowledge Required
Customer and Personal Service
81%
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.
Administration and Management
79%
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.
English Language
76%
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Personnel and Human Resources
71%
Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Economics and Accounting
68%
Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Sales and Marketing
67%
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
62%
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Mathematics
62%
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Computers and Electronics
56%
Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Clerical
52%
Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Top 10 Skills
Active Listening
80%
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Management of Personnel Resources
80%
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Monitoring
80%
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Speaking
80%
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Coordination
78%
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Judgment and Decision Making
78%
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Social Perceptiveness
78%
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Time Management
78%
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Persuasion
75%
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Complex Problem Solving
73%
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Top 10 Abilities
Oral Comprehension
80%
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression
80%
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Speech Recognition
80%
The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Speech Clarity
78%
The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Deductive Reasoning
75%
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning
75%
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Written Comprehension
75%
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Information Ordering
73%
The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Near Vision
73%
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Category Flexibility
70%
The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Top 10 Work Activities
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
92%
Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Coaching and Developing Others
88%
Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
Getting Information
88%
Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates
88%
Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems
88%
Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
86%
Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Interacting With Computers
85%
Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Training and Teaching Others
85%
Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Developing Objectives and Strategies
82%
Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others
78%
Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
Detailed Work Activities
Monitor sales activities.
Supervise sales or support personnel.
Explain technical product or service information to customers.
Answer customer questions about goods or services.
Maintain records of sales or other business transactions.
Train sales personnel.
Develop marketing plans or strategies.
Assign duties or work schedules to employees.
Discuss design or technical features of products or services with technical personnel.
Gather customer or product information to determine customer needs.
Contact current or potential customers to promote products or services.
Establish operational policies.
Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets.
Examine condition of property or products.
Analyze market conditions or trends.
Purchase stocks of merchandise or supplies.
Monitor inventories of products or materials.
Coordinate sales campaigns.
Prepare sales or other contracts.
Work Context
Electronic Mail
How often do you use electronic mail in this job?
Telephone
How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Face-to-Face Discussions
How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
Contact With Others
How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
Time Pressure
How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?
Work With Work Group or Team
How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
Responsibility for Outcomes and Results
How responsible is the worker for work outcomes and results of other workers?
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results
What results do your decisions usually have on other people or the image or reputation or financial resources of your employer?
Frequency of Decision Making
How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
Education
Majors
Major
Interests
Enterprising
100%
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.
Conventional
77%
Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Social
62%
Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Realistic
34%
Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Investigative
29%
Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Artistic
24%
Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
Top 10 Work Styles
Attention to Detail
90%
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Integrity
90%
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Dependability
89%
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Leadership
87%
Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Initiative
82%
Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Cooperation
79%
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Self Control
79%
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Stress Tolerance
78%
Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Achievement/Effort
77%
Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Concern for Others
77%
Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Work Values
Independence
77%
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Working Conditions
74%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Relationships
72%
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.
Support
72%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Achievement
62%
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.
Recognition
58%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
