Fashion Sales Reps

Recently I've blogged about fashion buyers, which is an area I've looked at applying for jobs in as I'm trying to find my way into a retail career. One area of working in fashion retail that hadn't occurred to me was working as a fashion sales rep. I've worked in fashion retail at shop floor level, but that isn't where fashion sales ends; fashion involves sales as much as an industry and there is a wealth of sales executive jobs and other sales jobs available for those making their first steps in fashion retail. Especially since the recession sales has become more competitive, and with many sales jobs there is the possibility of commission, making working in sales an exciting prospect for hard workers, like me. I hope anyway!

I looked into what fashion sales reps do, and the job looks fast paced and exciting, and it ties in with the role of a fashion buyer very closely as well. Working in sales is generally perceived to be fairly 9-5, but there is also room for flexibility which is good, as this article on working in sales highlights. Education-portal.com has a great article on what the role involves, which makes for very informative reading. Increasingly degrees are required to occupy many sales roles, whilst experience is invaluable more and more graduates are applying with fashion marketing and merchandising degrees and competition for jobs is high.

However, according to the article, skills are still the order of the day, especially social skills, which no degree can teach. When meeting clients and buyers it is essential that you connect with them and make them buy into you as a person before you can sell them any product. Something I think many people overlook in the job search is this emphasis on communication and social skills which, as well as a background in retail or fashion sales, is necessary in getting a sales job in the fashion industry.