Other Elemental Sales Occupations (NOC 6623)
Description
This unit group includes workers who sell goods or services during home demonstrations or by telephone soliciting, retail exhibitions or street vending. They are employed by a wide range of retail and wholesale establishments, manufacturers, telemarketing companies and call centres, or they may be self-employed.
Return to top
Example Titles
- canvasser - retail
- demonstrator - retail
- direct distributor - retail
- door-to-door salesperson
- home demonstrator - retail
- street vendor
- telemarketer
- telephone solicitor
>> View all titles
Return to top
Classified Elsewhere
- Cashiers (6611)
- Kiosk sales clerks (in 6421 Retail Salespersons and Sales Clerks
- Retail Trade Managers (0621)
- Retail Trade Supervisors (6211)
Return to top
Duties
The following is a summary of main duties for some occupations in this unit group:
- Direct distributors contact potential customers by phone or through personal contacts, and demonstrate and sell products directly to individual customers or at sales parties.
- Door-to-door salespersons solicit sales and sell merchandise to residents of private homes.
- Street vendors set up and display merchandise on sidewalks or at public events to sell to the public.
- Telephone solicitors and telemarketers contact businesses or private individuals, by telephone, to solicit sales for goods or services.
- Demonstrators show, describe and sell goods or services at wholesale, retail and industrial establishments, and at exhibitions, trade shows and private homes.
Return to top
Skills
Telemarketers need the following skills and abilities:
- a clear and pleasant telephone voice
- good verbal communication skills and ability to convey sincerity and confidence
- ability to think quickly and answer smoothly and tactfully
- ability to perform repetitious tasks and deal with the stress of handling rejections
- ability to read and follow instructions and fill out sales forms
- a strong sense of humour
- good sales skills, ability to maintain enthusiasm
- basic computer skills.
Return to top
Employment Requirements
- Some secondary school education is usually required. High school graduation may be required by some employers.
- Sales experience, strong keyboarding skills and the ability to speak more than one language are definite assets.
Return to top
Terms & Conditions
Direct distributors, door-to-door salespersons, street vendors, telemarketers and demonstrators typically work both indoors and outdoors. Those selling door to door may walk long distances. Telemarketers work in an office or at home.
Other salespersons usually work irregular hours including evenings and weekends. Many are paid on a commission basis. Most work part-time (52%). Self-employment in these occupations is common (16%).
Return to top
Earnings
$18,800 per annum - starting
$25,100 per annum - average
$36,800 per annum - high
Earnings are reviewed annually or more frequently if new information becomes available.
Return to top
Education / Training
- Most telemarketers receive on-the-job training.
- The Manitoba Customer Contact Centre Association has developed an accredited training curriculum.
- Red River College offers a Customer Service Representative Certificate program through the Continuing Education Division.
- Herzing College (a private vocational school) offes a program in Sales and Marketing Professional.
Return to top
Career Paths
Telemarketers may begin as part-time workers with little or no experience.
Progression to related supervisory jobs is possible with experience and training.
Telemarketers acquire sales skills which may be used in various other sales occupations.
Return to top
Outlook
Employment prospects for direct distributors, door-to-door salespersons, street vendors, telemarketers and demonstrators are expected to be good in the period 2010 2014 for casual and part time positions. Employment in Manitoba in 2010 is estimated at 1,765.
Telemarketers account for the largest proportion of this occupational group. Technology has made telephone marketing attractive as it is being used to study consumer patterns to identify high potential market segments for telemarketing initiatives. However, many call centres operate on a contract basis and cannot compete with operations off shore where the labour supply is more readily available and labour costs are lower.
Turnover in the elemental sales occupations is fairly high due to relatively low pay and the preponderance of shift and part time work, resulting in fairly frequent openings for new entrants. Individuals with previous sales experience, an area of technical expertise or bilingual language skills will have the best average employment prospects.
A proportionally larger share of jobs in this occupational group are located in Winnipeg. Across industries, employment for other elemental sales occupations is concentrated in Retail Trade (33%), Professional, follwed by Administrative and Support Services (32%) and Scientific and Technical Services (13%).
Return to top
Employment by Age Group
Return to top
Employment by Industry
Return to top
Employment by Region
Return to top
Employment by Gender
Return to top
Employment by Aboriginal Self-Identification
Return to top
Employment by Visible Minority
Return to top
Please Note - The source for above charts is the 2006 Census.
Professional Associations, Unions, and Regulatory Bodies...
Return to top