RETAIL SALES EXECUTIVE

PLEASE READ THIS JOB DESCRIPTION CAREFULLY.

APPLICATIONS THAT WILL BE CONSIDERED ARE THOSE THAT PROVIDE:

1) A WELL THOUGHT THROUGH COVER LETTER THAT CONFIRMS THAT A CANDIDATE HAS READ THE ENTIRE JOB DESCRIPTION CAREFULLY AND DEMONSTRATES HOW THEY WILL ADD VALUE TO THE POSITION AND TO OUR BRAND SHOULD THEY BE SUCCESSFUL IN THEIR APPLICATION

2) A C.V. THAT AUTHENTICATES THE ABILITY OF THE CANDIDATE TO HANDLE THE TASKS

REQUIRED

Job Function: Sales

Industry: Retail, Fashion & FMCG

Location: Nairobi

Job Level: Entry Level

Work Type: Full Time

Minimum Qualification: Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing or Hospitality Management

Minimum Years of Work Experience: Minimum of 3 years previous experience in a sales or hospitality (front office or guest relations) position.

Job Description: We are looking to hire energetic and enthusiastic sales-driven individuals who will help us in our mission of enriching and delighting our customers through best-in-class service that ensures a smile from them each and every time.

About Us: Ithira is a treasure-trove of African fashion – a retail store solely devoted to highlighting the latest and very best in contemporary African wear. Created as a place where fashion is a lifestyle and a haven of personal choice, Ithira will naturally appeal to the woman and man of today’s Africa.

About You:

Professional Traits

You are energetic. If you want the sale, you must bring on the energy. You are well aware of this fact. Proper influence and persuasion means that you have to be the best helper there is to solving a customer need. Being the best helper means being energetic and enthusiastic about the process.

Thus, it is imperative that our customers sense positive energy from you the moment they walk through the door. Your presence must be one that's fired up with enthusiasm and passion for what you do. Your energy levels are what will determine whether you close on each and every potential sale that comes your way or close none at all. You understand this innately and are willing to bring this positive energy when working at The Ithira Store.

You know that a smile will get you a sale: You understand that the first step in customers warming up to you is a captivating smile on your face. You know that smiling is a pivotal part of the sales experience as it makes customers feel invited, acknowledged and appreciated. You know that sparking these emotions of positivity in customers means that you make their day brighter, and in return, loyalty towards our brand builds. You are prepared to use this free and effortless gift that you have as a human being to show that you are ready, willing and able to go the extra mile for our customers at The Ithira Store.

You are an outstanding communicator. You have exceptional interpersonal communication skills. You are personable, i.e., you are likeable and approachable. You have excellent written, editing, and oral communication skills. You have a keen awareness of various communication styles. You are aware of your own communication style and recognise that the onus is on you to observe and adapt to a customer’s preferred communication style. You are able to pick (through observation), a customer’s verbal and nonverbal cues and use these to make a customer feel comfortable during the sales process and consequently, more likely to purchase. You also know how to ask discovery questions based on a customer’s communication style and tap into this new-found knowledge to enable you close a sale. A well-articulated Cover Letter and C.V. will be the first step in demonstrating this to us.

You are tactful. You know that blurting out what you’re thinking is the first point of failure in communication, both personal and professional. You think before you speak. You are able to know what is appropriate to say in a situation and this is reflected in both your manner and speech. You know how to relay honesty in a manner that recognises that the way you convey truth to your supervisors, customers and fellow colleagues matters as much as the truth itself. You know how to employ tactful persistence when dealing with prospects and ensuring that you’re not pushy and ensuring an item is sold but delivering a warm pleasant sales experience while at it. Your background has taught you that this warm, pleasant experience is created through an ask and connect approach that keeps customers loyal, and draw them back to you as a sales person for a future purchase.

You have empathic intuition. You know that part of being a successful salesperson is knowing how to feel what your customers feel. This trait has effectively allowed you to get inside the hearts and minds of your past prospects and enabled you to hit your targets with ease. Your sales experience has shown you that perceiving those things that are not seen nor are they immediately apparent in the sales process will allow you to delight your customers as you will be able to tap into what they might be thinking but are not adequately able to express. You are a master at reading body language and know how to react effectively to customer poses, positioning and expressions. You are willing to demonstrate this ability to anticipate what a customer wants and to walk in their shoes to understand their experience should you be successful in your application.

You carry yourself with grace and poise. You are comfortable in your own skin. You can hold your own in a room, in a manner that is confident and not overbearing. You know how to serve customers in a professional and non-judgemental way. You have no problem expressing yourself with people in higher income brackets. You are equally humble enough to know not to be discourteous to those who might seem less fortunate than you are. You are not one to ever lose your calm in public. You are able to handle daunting or awkward situations or particularly difficult clientele in a suave and polished way.

You are a natural customer champion. You understand that sales is the frontline of any business. You understand that yours is a career obsessed with serving customer needs and adding value. You are aware that your role is about attracting and retaining the customer. You are willing to do the same for the Ithira brand. For you to maintain and grow our customer base, you must intimately understand the customer journey and their needs, both met and un-met. This requires you to be obsessed with learning about the industry we are in, our target demographic and continuously seeking opportunities to create customer delight thereby leading to loyalty, and profitable new sales. Thus, an inherent part of your retail sales executive role at Ithira will be listening to the customer well, reacting effectively, and relaying this to the business in an effort to create innovative new value through new products or improvements to existing ones. You have a proven track record in this regard.

You are patient. You know that closing a sale means solving a customer need. You know that solving a customer’s need requires that you take the time to actively listen to the customer and be mentally and physically present as they outline their problem. You are aware and are ready to apply patience when explaining, demonstrating, and offering style suggestions based on customers’ needs and wants in order to close on a sale at The Ithira Store. You understand that some customers need a little more time than others and are prepared, as a Retail Sales Executive at The Ithira Store, to treat every customer as the individual that they are.

You are committed. You take your work seriously. Your work ethic is outstanding. Your work ethic can be corroborated. You are clear that you are looking for a career in sales and not a transient role as you search for “something better”. You know that the best salespeople recognise that they need to go above and beyond to be successful. You are that salesperson. You like to set the bar high and are continually trying to meet new goals. You know you are not the type to wing it, but rather planning and focus are central tenets of who you are. You have your own personal targets and know that your professional targets must align accordingly to enable you achieve the life you desire. You are clear about the value you hold and want to bring to The Ithira Store as a Retail Sales Executive. You are committed enough to the long game to show and deliver this value to the business. You know that the first step in confirming that you are serious about what you do, and that you are deliberate about planning, preparation and sales success is by preparing and delivering a well thought-through Cover Letter and C.V. that details to us how you will enable us grow our business in your position as a Retail Sales Executive.

You have an innate desire to sell. You love the art of the sale. You like hitting targets. Making a sale energises you. You love interacting with customers. You know that a good customer experience is about being pleasant and being present. You understand that details matter when it comes to adding value and ensuring customer loyalty. You understand that the energy you give out to a customer is the same energy you will get back. If you love to sell, customers love you back. If you are not passionate about a career in sales, customers will see right through it, and are less likely to buy from you. Your career in sales has taught you that both attitudes are easily reflected in sales scores because numbers never lie. You are ready to demonstrate what you will do in order to successfully hit your daily, monthly, and weekly targets at The Ithira Store should your application be successful.

You are results driven. You understand that a salesperson who cannot deliver on the bottom line is not a salesperson worth their salt. You are ambitious. You are confident. You believe in yourself and in your abilities. You set goals and are persistent in achieving them. You like to tick your boxes. No day is complete without an accomplishment list. You know that the more you push yourself to hit set goals, the more your career will flourish. You possess the right mental attitude, hunger for success and are willing to work hard to achieve the objectives of the business. You know that it’s your tenacity that will enable you achieve your daily, weekly, and monthly targets and see you progress in your sales career. You are performance-minded and willing to put in extra time to study about the industry we are in, products we deliver and the consumers we engage with in an effort to better yourself and achieve your sales goals whilst working with us. You are ready to prove this to us should you be successful in your application. 

You are ready to hit the ground running. You’ve done this before. You’ve excelled at sales in the past. You know how to keep your learning curve short whilst leveraging on team resources in a new business setting. Your track record speaks for itself. You know that once you have a feel of the business, the product and the customer demographic, there’s little that can stop you on your path to sales stardom. You are the real deal. You are confident that that there will be no dip in sales as a result of your entry into the business. You are ready and able to show us how you will fit right in and enable us scale our business through your excellent customer service skills.

You are willing to build our brand from the ground up. Our business is just getting started. Thus, in choosing to apply for this role, you are willing to play the long game. Building a brand from scratch requires that you know your craft and have a can-do mentality - in addition to being trustworthy, organised, dependable, cerebrally switched on and results-focused. You will be responsible for meeting established sales, retention, and customer experience objectives by ensuring customers are provided with appropriate clothing and accessory solutions. As a critical member of the sales team, this role requires strong interpersonal skills and a passion for delivering an outstanding customer experience. You will play a key role in maximising sales and profitability by focusing on key business initiatives such as store merchandising, inventory management, and loss prevention. As such, the need to take extreme ownership of the brand and the customer journey is vital. You can only do so if you’re willing to get your hands dirty and take challenges headon. Thus, your application for this role will need to demonstrate how and why you want to do so.

You take a consultative approach to your work. Your corporate experience has taught you that two heads are better than one and that tasks are better executed when reviewed. Thus, when you formulate and decide upon on a sales strategy, you are keen to always consult with senior management from the very beginning to ensure your plan runs smoothly and sales objectives and financial targets are met.

Personal Traits

You are trustworthy. You know that integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.

You are humble. You understand the pitfalls of hubris. You can take direction. No task is too menial for you to undertake.

You understand the value of time. You are punctual. You know that the road to success starts with you valuing your time and that of others.

You are a self-starter. You don’t wait to be told what to do. You are motivated and ambitious enough to work on your own initiative without needing direction.

You are a go-getter. You apply an assertive and intrapreneurial mindset in all you do. You know how to create your own roadmap to success.

You take extreme ownership of your work. You thrive in responsibility. Once you’ve understood what’s expected of you, you work to wholeheartedly deliver the task at hand to your benefit and to the benefit of those around you.

You have a winning mindset. You are an out-of-the-box thinker. You hate excuses. You figure out how to get things done.

You are reliable. You can be counted upon. You don’t need someone to look over your shoulder to ensure that you’re doing as expected.

You are consistent. You know success that is about showing up each and every day.

You are well presented. You know that style is a way of saying who you are without having to speak.

About The Role: We are a young brand with big ambitions. As a Retail Sales Executive, you are an ambassador of the Ithira brand and will be the primary point of contact for both new and existing customers. Working at our Sarit Centre store and with the support of the business’ director, you will guide customers through the purchase decision, acting as a stylist and personal shopper by using your creativity to build entire looks using Ithira Store merchandise while delivering an exceptional customer experience.

You will be responsible for meeting established sales, retention, and customer experience objectives by ensuring customers are provided with appropriate clothing and accessory solutions.

As a critical member of the sales team, this role requires strong interpersonal skills and a passion for delivering an outstanding customer experience.

You will play a key role in maximising sales and profitability by focusing on key business initiatives such as store merchandising, inventory management, and loss prevention. Other operational duties may include paperwork and completion of sales reports as they relate to the store’s opening and closing.

This is the perfect career opportunity for a sales-driven individual with an intrapreneurial spirit.

This role needs a confident person, a strong communicator, a charming, articulate & refined individual who is assertive and does not balk under pressure. Persons that are able to gain instant credibility and buy-in with individuals in the middle and upper-income bracket would be in their element in this role.

This position is geared heavily around relationship selling and requires individuals with excellent communication skills and a natural likeability. You will be expected to meet daily, weekly and monthly targets. Having depth and a consultative approach as a skill set will enable you to extract the correct client needs and requirements and tailor fashion solutions accordingly.

Should your application be successful, you will, as a Retail Sales Executive be tasked with:

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Ensuring individual sales, retention, and customer experience targets are met

• Explaining, demonstrating and offering style suggestions based on customers’ needs and wants

• Providing best-in-class customer service by consistently practicing sales behaviours. You must have an awareness of Basic Sales Techniques. The Ithira business director will provide training before you commence your duties in-store. You are however expected to have been in the sales arena before and as such, have an easy grasp of what is required and what to expect

• Resolving customer concerns promptly and professionally. You must maintain a polished and professional presence and adhere to appearance guidelines

• Keeping track of customer flow and feedback

• Aiding customers in completing purchases through established point-of-sale processes

• Assisting with store opening and closing duties

• Maintaining proper cash handling metrics

• Participating in inventory cycle counts. You will be required to analyse customer needs in order assist the director appropriately order stock. You will also be required to get actively involved in receiving and verifying new stock

• Ensuring that the sales floor remains well merchandised, clean, and visually appealing at all times

• Assisting with other duties as requested

• Following all company’s policies and procedures

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing or Hospitality Management

• A Certificate or Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Marketing would be a plus

WHAT YOU GET

• Retainer + uncapped commission upon hitting your daily, weekly and monthly targets

• A chance to grow your sales career with a business that thinks different and a brand that is looking to make a difference in the African fashion segment

• Responsibility, room to grow and the ability to learn new skills on the job

• The chance to influence the direction of a brand through your sales efforts

• The chance to work with a budding brand and see the brand building process as you grow

• The chance to make an impact on the Kenyan fashion industry and be part of Kenya’s Vision 2030’s industries of focus

THIS RECRUITING PROCESS IS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR A PERSON WHO SHOWS:

• individuality, confidence and a winning attitude

• that they are highly driven and intrapreneurial in their mindset

• creativity

• that they love challenges

• that they are organised and are natural planners

• that they act with honesty and have a high level of integrity

• humility and that they treat those around them with respect

YOUR C.V. AND COVER LETTER MUST BE WELL THOUGHT THROUGH

• You must speak to the job description. You need to be very clear about how you will add value to a budding brand from a sales perspective

• You must describe how your character is in line with the 24 qualities we desire of a candidate as broken down in the “About You” section

• You must show how you will apply the 24 qualities stated in the “About You” section on the job should you be successful in your application

• You must outline why you’re keen on a career in sales and how you plan on hitting your targets should you be successful in your application

• You must make clear why you’re keen on a career in the retail and fashion arena

• You must make clear why you’re keen on a career with a business focused on African fashion

• You must make clear why you want to work for a small business

• You must provide an expected salary range in your covering letter

• You must also answer this question: What do you like most and least about being in the field of sales?