Get a Job as a Salesperson
If you are good at selling and like bicycles, you might consider an ordinary job as a salesperson in a bicycle store. Employment in bicycle stores is easy to get, especially if you have ever worked in the bicycle industry before. If you haven't, do not despair.
Bike shops tend to be revolving doors of employment. This is because bike jobs are almost always low-paying, and are often filled by young people who have other interests, or are going away for education. Employees don't stick for long, and therefore the shops seems to always be hiring. Often, they can't get experienced help, and are willing to train anyone with the right attitude. They often will hire without seeing your resume. Bicycle shops are not like big businesses with personnel managers. Often the owner doesn't know what a proper resume should look like. Instead, s/he is going to go on how well the prospective salesperson looks and acts.
What qualities are they looking for?
They want personable so the customers will feel good about coming back and bringing their friends.
They want well-mannered and reasonably well-dressed so that families will be comfortable bringing their kids. Beards and tank tops are not a good choice. They want the timid people to be as comfortable as their other customers.
They want efficient so the customers will not have to wait long for service.
They want intelligent so they don't have to work hard to train the salesperson.
They want a person who is not complicated with ego problems, so there will be a minimum of office politics.
They often, but not always want mechanically-inclined. In some shops, the sales force is expected to handle quick little warranty adjustments. In others, the sales people are not allowed to touch bikes with any tools.
The best way to get a bicycle shop job is to just show up in bicycle shops, being your usual pleasant, intelligent, reasonably quiet self, and let them know you are looking for work.
If you have let all the shops in your area know that you want to work in a bike shop, and there are no job openings just now, be persistent. Make the rounds every few days. You don't necessarily have to stand there and tell them over and over again that you are desperate for a bike job. Instead, bring in friends who may become customers, hang around and talk 'shop' a bit - in short, become friends with the management. Then, when they do have an opening, who are they going to hire, a stranger or a friend?
You'll note that I said that bicycle shop jobs are usually low-paying. It doesn't have to be that way. You might offer to work on a commission basis. If you can finagle it, try to get ten percent of all sales. Or, settle for five percent on new bikes, and ten percent on parts, accessories and service. The shop owner will feel that this is a bargain, and it is. If you divide gross sales by money paid to the sales staff at most bike shops, it runs to about fifteen percent. However, what they don't know is that if you are being paid on commission, you'll work much harder for each sale. You might even do your own advertising, tell all your friends, and even go for good but eccentric techniques to bring publicity to your store. Suddenly, the store will be more successful, and you'll have a good-paying job. It's possible. It's probable. It has happened just that way many times. The key is to find shop owner who is open to the commission structure, and many are.
A couple of tips about the commission position:
* Remember that it is morally incorrect to steal sales from under other salespeople, even if they are paid hourly.
* It is not good to make the other sales people look bad. In the long run, it will only hurt you, as you become known as a troublemaker.
* Consider not discussing your pay with the other employees if you end up making more than they do. Letting them know that will soon wreck your nice position as resentments build.
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