Sales Assistant Cover Letter Template & Writing Guide

The great British high street would be nothing without the great British sales assistant. You’re the mortar that holds together the bricks of our retail sector. And although times are tough, there are still jobs available for the right candidates. 

To prove you’ve got what it takes you’ll need a well-written sales assistant cover letter. It’ll change your job application from a shuttered up pound shop to a posh boutique. And in just five minutes you’ll learn everything you need to know about writing one.

This guide is going to show you sales assistant cover letter examples that’ll help you write your own in a flash. 

Want to write your cover letter fast? Use our cover letter builder. Choose from 20+ professional cover letter templates that match your CV. See actionable examples and get expert tips along the way.

Create your cover letter now

Use this cover letter template

Sample Cover Letter for a CV—See more cover letter examples and create your cover letter here.

Sales Assistant Cover Letter Sample

You’ve just seen a fantastic sales assistant cover letter example and now you’re going to learn how to write your own. But don’t forget—

Even the best sales assistant cover letter examples need a good CV to accompany them. We’ve got a sales assistant CV writing guide here: Sales Assistant CV Writing Tips

And if you’re not applying for sales assistant jobs we’ve got other cover letter guides too.

• Retail Cover Letter Example & Guide

• Cover Letter for an Internship Example & Guide

• Graduate Cover Letter Example & Guide

• Speculative Cover Letter Example & Guide

• Customer Service Cover Letter Example & Guide
• Graphic Design Cover Letter Example & Guide
• Architecture Cover Letter Example & Guide
• Consulting Cover Letter Example & Guide
• Teaching Assistant (TA) Cover Letter Example & Guide
• Engineering Cover Letter Example & Guide

Cover Letter Template for a Sales Assistant

Here’s how to write a cover letter for sales assistant jobs.

1. Start with a Tidy Cover Letter Format

A neat, tidy and well-presented shop draws in the customer and makes them more likely to buy. It’s exactly the same with your sales assistant cover letter, present it correctly and you’ve already won brownie points with the hiring manager. So here’s what you need to do.

• Fire up your trusty word processor and get your settings right. One inch page margins and spacing set to single or 1.15 for a start.
• Next, choose an easy-to-read CV font set at 11–12 pts in size. Tahoma, Cambria and Georgia all look great.
• And once you start writing, remember that the best cover letter length is no more than a single page.

Read more: Step-by-Step Guide to Cover Letter Format

2. Write Your Sales Assistant Cover Letter Header

This is the first part of your cover letter the hiring manager will see. As a formal document, you need to make sure it follows the rules UK business letter layout. Here’s how to do it.

• Write your cover letter address correctly. Plenty of people still get it wrong. Your address goes first with the text set to right-alignment. The leave a space and write the date e.g. 10th June 2020.
• Now switch to left-alignment and enter the hiring manager’s details. And it’s really important that you try to address it to them by name.

Why do I say that? It’s because reading your own name instantly activates your brain, and that means the hiring manager will pay more attention to your letter. So check on LinkedIn or even just phone the company and find out the name of the hiring manager to take advantage of this easy psychological hack.

Read more: How to Address a Cover Letter 

3. Open Up with a Personal Greeting and a Convincing First Paragraph

Now for the fun part. Time to start writing your cover letter for a sales assistant. Here’s how to write your first paragraph.

• Use the standard formal greeting, ‘Dear [hiring manager’s name]’. And if you couldn’t find a name use ‘Dear Hiring Manager’, it’s much more warm and modern than ‘To Whom It May Concern’.
• Start off by mentioning the role you’re applying for, it shows you’ve made the effort to target your cover letter to the job and makes your intentions clear.
• Then use a ‘hook’ to catch the recruiter’s eye. Use an impressive professional achievement to keep them reading.

Read more: How to Start a Cover Letter

4. Show You’re the Ideal Candidate in Your Cover Letter for Sales Assistant Jobs

Time to move onto the meat in the sandwich. In the middle of your cover letter for a sales assistant, you need to add more proof that you’ll be a great employee. Use the second paragraph to work in some more job-winning selling points.

• Before you write, read the job advert again. In particular, the job description. It will mention all of the skills and experience that the recruiter wants and you need to prove that you’re a match.
• Do that by showing how well you can do your job. Add some more accomplishments from work that you’re proud of, quantify them with numbers, and use accomplishment statements to back-up your claims.

5. Show How Much You Want the Job

In the third paragraph, explain why you’ve chosen this job with this company. Here’s how to do it.

• Show energy and enthusiasm by pointing out a positive fact about the employer that motivated you to apply for the job. 
• You should also mention how you can help solve their challenges and contribute to their future plans. 

This approach does wonders for your job application because it shows you’re determined to be a committed and positive employee.

Read more: How Long Should a Cover Letter Be? 

6. End With a Call to Action and a Thank You

We’re almost done. Time for the last paragraph. And it’s an important one, science has proved last impressions are crucial. So here’s the best way to shut up shop.

• Use a call to action to increase your chances of an interview. Ask the hiring manager to get in touch with you to discuss the job in more detail. 
• Say ‘thank you’, too. Apart from being basic good manners, it acts as a motivating factor, giving the hiring manager another little nudge to see you in a positive light.
• Then to really seal the deal add a final example of a professional achievement or skill.
• And there’s no need to say ‘please find attached my CV’.

Read more: How to End a Cover Letter

7. Sign-Off in Style

One last thing, your sales assistant cover letter sign-off. Follow formal business letter formatting and you’re set.

• Sign off with your full name and insert a digital copy of your handwritten signature.
• Use ‘Yours sincerely’ if you addressed your letter to a specific person and ‘Yours faithfully’ otherwise.
• And include your contact details in your signature if your cover letter is being sent as the body of an email.

If you’d like more in-depth advice on writing your cover letter for a sales assistant, read more here: Complete Guide to Writing a Cover Letter

And now you’ve got a perfect cover letter, don’t forget to build a perfect CV to pair it with.

stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your CV here.

Create my CV now

When you’re done, Zety’s CV builder will score your CV and tell you exactly how to make it better.

And that’s it. Thanks for making it this far. If you need any other tips then please ask. In particular, writing a sales assistant cover letter with no experience can be tricky and I’d be happy to help.

About Zety’s Editorial Process

Our editorial team has thoroughly reviewed this article to ensure it follows Zety’s editorial guidelines. Our dedication lies in sharing our expertise and providing you with actionable career advice that offers you real value. Every year, the quality of our content attracts 40 million readers to our site. But that’s not all – we conduct original research to gain a detailed understanding of the labour market. We take pride in being cited by top universities and leading media outlets in the UK and worldwide.

Sources

• https://doi.org/10.1086/209445
• https://www.okcu.edu/uploads/students/career-services/docs/tip-sheets/tipsheet_accomplishment.pdf
• https://doi.org/10.1177%2F205157070802300202
• https://www.umkc.edu/facultyombuds/documents/grant_gino_jpsp_2010.pdf