My experience working for a national book chain allowed me to further develop my love of books and enjoyment of reading, and enhanced my understanding of the book sales industry.
In terms of selling books, I held two part-time, client-facing jobs as a student before my first full-time role.
Firstly, I worked as a cashier in two different malls (on separate occasions). This wasn’t my first time working with clients; I had previously worked in my family’s small business as a teenage cashier over an 8-year period. Cumulatively, these experienced gave me a lot of skills to work with clients.
Skills required to work effectively with clients
Working with clients require a combination of skills including active listening, empathy, adaptability, time management and relationship-building. Furthermore, it’s important to understand client needs, communicate clearly, manage expectations and be responsive. Industry-specific factors play a role in the sales approach.
Working in content and marketing
My first full-time job was working in a fine arts gallery, specialist bookstore and print-workshop.
After that, my second full-time job involved managing content to sell books for the website of the same book chain where I worked part time. This role involved curating content and creating sales categories featuring new products. The digital platform I worked on expanded into selling various types of media, such as music, movies, and gaming. In 2012 we introduced an innovative sticker system that clients could use to tag their favourite products, inspired by the Facebook like button.
Transitioning into dedicated retail role
Over time, my content role evolved into a graphic design position, transitioning from website management to developing and launching national sales campaigns across branches nationwide.
In addition, supporting the business with annual sales campaigns meant preventing a national campaign from missing its deadline. Producing my first print files was challenging and I collaborated with printers to ensure accurate colour reproduction.
Working at a company with a remarkable history and culture was a clear highlight in my career at that point. I felt like I was part of a family. Many colleagues were stalwarts in the company due to their long tenure in the company and they could recount the entire history of the business from its first branch to becoming the biggest national book chain in South Africa. The business had experienced tremendous growth over the decades since the first store in the 1950s. I felt like I was part of and witness to something significant.
It was common practice for peers to organise interesting and collaborative activities for colleagues from different teams to partake in. For instance, one memorable event was a Master Chef soup challenge, where colleagues took turns cooking various soup dishes and gathered votes for the ultimate prize at the end of the year. These activities were competitive, yet playful.
In addition, during my tenure at the company, we:
- Met with publishers to discuss upcoming titles and how to effectively market and sell them
- Hosted numerous book launches
- Planned national sales campaigns
- Celebrated colleagues’ birthdays each year by rearranging their desk
Key take aways from this experience
In conclusion, a positive work environment can foster growth and resilience even when forecasts for physical sales are challenging. As the way people consume content shifted rapidly from physical to digital, retail businesses felt the pressure from digital pioneers. In other words, when faced with the challenge of change, a positive work environment and supportive colleagues can help overcome many obstacles and promote growth, as I personally experienced.
