What the role does
Salesperson, sales associate and agent's assistant are the standard entry points into residential sales. You work to a lead agent, handling buyer enquiry, inspections, campaign administration and prospecting, while learning appraisal and negotiation from someone already writing business. It is the fastest legitimate apprenticeship in the industry.
A typical day
- Buyer enquiry: responding to portal leads quickly and qualifying them properly.
- Booking and running private inspections and open homes.
- Database and prospecting calls allocated by the lead agent.
- Campaign support: contracts, brochures, signboards, photography, vendor reports.
- Debrief with the lead agent on buyer feedback and next steps.
Typical responsibilities
- Managing incoming buyer enquiry to agreed response times
- Running open homes and collecting genuine, usable feedback
- Maintaining accurate CRM records for every contact
- Preparing campaign materials and compliance paperwork
- Supporting prospecting activity and appraisal follow-up
Skills employers look for
- Speed and reliability on enquiry — most leads go to whoever calls first
- Organisation across multiple simultaneous campaigns
- Listening well enough to report buyer feedback honestly
- Comfort with rejection and repetition
- Willingness to work Saturdays
How people get in
- Directly from another customer-facing or sales industry (hospitality and retail transfer well)
- From agency reception or sales administration
- From property management or leasing
- Through a traineeship or cadet program where an agency offers one
How the pay usually works
Usually a base salary, sometimes with a share of the lead agent's commission or a per-listing bonus. Clarify in writing what triggers any bonus and whether it survives a change of lead agent. Settld. never publishes an indicative salary an employer has not supplied.
Career pathway
Salesperson or associate → listing agent with your own appraisals → agent → senior agent or team leader. Two years in a well-run associate role usually beats four years in a poorly supported standalone one.
Useful development
Entry registration first. Then buyer qualification, inspection technique, feedback conversations, CRM discipline and — once you are ready — appraisal and listing presentation skills.
Resources and practical advice
Check your state licensing requirements
Registration, certificates of registration, agent representative and licence rules are set state by state. Confirm current requirements with the regulator in the state you will work in (for example NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Queensland Office of Fair Trading, Consumer Protection WA, Consumer and Business Services SA).
Pick the agent, not just the agency
Your progression depends almost entirely on whether your lead agent lets you into appraisals and listing presentations. Ask directly: when will I start attending, and when will I be allowed to write my own?
Prepare for interview with evidence
Bring numbers from whatever you did previously — calls per day, conversion, customer feedback. Agencies hire attitude and consistency at this level, and evidence proves both.
Open
Common questions
- Is salesperson a dead-end title?
- Not if the role includes prospecting and exposure to appraisals. If it is purely open homes and admin with no path to listing, it is a support role wearing a sales title — ask the question in the interview.
- Do I need my own car?
- Almost always, yes, plus business-use insurance. Check whether fuel or a car allowance is provided.