In a state of agitation, he struck pushy salesman (8)
I believe the answer is:
huckster
'pushy salesman' is the definition.
(a huckster is a salesman)
'in a state of agitation he struck' is the wordplay.
'in a state of agitation' indicates anagramming the letters (letters get excited or agitated).
'he'+'struck'='hestruck'
'hestruck' with letters rearranged gives 'HUCKSTER'.
(Other definitions for huckster that I've seen before include "bargain" , "Person using aggressive selling methods" , "Dodgy trader" , "Aggressive salesman or hawker" , "Aggressive pedlar" .)