Sales Manager Job Description: Key Duties and Responsibilities of a Sales Manager
Working as a sales manager can offer a challenging, dynamic, and rewarding career. Sales manager jobs are much more than just a transactional role, as we have briefly touched on in this previous article, so this time we’re looking at these roles in more depth, to really understand the sales manager job description and the day to day requirements.
What is a Sales Manager?
A sales manager is a trusted partner responsible for overseeing a sales team and driving sales performance. Their role typically includes a combination of leadership, strategy, and hands-on management . Additionally, as we highlight further on, sales manager responsibilities include providing insight and input to internal teams such as Finance, Marketing, Logistics and to other sales colleagues, to make sure businesses are designing and delivering the products customers need, which is vital to achieving sales targets and growth ambitions.
Sales manager duties and responsibilities
So, what does a sales manager do? It’s a multi-faceted role that requires much more than sales skills. With a team to manage and targets to hit, sales managers are product experts, leaders, mentors and career advisors, and work hard to develop their teams and their relationship with customers. Planning and time management are key to success, as well as being able to analyze market trends and stay ahead of the competition to make sure the business is making the most of every sales opportunity.
Let’s look at some of the necessary skills in a little more detail:
Key Skills of a Sales Manager
Leadership and Team Management
Passionate about people development, sales managers identify training and advancement needs within their teams, facilitating the right support to help every individual achieve their professional ambitions and to help the business achieve its all-important sales targets. They’re mentors to those they manage, always ready with advice and guidance and with the experience to back it up. Leadership skills are vital to being a successful sales manager. Being able to motivate, incentivize and empower a high-performing team, to help them keep their ideas fresh and their energy high, and to nurture their development and fulfill their ambitions is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.
Sales Expertise and Product Knowledge
A sales manager position requires experience, knowledge and a genuine interest in the products and services they sell. Attention to detail and an awareness of all that’s on offer is key to understanding industry and customer needs and making sure the business’s products are the ones they choose, time and time again.
Customer Focus
Always able to discuss their customers’ needs in language they understand, sales managers become trusted partners, ready and willing to help plan and execute projects at every scale. They provide the guidance and reassurance customers need that they can be equipped with reliable tools to succeed.
Problem-solving Skills
Every customer is different, and every project is different, bringing multiple challenges and opportunities for fresh thinking and new solutions. It’s a big part of a sales manager job to be able to think outside the box, using experience and product knowledge to help their teams find the right way forward, and giving customers confidence that the business can help them every time.
Collaboration and business awareness
Sales managers have a vital role to play across a wide range of departments in a business. The knowledge they gain from every project and the insight their teams bring in from being out in the field with customers helps inform the way they do things and helps ensure success. Their experience and knowledge of their marketplace is invaluable to research and development of new products, and both logistics and marketing are positively impacted by the close relationships sales managers have with their customers and their needs.
Strategy, Budgeting, Evaluation and Reporting
Developing a solid, workable sales strategy is a key element of the sales manager job description. Collaboration is key, liaising with finance and marketing colleagues to identify and pursue new opportunities, while working to budgets that will maximize profit and available resources. Similarly, evaluating performance, both of products and sales teams, and being able to reliably and clearly report on sales activities helps inform strategic thinking at the highest level.
How to become a Sales Manager
If you’re interested in a sales manager position, you’ll ideally hold a bachelor’s degree, preferably in a relevant subject such as business, marketing, engineering or project management, and be able to point to a number of years of experience in sales roles. You’ll have excellent sales skills and techniques, negotiation and communication skills, good attention to detail and the ability to absorb and act upon new information. You’ll be target-driven, great with people, collaborative, supportive and able to inspire and motivate those around you to achieve.
Sales Manager Jobs at Hilti
Are you currently looking for sales manager opportunities? Browse our open roles to see if we’re recruiting for your dream sales management role. Visit our Sales career page to learn more about the sales team here at Hilti.
