Sales Manager
Sales Manager
A sales manager is responsible for selling an organisation’s services and products, continually finding unique ways to engage and grow audiences and customers. The sales manager may be responsible for managing customers at a local, regional or national level, or may be assigned a particular section of the market or customer base. Excellent communication and presentation skills, self-motivation, and finding successful candidates are important to becoming a sales manager.
Skills required to be a sales manager:
Sales managers spend a lot of time with customers and consumers – those who buy and use the organisation’s products and services. A sales manager plays a key role in the success and failure of a business. He or she is the one who plays a central role in achieving sales targets and eventually generating revenue for the organisation. A sales manager should be very clear about his or her role in the organisation. He should know what he is supposed to do in the workplace
As such, there are tasks and responsibilities unique to this role:
- Building and maintaining customer relationships
- Identifying potential customers and prospecting for the company. He/she should look forward to creating new opportunities for the organisation.
- Working with internal departments such as marketing or product teams to engage audiences and customers more deeply
- Meet and exceed key performance indicators (KPIs) and sales targets
- Possess in-depth knowledge of the company’s product offering and value proposition.
- Follow organisational policies and regulations that affect the sales department.
- Maintain necessary data and records for future reference.
- Solve customer problems by developing innovative and appropriate sales solutions.
- Represent the brand internationally and reflect the company’s values at all times.
With regard to his team:
- A sales manager must motivate the team members. He must make his team function as a single unit with a common goal. He must ensure that there is good cohesion and cordial relations between the team members. Implement lucrative incentive schemes and introduce cash bonuses to encourage team members to perform at their best.
- It is the duty of the sales manager to ensure that the team delivers the desired results. He or she must monitor their performance and ensure that everyone is capable of working in the team
- The sales manager makes the big decisions for his team. He should act as a pillar of support for them and stand by them in times of crisis.
- A sales manager must set an example for his team members. He should be an inspiration to them.
Experience and qualities required to be a sales manager
A formal qualification is not required for the position of sales manager. However, experience in similar roles or in the industry is considered very valuable. If candidates have degrees, they usually come from the following fields
Commerce or business administration
Management
Marketing
Other key skills and qualities sought for a sales manager position are listed below, all of which are equally important:
– Extremely strong oral and written communication skills
– Ability to work with or without a team
– Passion and drive
– Leadership and entrepreneurial spirit
– Good interpersonal skills
– Sense of innovation
– Project management
– Competitive spirit
– Professionalism and rigour
What degree do you need to become a sales manager?
Being a sales manager requires not only professional qualifications, but also five years of higher education to obtain a master’s degree in commerce, distribution and marketing.
It is important for you to know that the position of sales manager requires a long course of study. Therefore, a Master’s degree or a Master’s degree is the level that will allow you to reach this position more quickly. A business school or an engineering course with a business or management option are also recommended. But this is not enough to obtain a position as a sales manager! Employers are looking for 5 to 10 years’ experience.
What are the possible career paths for a sales manager?
How much does a sales manager earn?
A sales manager earns on average an annual remuneration of between 150,000 and 300,000 euros gross, depending on the organisation and the number of sales people to be managed.
A sales manager with less experience earns around 120,000 euros gross. An experienced sales manager may even earn more than €200,000 gross per year. However, the salary of a sales manager does not follow a constant trend and is not defined by an institution. This remuneration can be supplemented by incentives and can also evolve according to the skills. The salary also depends on the organization in which the sales manager works and the tasks assigned to him/her.