Everyone’s met at least one of those salespeople who just don’t take “no” for an answer. The ones that have the gift of gab. The ones who are so good at their jobs that they could sell water to fish.

Do you know what those salespeople on steroids are called? Sales managers.

Heading entire teams, working to increase sales, and coming up with effective strategies, the job is exactly what it says on the tin. Requiring just the right combination of people skills and management acumen, however, it takes a very special type of person to step into that role. Do you think you have what it takes to be a Sales Manager? Keep reading.

What Does the Job Entail?

More than anything, this job is about making the most out of the people you’re working with. Without that sales team, meeting company objectives suddenly becomes that much more difficult to pull off. Beyond encouraging and teaching their teams, sales managers also spend a lot of time analyzing data and dealing with inventory among other things. Sales manager often handles customer complaints on the floor as well, it goes without saying that sales managers have a lot asked of them.

Typical Duties

There are quite a few tasks that sales managers are expected to handle.

1. Maximizing the Sales Team– After setting goals and keeping track of who’s selling what, it’s on the sales manager to figure out how to get more out of his or her team. There are some salespeople who need more personal encouragement while others respond better to contests and incentives. It all depends on the personalities you’re dealing with.

Here are 3 courses you can take to that end:

Whether you like a set sales script or if a particular philosophy is what makes more sense to you, it’s clear that there are options at your disposal if you know how to tap into them.

2. Tweaking the System– The whole point of having a unified sales department is to generate leads and get more sales. As the manager, it’s your job to meet monthly or weekly goals in the most efficient manner possible.

3. Work with Customers– Whether due to understaffing or an influx of customer complaints, the sales manager’s expected to support staff members and do the heavy lifting when it comes to follow-up or issues with clients. The buck stops with management. This Salesforce course will get you up to speed on what all of this should look like.

Areas of Specialization

Undoubtedly, sales and the ability to sell is the main requirement for this position. As far as specialization goes, industry expertise is always a plus where employers are concerned. In addition, the better you are at handling financial data, the more attractive your resume will be.

Required Skills

The ability to see projects through.
Computer skills and particularly the use of Excel to input data. Mr. Spreadsheet’s Favorite Excel 2010 Tips & Tricks is fantastic resource.
People skills
Basic Math
The ability to learn from data. Check out the Zen of Data-Part I: Stats for Analysis to learn more.
Sales skills. Try How to Develop a Sales Funnel for Your Small Business to find out more.
Supervisory and Management Ability
Accuracy in record keeping

Average Salary

According to Indeed.com’s stats on Regional Sales Managers, the annual salary averages out to $76,000. It would seem that seniority definitely does pay off with supervisory positions like this one.

Job Prerequisites

This is definitely one of those jobs where experience and skill factor more heavily into an employer’s decision-making than formal credentials. Companies want to see managerial experience so that they know a professional is supervising the floor. A proven track record of success selling other products is something else that looks very attractive on a resume.

Sales is what keeps companies around so it’s no surprise that experienced sales managers are viewed as assets.

What do you think is the most important trait a sales manager needs to have?

Sales Manager Job Description