A sales manager might do some sales on their own, but for the most part, they will lead the rest of the sales team. Job duties include mentoring and motivating sales associates as well as assigning territories. They’ll set income goals based on directives from other executives in the company.

Sales Manager Education

The education for a sales manager will vary based on the industry. Companies hiring sales managers will often prefer the candidate has a bachelor’s degree relevant to the industry. It might be a business administration degree, statistics or marketing. Sales managers will need to have some experience in sales before being hired as a sales manager. It’s a position that is often given by promotion from within the company. Sales managers are needed in every branch of business, so there are plenty of jobs for the sales associate who wants to move on to a management position.

Motivating Sales Associates

When working with a group of sales associates, the sales manager has to be a motivating force behind the team. The success of a sales team almost always comes down to the sales manager, and how they motivate their team. That could involve tracking and sharing daily as well as weekly wins with customers and potential prospects. This shouldn’t be done to highlight the losses for other sales associates. It should only be used as an incentive for the entire team.

Planning and Setting Goals

While some goals come directly from the executives, other goals are based on what the entire team wants to accomplish. It might mean increasing sales through customer interactions or showing pure sales numbers as the ultimate goal. The sales manager will decide how success is measured as well as how to plan for that success. The manager will also decide how certain aspects of goals will be accomplished based on the skills of the team.

Handle Customer Engagement

Each sales associate will deal with customers, but there will be times that the sales manager will have to make decisions that the associate can’t make. Whether it’s deals or discounts, the manager is often called in for final decisions regarding the sale. The sales manager might be asked to deal with irate customers as well. As the manager, you’ll need incredible communication skills to calm the customer or explain to the associate how to react in the future. Resolving situations that arise might be all the manager does on a regular basis.

Understand the Business

The manager has to have an innate understanding of the business. From its mission to its goals and current state, the manager has to be on board with all the goals of the company in general. Most of the manager’s tasks will come from executives who might not always explain their directives, which means the manager has to make sense of the goals of the company based on their understanding.

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A sales manager needs to have an advanced degree and work experience. They can make over $100,000 per year depending on the industry as well as the health of the company, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The manager has to be able to manage other employees and analyze goals to ensure the sales team is on track.