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Jagpreet
11 October, 2024
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“It’s not about having the right opportunities. It’s about handling the opportunities right.” – Mark Hunter
A sales manager’s career highly resembles this quote by Mark Hunter. As a sales manager, you would get numerous opportunities to show your passion and skills. However, the end piece depends on how you turn your opportunities into your success. Succeeding in a sales manager career means mastering the art of motivating your team, developing winning strategies, and driving revenue.
As stated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024), the job outlook for sales managers is projected to grow by 6% from 2023-203 . There were 584,800 jobs for sales managers in 2023 in the U.S. alone. Therefore, the demand for sales managers can be concluded to be high in the global market. So, if you are looking to become a sales manager, this could be the right time.
You might have remembered The Matrix , in which Morpheus was guiding Neo to discover his true potential. Similarly, a sales manager plays a crucial role in unlocking its team’s best performance. With this sales manager career guide , we shall explore the key responsibilities and growth opportunities in a sales manager career. So, let’s dive into it!
A sales manager oversees the performance of its sales team to meet certain targets. They guide and motivate the team and contribute to their enhanced performance in an organisation. Additionally, they make strategies to increase sales, supervise sales plans, analyse data, and train the sales associates within a team. To build a successful sales manager career , it’s better to learn about their skills, roles, and growth opportunities.
Along with guiding a team to achieve the targets before the deadline, sales managers are often tasked with various responsibilities. They handle numerous functions to ensure that the business organisation run smoothly. The following are several common sales manager responsibilities.
Interviewing and hiring the sales associates.
Training the sales associates working together in a team.
Keep track of sales objectives.
Evaluate effective and productive strategies to achieve organisational goals.
Looking for customer feedback and analysing consumer satisfaction rates for improvements.
Planning and generating sales reports.
Sending the latest or modified sales reports to upper management.
Coaching the sales team members to enhance their sales skills.
Setting the sales goals.
Building and executing sales strategies.
Managing client relationships.
Monitoring the sales process and progress from inside and out.
Motivating the sales team members.
Making and running promotional or advertising sales campaigns to derive sales.
Identifying market trends and developing the latest business opportunities.
Contract negotiation with vendors and consumers.
Sales Management is a versatile field. It offers a varied range of career options to sales managers. Various industries offer different roles to sales managers based on their business. Here are several types of sales managers in this career:
Regional Sales Manager: A regional sales manager is responsible for monitoring region-specific sales operations.
Sales Support Manager: Manages sales operations and support sales teams. They also oversee promotional strategies and commission programmes.
Sales Director: A sales director is a senior sales manager. Tasked with supervising fellow sales managers and regional sales managers.
Enterprise Sales Manager: Responsible for targeting large organisations and corporations as clients. Tailoring appropriate sales services and establishing long-term partnerships is their main focus.
B2B Sales Manager: They identify the potential needs of the targeted market. Focus on selling products and services to other businesses.
B2C Sales Manager: Aims to provide sales and services directly to individual customers.
SaaS Sales Manager: Connect with potential customers through email or calls. Responsible for selling software services or applications over the web.
Being a sales manager requires soft skills and emotional intelligence. You must be able to derive revenue for your business organisation, enhance sales, and support client relationships. Before becoming a team leader, a sales manager must be a great influencer. Sales is all about the relationship between a business’s products or services and clients and their feedback.
A sales manager must understand the emotions of the client towards the product. If you can’t understand or satisfy your client’s needs, how would you guide your team? So, becoming a sales manager demands proficiency in numerous professional and emotional skills, here are a few of them.
Leadership
Coaching
Communication
Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
Coaching and Mentoring
Active Listening
Time Management
Sales Planning
Sales Forecasting
Performance Management
Strategic Thinking
Motivational Skills
Tech Savviness
Delegation
Customer Relationship Management
Hiring and recruiting skills
Analytical Skills
Adaptability
Negotiating Skills
Your role as a sales manager primarily depends on your industry or niche. What you’re selling matters the most. Knowing about your products or services helps you understand the client’s perspectives. Different industries target different clients based on their framework. Also, the working environment may differ as well depending on the location of the job.
It could be work from home, hybrid set up, or completely on-site.
Sales Manager career also depends on adaptability. It allows you to plan your strategies depending on your conditions. Let’s take a look below to learn more about the industries in which sales managers work.
Retail and Wholesale
Logistics and Supply Chain
Real Estate
Financial Services
Technology (Software and IT Services)
Education and Training Services
Energy and Utilities
Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare
Consumer Goods
Media and Advertising
Hospitality and Tourism
Automotive
Have you ever thought about the ads that we watch on YouTube, TV, or other platforms across the web? Even the websites nowadays are not entirely free. At one point, everything demands a subscription or to be paid for. What do you think happening here? These are all marketing strategies to derive revenue from the clients’ ends.
Do you know who plans and executes these strategies? Of course, a sales manager. Nowadays, every industry advertises its products and services to generate leads and sales. Whether it’s selling popular chocolate like Kit Kat, AC like Voltas, premium listening on Spotify, and so on, jobs for sales managers are emerging in each industry.
According to RevPilots (2024), 67% of a sales manager are satisfied with their jobs. Also, in 2021, there was an increase of 58% in employee turnover rate. Even after facing challenges, more than half of the sales managers reported satisfaction and happiness in their
sales manager career growth. In short, the job outlook for sales managers is wide and their wages are satisfactory.
As stated by U.S. BLS (2024), the median pay of sales managers was $135,160 per year as of 2023. Moreover, sales managers in India earn an average of ₹ 3.3 LPA to ₹ 18 LPA based on their experience, as stated by AmbitionBox (2024). This range can go even higher based on your experience and skills.
Now, when you’re sure that a sales manager career is as rapidly growing as Pinocchio’s nose, you must be considering pursuing your interest. And we are glad to assist you in your learning journey. Here is a quick yet detailed guide to becoming a sales manager. Let’s quickly go through it!
Although there is not a significant path to the sales manager career, many employers prefer at least a bachelor’s degree. However, you can pursue a bachelor’s degree in marketing, finance, management, and communications. After this, you can upgrade your education with a master’s as well.
More than a master’s degree, your experience and skills matter in a sales manager career . There are numerous ways in which you can gain sales experience. Some of these areas may include –
Working in retail or wholesale
Customer service roles
Or telemarketing
However, an ideal route to becoming a sales manager begins with entry-level sales roles. Then, you can rise in your role through your skills.
Skills are the primary asset in a sales manager’s career. So, you will require a great fusion of workplace, technical, and interpersonal skills. You can try nourishing the following skills to advance in your career.
Using Sales Softwares
Knowledge of Sales Data and Analytics
Developing effective sales plans
Leadership
Communication Skills – Verbal and Written
Effective listening
Multitasking
Organisational Skills
Empathy
Motivational Skills
Certifications aren’t mandatory in this career. But, earning some educational or training certificates might be a plus for you. Platforms like Coursera, Simplilearn, UpGrad, and EdX offer numerous certification courses in sales management. You may consider earning them to derive more growth opportunities.
Do you remember Harpreet Singh Bedi from Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year (2009)? He began his career as a fresh graduate with no experience in the sales department. Even though he was ambitious enough, his values as a human are what made him stand out in this career. Harpreet built Rockets Sales Corporation from scratch and made his career shine.
Similarly, in a sales manager career , along with ambitions, having skills to connect with your clients helps you grow swiftly. Even though you are a fresher, your skills, knowledge, and values are what set you apart. With the right ethics, strategy, and persistence you can build a bright trajectory from scratch.
During his journey, Harpreet focused on building strong connections with customers. He understood their needs better than his competitors and provided them with a satisfactory experience. As a sales manager, what you need to do is to follow the career values as Harpreet Singh did. Here are a few tips from Rocket Singh that you can follow in the
sales manager career :
Understand the needs of your clients.
Provide your clients with satisfactory products and customer experience.
Nourish your skills but don’t forget your human values.
Connect with your clients at an emotional level as well.
Expand your personal and professional network for career growth opportunities.
Thrive for success and be ambitious, not arrogant.
The need for sales managers will remain high in demand in the global market till the end. Companies’ revenues highly lie on the sales that sales manager derives for their organisation. Whether it’s an IT, manufacturing, educational, healthcare, or finance industry, sales are an obligatory aspect of all.
Furthermore, you would only need a bachelor’s degree to the minimum to become a sales manager. However, your skills, values, and experience are what decide your future career growth. Moreover, the more you’ll satisfy your clients, the more connections you will make. It will significantly affect your career as a sales manager in a positive way.
So, if you are ready to build your career as a sales manager, it might be your chance to grab. Delaying opportunities can lead to a shabby or unsatisfactory career. It’s high time to discover the best college and the right programme for you to begin your career as a sales manager now!
