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Sales managers are the conductors of a company\u2019s revenue engine. They create and nurture high performance sales teams, and lead them to generate hit revenue forecasts and meet customer needs.<\/span><\/p>\n To understand the responsibilities of a sales manager<\/a>, it\u2019s important to understand their position in the organization and the intangible roles and characteristics they embody. <\/span><\/p>\n In this article, we\u2019ll discuss the high-level importance of a sales manager, also called a first-line manager or FLM, and then get specific by providing a complete list of typical sales manager activities and duties.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Skip to section:<\/strong><\/p>\n First and foremost, let\u2019s start with a high-level look at why sales managers are so important to an organization.<\/span><\/p>\n To understand the value a sales manager brings to their company, ask this: Is it more important to have an excellent sales manager and average salespeople, or to have excellent salespeople under an average manager?<\/span><\/p>\n Consulting and research firm ZS Associates <\/span>argues<\/span><\/a> that it is <\/span>more important for a company to have a top sales manager<\/b> than to have great salespeople. <\/span><\/p>\n Data supports the idea that sales managers have the power to drastically improve the quality of their employees. A <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> of top sales managers showed that their new sales hires, after 20 months on the job, performed better than the new sales reps hired by average manager (these were more likely to show declining performance over time). Why? Because top managers have the ability to identify and attract talented salespeople, as well as onboard, train, coach, and nurture them until they are effective producers. <\/span>Research<\/span><\/a> also showed a positive correlation between the amount of time a sales manager spends coaching their reps, and the reps\u2019 ability to outperform neighboring regions coached by other managers.<\/span><\/p>\n The topline objective of a sales manager is to meet company revenue targets <\/span>through<\/span><\/i> the activities of their sales representatives. In other words, they harness the power of their direct reports, driving sales force productivity and extracting the best performance from each individual employee. <\/span><\/p>\n A sales manager achieves this objective through a mix of approaches. For example they:<\/span><\/p>\n A sales manager simultaneously plays three key roles:<\/span><\/p>\n Of these three roles, the #1 focus should be people management. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A successful sales manager\u2019s characteristics, skills, and aptitudes are different from those of a Rather than \u201cdoing it themselves,\u201d they teach and coach others how to do it, enabling the sales efforts of others. They develop their own leadership, hiring, and training skills while ensuring their team is using the correct selling behaviors and activities to meet their revenue objectives. <\/span><\/p>\n Typical characteristics, skills, and traits of a sales manager include:<\/b><\/p>\n Research shows that the best sales managers exhibit slightly different characteristics than average ones.<\/span><\/p>\n Top sales managers<\/span> are more likely than average sales managers to be:<\/span><\/p>\n In contrast, <\/span>average sales managers<\/span> are more likely to:<\/span><\/p>\n (Source: ZS Associates [<\/span>p. 14<\/span>])<\/span><\/p>\n Typical <\/span>qualifications <\/b>for a sales manager include:<\/span><\/p>\n Here is a list of typical duties of a sales manager, including daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly repeating tasks. The exact activities may vary depending on industry, company, and team culture:<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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<\/a>The value of a sales manager<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Average managers bring their sales representatives down to their level, whereas the best sales managers bring excellence to all their territories. A great manager who inherits average salespeople know how to coach, advise, motivate, or replace reps until they have created a high performance sales force.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Three roles of a sales manager<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Some executives believe that a sales manager should continue to sell like other reps, just with higher-value accounts. However,\u00a0a sales manager is most powerful when they enable their team of account executives. Their power and insight is scalable when they empower 5 to 10 reps that report to them, and more sustainable and long lasting as roles shift in the company. Successful companies minimize a sales manager\u2019s selling responsibilities, placing the onus on the sales reps that report to them.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Characteristics of a top sales manager<\/b><\/h2>\n
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successful sales representative. In fact, <\/span>most sales reps make bad managers<\/span><\/a>. The key characteristics of a sales manager focus less on selling ability and more about the interpersonal skills that enable leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
What makes a good sales manager great? <\/b><\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nQualifications<\/b><\/h3>\n
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\n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/a>Day-to-day activities of a sales manager<\/b><\/h2>\n
Managing people<\/b><\/h3>\n
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Managing customer needs<\/b><\/h3>\n
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Managing the business<\/b><\/h3>\n
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