Job and Responsibilities of Sales Manager

We discussed the job of sales executives in a previous piece. A company's driving force is its sales executives. The sales manager, on the other hand, is the combat commander who may devise a strategy to ensure that the driving force succeeds. 

If it were a game of chess, the sales manager would be the one who had to make sure he wins. A sales manager's primary responsibilities include sales planning and execution. The qualities that define the function of a sales manager are as follows.

Team Management

As implied by the above statement, one of the most important roles of sales managers is team management. Each of the eight members of an eight-person squad will have unique abilities and personalities. 

As a result, the major function of the sales manager is to manage this team and guide your sales executives to work to their strengths. At the same time, the sales manager must guarantee that the team's work is consistent with the management's expectations of the sales team.

Keeping team members motivated

Sales is a difficult profession in which salespeople are constantly rejected. Many executives, on the other hand, are not motivated unless and until they are under pressure. As a result, a sales manager's task is to encourage and motivate his or her staff to work harder and more efficiently. The key managerial duty of sales managers is to pick up demotivated executives and to pressurize casual executives.

Bringing the sales pipeline to a close

To build the sales pipeline and deliver warm and hot consumers to the organization, sales executives typically employ a variety of strategies. It is frequently the responsibility of the sales manager to guarantee that warm and hot prospects are converted into paying clients. 

The final consumer might make his decision based on the weight of the sales manager's visiting card. When the sales manager, on the other hand, becomes involved, the customer receives instant attention, which may persuade him to purchase the company's product. As a result, one of the primary tasks of sales managers is to close the sales funnel.

Keeping the balance between the teams

The job of a sales manager does not cease when he is in charge of his own team. However, it is his responsibility to establish a balance between multiple teams when they collaborate. This is particularly evident in banks and other knowledge-based industries where cross-departmental cooperation is required. 

In the same way, there should be coordination between service, logistics, marketing, and other divisions in consumer durables. The sales manager's job is to keep the lines of communication open between different teams so that the organization's work gets done efficiently. Wherever numerous teams aren't getting along, it's usually the fault of one of the other team leaders.

Making strategic decisions

As previously said, the sales manager's role is to ensure that the sales team's efforts are in line with management's expectations. As a result, various strategic decisions at the sales level must be made, which are made by the sales manager. 

A sales manager, for example, might justify granting a discount while pressuring his team to sell more. This could be done to boost a company's profit margins. The sales manager is in charge of making strategic decisions and putting them into action.

Expansion of the company

The sales manager's job is to increase sales through the utilization of different sales executives and multiple segmentation tactics. In a crowded market, the sales manager must collaborate with the marketing department in order to better attract clients. In a large geographic market, the sales manager must collaborate with logistics to ensure the best possible distribution. As a result, the sales manager is in charge of expanding and increasing sales.

Meeting the management’s expectations

Finally, and most crucially, the sales manager's task is to implement strategy and supervise the team in such a way that he satisfies the company's management objectives. If the expectations are incorrect, it is the sales manager's responsibility to inform the company. 

If he requires assistance in meeting targets or modifying strategy, it is the sales manager's responsibility to inform management or higher-ups. In other words, if a sale does not go well, the sales manager is the first person to be blamed.

As you can see, a vibrant yet understanding demeanor is required of the sales manager. He must be aware of the working environment as well as the company's culture and act accordingly. 

At the same time, he must have a comprehensive knowledge of the company objectives, which he must achieve by ensuring that his sales executives do their duties in a timely and efficient manner. A great sales manager is made up of numerous components, many of which can only be learned via experience.

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