If you’re excellent at sales and love dealing directly with people, you may want to become a sales manager. A sales manager is a sales-oriented professional that manages a team of sales staff members.

What Is a Sales Manager?

A sales manager is a professional that manages a team of sales staff members. The sales manager is usually responsible for motivating these staff members to meet their goals and training their team.

Sales managers need to be driven, motivated and energetic, and they need to be able to deal with people well. A sales manager will usually have from 1 to 5 years of experience in the industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and will be knowledgeable about the products and services being sold.

Sales managers usually, but don’t always, have a Bachelor’s Degree in a related field such as business management. While most sales managers work for retail companies, there are many other industries that require sales managers, such as software companies and production companies. The position of sales manager is expected to continue growing over the next decade, making it a field with economic stability.

What Does a Sales Manager Do?

A sales manager will need to oversee their staff members and ensure they are performing up to the standards set by the company. They may need to deal directly with clients should any complaints arise, and they may also need to do the hiring and firing of staff members at their location.

Sales managers may need to prepare budgets or view sales analysis charts to ensure that their company is performing properly. A sales manager may also need to figure out what their clients want and change their inventory and methods to suit this information.

Some sales managers are responsible for setting up discounts, promotions and other pricing structures in their store. Sales managers are also responsible for the sales software, unless this is governed higher up in the corporate chain. Many managers will need to train staff members as they come in and many need to be highly skilled in delegating tasks to their other staff members.

How Do You Become a Sales Manager?

Becoming a sales manager usually starts with being a successful sales consultant. While some sales managers may enter into the field through an entry-level position with a degree, other sales managers usually have several years of experience in the industry.

Only the highest performing sales consultants will usually become sales managers, and they also need to be able to maintain very high satisfaction rates with their customers.

A sales manager needs to show that they can lead other sales personnel. Managers are usually highly motivated individuals that have a true interest and passion in the product they’re selling.

Managers will often undergo some form of on-the-job corporate training once they enter into the managerial level, and a sales manager may start as an assistant sales manager in a larger company.

How Do You Advance as a Sales Manager?

Sales managers advance by consistently achieving profits that are at or higher than corporate standards. Managers should also generate very few customer complaints and should be able to keep their staff members happy and motivated.

Sales managers may eventually become business managers or general managers, or they may be promoted into larger sales departments or given larger sales teams. Sales managers will sometimes be transferred to larger stores if management feels that their expertise could be worthwhile. Overall, a sales manager will usually be able to acquire promotions based on merit and their sales results.