Sales Manager Jobs Sales Manager jobs can vary from company to company, even territory to territory. The Sales Managers’ primary responsibilities are to provide the day to day direction and management of the sales team. The size of the sales team, along with the experience of the sales team’s members will have a significant influence on the daily focus of the Sales Manager’s job. When considering who the best candidate is for a Sales Management position it is paramount that you consider several key factors for success. First, how much daily guidance will the sales team require? If you have a group of relatively inexperienced sales representatives, the Sales Manager’s job is going to require substantial mentoring and guidance for the team. Another key issue is the maturity of the candidate you’re considering for the position. Will the candidate be able to transform their relationship with sales people that just days prior were his or her peers? One of the common pitfalls in promoting a Sales Manager from the ranks is to ensure the candidate has the right attributes and emotional intelligence to grow into a true leader of the sales team. Often times a company will promote the best sales representative to the position of Sales Manager. The skills and abilities that made the person a great sales representative may not be the skills and attributes necessary for the Sales Manager’s job. When this occurs, companies are often left in a position where they’ve now lost their best sales representative and have a poorly performing and frustrated Sales Manager. From a team building and morale perspective it is often best to promote from within. Going outside to find the Sales Manager can create dissention and disaffection within the ranks of the sales team. They may begin to wonder why they are investing their time and careers with the company if there are no opportunities to move up the ranks in the organization. On the other hand, simply promoting a sales representative to the Sales Manager’s job without training, guidance, and support can disengage the sales team from performing to their maximum abilities. This is especially true if several sales people expressed interest in the Sales Manager’s job prior to the promotion being decided upon by senior management. The use of Professional Development Plans can greatly facilitate the process, especially for the candidates that will remain within the ranks of the sales team. By working consistently over time and communicating the skills and areas of required professional growth sales representatives need to be successful in management, leadership can deftly avoid creating disgruntled employees that feel slighted because they weren’t promoted to the Sales Manager’s job. It is also important to communicate where they are in their own personal growth path with the company. In doing so, senior leadership can help maintain motivation and esprit de corps throughout the entire sales organization. The last thing you want to saddle a new Sales Manager with is an angry and disengaged sales team that is unhappy about the promotion. Related Articles Sales Management Sales Representative