What are the duties of a sales manager?

Do you want to become a distinguished sales manager? The profession of sales manager requires a deep knowledge of the duties and tasks required in order to master them, and achieve the desired results by converting potential customers into real customers. In addition, comprehensive knowledge of what it is leads to success in obtaining any job offer related to it. But what are the duties of a sales manager? And how can you become successful in this field?

Definition of the sales manager, and his duties

The job description of the sales manager is as the person responsible for building, leading and directing a team of sales representatives and marketers within the organization, according to the foundations and professional characteristics. The sales manager is keen to continuously monitor and evaluate all special operations in sales, and his job includes many vital and effective activities. What are the duties of a sales manager?

First: Prepare an integrated sales plan

One of the most important tasks of a sales manager is to design and implement a sales plan. An effective sales plan includes:

• Determining the objectives to be achieved and adjusting them as needed, in addition to the marketing efforts necessary for that.
• The quantity and type of sales and the necessary budget, in addition to calculating the selling price and profit.
• Coordinate relationships with vendors, dealers, advertising agencies, physical distribution and sales personnel.
• Scheduling production, stocks, etc.
• Define the roles and responsibilities of the sales and leadership team.

Now in order to achieve the above points, you have to take care of the following steps when creating the sales plan:

• Collect sales data from the previous year and look at what has been very popular. This will also help you to forecast new sales.
• Determine the metrics that will be used to measure success.
• Identify any gaps that need to be filled in order to achieve the goals.
• Think of new initiatives based on opportunities you may have missed in previous years.
• Involve stakeholders from departments that affect your results such as the marketing team and product manufacturing.

Remember that sales planning should not end with the creation of the document. You will need to repeat this process periodically to maintain the sales excellence of your organization and keep pace with the constant renewal of the market.

Second: Conducting a comprehensive study of customers and competitors

The sales manager must be fully aware of the nature of the market and competitors, consumer preferences and buying habits and the extent of their acceptance of the product. This is done with comprehensive research and analysis with the help of marketing team and review of sales statistical studies, after categorizing them according to territories, distributors, seasons, etc. The importance of analytical research for competitors and customers lies in the following:

• Determine the unique value of your product and what makes it different from its competitors.
• Determine the correct and effective means used by competitors. This information is necessary to stay relevant and fully informed and also to be able to excel with your product.
• Being able to know your competitors' weaknesses, which helps you identify the strongest opportunities for success and choose effective marketing strategies.
• Knowing customers' needs and what they are waiting for to meet their needs.
• Market and customer studies provide a benchmark to measure your company's sales outperformance in the market.

How do you conduct a comprehensive study of customers and competitors?

1. Identify competitors

You'll need to know who you're really competing with so you can accurately compare, as what works in a similar business for yours may not work for your brand. Divide your competition into two categories: direct and indirect. Direct competitors are companies that offer a product or service that could substitute for you, and that operate in your same geographic area. On the other hand, an indirect competitor is one who offers products that are not quite alike, but can satisfy some of the customer's needs.

When balancing your brand with competitors, you should focus only on your direct competitors, which does not mean that you should eliminate your indirect competitors completely. Keep these brands on your radar, as they can change direction at any time and become your direct competitor.

2. Study the products offered by competitors

It is very important to analyze the product line of your competitors and evaluate the quality of the products or services they provide. You should also study the prices and any discounts they offer. The product study includes some questions to consider:

• Do they primarily work on mass sales or individual purchases from customers?
• What is their market share?
• What are the characteristics and needs of their customers?
• Do they use different pricing strategies for online purchases versus buying from a sales site?
• What distinguishes each product from its competitors?
• How do they distribute their products in the market or their services?
• How does the sales process work, what channels do they sell through?
• Do they have multiple sites and how does that give them an advantage?
• What are their clients' reasons for not buying or terminating their relationship with the company?
• What is the total sales volume and revenue?

To obtain this information, you can find reports on public companies on the Internet. As for private sector companies, you will need to communicate with their customers and try to reach the owners of these companies and ask your inquiries if possible. This will also help you to put the right price for your sales in proportion to what you are offering.

3. Analyze how competitors market their products

Analyzing your competitors' website and social media pages is the quickest way to gauge their marketing efforts. You should focus on the following elements when reviewing their online identity:

• What communication platforms do they use?
• Do they have a blog? Are there any featured articles?
• What keywords do they cover in their content?
• Do they post videos or webinars?
• Do they have a podcast?
• Do they use static visual content such as infographics and animations?
• Do they have an FAQ section and a guide for dealing with them?
• What advertising campaigns do they run?

4. Find out what technology your competitors are using

Understanding the types of technology your competitors are using can be critical to helping your company grow from its sales. To find out what technology is used to build a competitor's website, use Built with , which will show you everything you need about a specific company's technology just by typing its name in the search box.

Another effective method is to review the list of job offers from the competitor, especially for the roles of engineers and web developers, possibly mentioning each job offer in the toolkit you are using.

5. Study the needs of customers

There are many ways to find out the requirements of your customers or target audience , the most prominent of which are surveys and case studies. In addition to constantly reviewing the feedback provided by them.

Third: product development and improvement

This assignment covers several activities in order to provide products that suit potential customers and compete strongly in the market, with the aim of achieving sales. The sales manager shares this task with the marketing, design, and manufacturing team, modifying an existing product to style, design, or color, introducing new uses for the product, or manufacturing new products. Product optimization is achieved by monitoring competing products and following up on sales feedback.

Fourth: Product Distribution

Transportation and storage of products is a logistics service separate from the duties of the sales manager, but the coordination procedures for distribution are his job. This covers some substantial matters relating to transportation costs, shipping methods, warehouse locations and stocks, ways in which demurrage, damages, etc. are avoided.

Fifth: Supervising the sales team

Sales management is one of the most important and prominent tasks assigned to a sales manager, hence his job name! Manpower management and development is an effective way to achieve the desired results. This covers the team's recruitment process with the help of staff specialized in recruitment and selection, and setting up a training program for new salespeople. In addition to his responsibility to monitor the performance of the team and seek to develop and motivate them, and promote the hardworking members in proportion to their role.

Sixth: Sales Promotion

Promotion and marketing activities are of paramount importance to achieve sales with a wide customer and consumer base. Marketing strategy involves approving advertising plans on a schedule. The sales manager directs the marketing team regarding the methods used. In addition to including promotions in cooperation with brokers.

Seventh: Establishing relationships with distributors and dealers

Cooperation and trust are the most important factors for a successful relationship with distributors and dealers, who contribute to achieving sales directly with customers. This responsibility is one of the tasks of the sales manager in cooperation with the public relations department. It includes some strategies such as: providing sales equipment and some plans and methods in order to achieve them, providing an effective training program, in addition to agreeing on a clear and satisfactory distribution policy.

Eighth: Resolving customer complaints and problems related to sales

The sales manager should follow up on the opinions and complaints of customers after they purchase the offered products, and try to continuously improve. In the event that the products are mechanical, it is his responsibility to provide a repair service for any malfunction, so that the desired benefit from the product is achieved.

 

Sales manager skills

The successful sales manager possesses several skills and specifications in order to be able to demonstrate his role in the company in a strong and effective manner. These skills can be acquired by diligent diligence and continuous training. The most prominent of these skills are:

1. Leadership skill

It is the core of team management in sales and marketing. Leadership skills help a sales manager keep his team motivated, and increase teamwork . Leadership skills include several attributes that must be exhibited, including the ability to quickly make decisive and correct decisions, in addition to integrity in dealing and keenness to listen and include the role of the team in sharing their opinions in improvement and development, and supporting the role of cooperation among all employees for work-related goals.

2. Communication skills

The job duties of a sales manager include continuous interaction with team members and customers, as well as managers of other departments such as marketing. To be successful in this role, you will need to have strong interpersonal skills. In order to achieve a clear understanding and fruitful transactions.

3. Entrepreneurial skills

Your managerial and leadership ability as a sales manager is one of the criteria for evaluating your job performance. Where there is a direct relationship between increasing the company's profits through sales, and the effective management of it. The following tips are recommended for successful management:

• Attention to long-term planning with a clear vision of the goals and how to achieve them in the target environment.
• Paying attention to office work and team management within the company, not just field work.
• Not limiting sales to specific customers or major customers, but rather looking at all market customers as an integrated unit.
• Study the impact of the administrative plan on the institution as a whole in its various departments, because the change that occurs in one part may affect the other.

4. Time management

Once you become a salesperson, there will be a lot of demands on your time throughout the day! Therefore, you should take care of time management according to a thoughtful and organized planning of your schedule during the week, in a way that defines and clarifies your priorities for everyone who has to deal with you. Also, being successful in organizing your time will help you to organize the work of the team and to arrange and monitor their tasks.

5. Analytical ability

The task of studying and analyzing the market , and communicating future sales forecasts, is one of the responsibilities of the sales manager. This requires an analytical skill that enables him to evaluate current and past sales figures, in order to anticipate purchasing trends. This can help increase sales and profits in general.

6. The ability to market products

The sales manager should possess a strong sense of persuasion , and know how to direct sales towards the target audience in a professional and marketing manner . Usually the sales manager collaborates with the marketing team for this, but his knowledge of what matters is essential in order to understand and be able to generate the required sales.

7. Ability to select talented salespeople

Sales managers must possess some skill in hiring employees. If a sales manager doesn't know how to critically review a resume , or ask investigative questions in an interview, they will likely end up hiring salespeople who only look professional on paper!

It is very important that you take care of hiring the right people for the team by following several criteria that cannot be exceeded, in order to create a strong sales team that achieves the desired goals and increases the profits of the company. how it would be? There are several criteria and characteristics that must be followed in order to hire the right candidate:

• If the candidate you're interviewing has previous work experience, you should be sure to see a clear result in their job beforehand, and how they contribute to sales. The successful salesperson focuses on mentioning his visible accomplishments in his work.
• Another sign of a strong salesperson, regardless of their professional history. It is to have a professional and persuasive selling style. You can test his readiness by testing him in the interview and creating a scenario in which he will convince you to buy and sell the company's product.
• Track not only the results obtained by the person by his work, but also the effort in what he does. Listen to the number of opportunities he tried to achieve, the number of calls and messages sent in order to achieve a sale. It is important for the salesperson to be diligent and eager to learn the right tactics in order not to be in vain.

Sales manager attributes

The practical skills that a person possesses may not be enough to become a successful and pioneering sales manager in his field, as there are some traits and characteristics that he must possess and possess. The most important are the following:

1. Passion

The job of a sales manager requires a lot of hard effort and continuous learning. This cannot always be achieved if a person is not passionate about what he is doing. Passion creates a goal that will make you always strive for it with sincerity. Remember that being true to yourself in what you do makes things more enjoyable and you can do your duty to them.

2. Be treated with respect

A sales manager needs to appreciate his employees and his team in order to be able to strengthen their professional relationship with him, and to ensure that they pursue their desired goals with honesty and diligence. This relationship is built on the basis of respect. Rather than respect being a moral quality that anyone should have, the sales manager's interactions with several people whose roles differ in influencing the business must respect all of them.

3. Good listening

When the sales employee is keen to always listen to others and their opinions from employees and customers, he thus obtains a comprehensive view of the factors of sales success and what influences them, and makes him faster in making decisions according to his knowledge of all aspects. In addition to building positive relationships with others.

In conclusion, the job of a sales manager is characterized by making you deal with many different personalities and departments in order to achieve its purpose. It may require double effort, but everything is achieved in the end with training and continuous learning. You can follow a remote platform , for sales and marketing manager employment opportunities. You should take advantage of these opportunities by applying to them after assessing yourself and modifying them according to the requirements and job description..