TL;DR
- A sales manager is in charge of a company's sales activities and its sales force: organising, coaching and leading a team of sales representatives to meet sales targets, and owning the plan, the pipeline and the forecast.
- The job has seven duties: set strategy and targets, build and allocate the team, coach and give feedback, manage performance and motivation, run the pipeline and forecast, find new business and report to senior managers.
- A job specification pairs those duties with a person specification: a track record of hitting targets, experience of managing sellers, coaching ability, commercial judgement and data skills as essentials, and sector experience and qualifications as desirables.
The best salesperson in the team gets promoted to sales manager and, for the first time, is paid for numbers they do not personally produce. A sales manager job description that lists "achieve sales targets" as the first duty misses the point of the job: the manager achieves them through other people, by hiring, coaching and directing them.
This article gives a sales manager job summary, sets out seven duties, provides a person specification for the job specification, lists the skills employers look for, covers the routes into the role in the UK and gives a template and the mistakes that weaken sales management adverts.
Sales targets are the most visible goals in any organisation, and the team should see them every day. See how New Dynamics Goals & OKRs keep targets and progress in one place.
Sales manager job summary
The Cambridge Business English Dictionary defines a sales manager as “a person in charge of a company's sales activities and its sales force”, and notes the national and regional variants. The UK National Careers Service's sales manager profile gives the working version: “Sales managers organise, coach and lead teams of sales representatives to meet sales targets.” Typical hours are 37 to 40 a week, with evenings and weekends in some sectors.
A one-paragraph job summary for an advert follows from those two definitions:
The sales manager leads a team of [n] sales representatives selling [products or services] to [customers or markets], and is accountable for the team's targets, pipeline and forecast. They recruit, train and coach the team, allocate territories and accounts, manage performance, develop the sales strategy with the [sales director], identify new business and report results and forecasts to senior management.
Sales manager duties: seven responsibilities
The NCS lists the day-to-day tasks. Grouped into seven:
- Set strategy and targets. Develop sales strategies and set sales targets, with the sales director or the business owner, for the team and for each seller.
- Build and allocate the team. Recruit and train sales staff, and allocate geographical areas, accounts or segments to sales reps.
- Coach and give feedback. Provide feedback and coaching to team members: on calls, in the field and in one-to-ones.
- Manage performance and motivation. Monitor team performance and motivate staff to reach targets, dealing with underperformance early and fairly.
- Run the pipeline and forecast. Keep the pipeline honest, review deals, and produce a forecast that senior managers can plan on.
- Find new business. Identify new business opportunities, and keep up to date with products, market trends and competitors.
- Report. Analyse and present sales figures and forecasts to senior managers.
Sales manager person specification
A job specification is the duties plus a person specification. The table below is for a first-line sales manager leading a team of representatives. Every essential excludes candidates, so keep the list to what the job cannot be done without.
| Criterion | Essential or desirable | Assessed by |
|---|---|---|
| Track record of meeting sales targets as a seller | Essential | Application, interview |
| Experience of managing or leading sellers | Essential | Application, interview |
| Ability to coach: observed calls, feedback, development plans | Essential | Interview, role play |
| Commercial judgement on pricing, discounting and deal qualification | Essential | Interview, case exercise |
| Data skills: pipeline, forecast, conversion and activity metrics | Essential | Exercise |
| Clear written and spoken communication with customers and senior managers | Essential | Interview, presentation |
| Experience in [sector] or selling [product type] | Desirable | Application |
| Experience of [CRM system] | Desirable | Application |
| Sales or management qualification, such as the level 4 sales executive or level 6 B2B sales apprenticeship | Desirable | Application |
| Full driving licence, for field sales teams | Desirable | Application |
Our guide to job requirements explains the essential and desirable split.
Skills employers look for
The NCS lists leadership skills, the ability to sell products and services, excellent verbal communication, customer service, initiative, business management skills, flexibility and openness to change, “the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure” and confidence with computer systems.
For a sales manager, six things, in the order that separates good managers from good sellers.
- Coaching. Making other people better at selling, which is a different skill from selling.
- Fairness in allocation. Territories, leads and accounts decide who can hit target. Sellers notice.
- Forecast discipline. A forecast that is right matters more than one that is optimistic.
- Hiring judgement. The fastest way to change a team's results is to change who is in it.
- Calm under a number. Month-end pressure passed down as panic destroys teams.
- Commercial sense. Knowing which deals to chase, which to walk away from and what a discount really costs.
Our team leader job description covers the general step from doing to leading, and our sales representative job description the people the manager leads.
Routes into sales management in the UK
From selling. Most sales managers have been sales representatives or executives. The NCS says that with experience and a good track record, a manager could take on larger sales areas or be promoted to regional, national or international sales manager.
Degree and graduate schemes. The NCS says you could do a degree before joining a company as a graduate sales management trainee; employers recruit from most subjects, with sales and marketing management, business management, retail marketing and digital marketing particularly relevant, and technical fields preferred for selling scientific or engineering equipment.
Apprenticeships. The NCS lists the sales executive level 4 higher apprenticeship as a route to trainee manager roles and the business to business sales professional level 6 degree apprenticeship for management roles selling to businesses, taking two to three years. Skills England's apprenticeship listing shows both standards: the level 4 sales executive, “Leading end-to-end sales interaction with customers and managing sales internally within an organisation.”, and the level 6 business to business sales professional, “Selling products and services to other businesses.”
Requirements differ in other countries. Check the rules where you work.
Sales manager job description template
Adapt the template to your business. Keep every line true.
Job title: Sales manager
Reports to: Sales director or managing director
Direct reports: [n] sales representatives [field / inside / account managers]
Location and hours: [Office / hybrid / territory]; [37.5] hours a week, with [travel / evening events] as required
Purpose of the role: To lead the [region / segment] sales team to its revenue and margin targets by hiring, coaching and directing sellers, keeping the pipeline and forecast accurate and finding new business in [market].
Main duties:
- Agree annual and quarterly targets with the sales director and set individual targets
- Recruit, onboard and train sales representatives; allocate territories and accounts fairly
- Coach each seller through observed calls, deal reviews and fortnightly one-to-ones
- Monitor activity, conversion and results; manage performance and recognise success
- Run weekly pipeline reviews and produce a monthly forecast
- Identify and pursue new business opportunities and monitor competitors
- Report results, forecasts and market intelligence to senior management
Person specification: see the essential and desirable criteria above, with the assessment method for each.
We provide: [Base salary and commission or bonus, with the structure stated], [car allowance], CRM and sales enablement tools, management training, and a route to regional or head of sales.
State the team size, the target, the pay structure and whether the manager carries a personal quota. Our job description template explains the overall structure.
Common mistakes in sales manager job adverts
Promoting the seller, not the manager. "Achieve sales targets" as duty one attracts people who want to keep selling. Put coaching and team results first.
Pay structure hidden. Base, commission, bonus and what they are calculated on decide who applies.
Personal quota unstated. A player-manager and a pure manager are different jobs.
No numbers. Team size, territory and target tell a candidate what they are taking on.
No management training. New sales managers fail for lack of coaching skill, not lack of product knowledge. Say what you provide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the job specification of a sales manager?
The job description and person specification together. The job description states the purpose and duties: set strategy and targets, build and allocate the team, coach, manage performance, run the pipeline and forecast, find new business and report. The person specification lists the essential and desirable experience, skills and qualifications and how each is assessed.
What is a sales manager job summary?
A one-paragraph statement of the role: the sales manager leads a team of sales representatives to its targets, recruits, trains and coaches them, allocates territories and accounts, manages performance, develops the sales strategy, finds new business and reports results and forecasts to senior management.
What are the job duties of a sales manager?
Seven core duties: set strategy and targets, build and allocate the team, coach and give feedback, manage performance and motivation, run the pipeline and forecast, find new business, and report to senior managers. The National Careers Service lists the day-to-day tasks behind them.
What skills does a sales manager need?
Coaching, fairness in allocating territories and leads, forecast discipline, hiring judgement, calm under target pressure and commercial sense, on top of the selling, communication and leadership skills the National Careers Service lists.
What qualifications does a sales manager need?
None are required. Most come up through selling. Degrees in any subject with a graduate sales scheme, the level 4 sales executive apprenticeship and the level 6 business to business sales professional degree apprenticeship are the usual formal routes in England.
What is the difference between a sales manager and a sales representative?
A sales representative sells to customers and is measured on their own results. A sales manager leads a team of representatives and is measured on the team's results, through hiring, coaching, allocation, performance management and forecasting.
Your next step
- Write the job summary paragraph with the team size, target and market in it.
- Put coaching and team results ahead of personal selling in the duties.
- Build the person specification, challenge each essential and add an assessment method.
- Agree the first quarter's measures: team attainment, forecast accuracy, pipeline coverage.
For writing those measures, read and download our SMART goals guide. The guide is free to read, and the PDF uses our short download form.
Want team targets, one-to-ones and coaching notes for every seller in one place? Book a New Dynamics demo and bring your current job description. You can also email contact@new-dynamics.com.
