In order for every business to succeed there comes a time when you have to increase or decrease your staff to fit the needs of the organization. Basic management 101 teaches us that one person can most effectively manage no more than five people directly. For this reason it is important to delegate responsibilities among your staff as your organization grows, or to fuel growth. In many cases, even small organizations will benefit from hiring or training a person to fulfill the position of Sales Manager to oversee the sales department, once it grows beyond the owner's capacity to manage directly (remember the 5-person rule).
The following are just a few of the responsibilities of the Sales Manager:
- Establishing goals and creating incentives to reach those goals for the sales department
- Developing, coordinating, measuring and tracking all sales sales activity, the sales funnel and forecasting sales and sales cycles over time
- Developing new sales and marketing ideas
- Managing the sales process for following up on marketing activity, including direct mail, email, event, news release and company website lead inquiries
- Training and motivating sales staff
- Participating in events such as lunch 'n learns, business breakfasts, mixers, etc. as required
- Fostering close relationships with vendors, fulfillment partners and distributors
The Sales Manager role is performance-based, just as all sales positions should be. Acquiring a seasoned Sales Manager can make it possible to initiate and realize real change in the organization in areas of growth and profitability.
When determining how you will compensate your Sales Manager you must take into consideration the time the Sales Manager will not be able to directly make sales due to managing the team, creating new sales strategies and developing relationships with vendors or other partners. You should come up with a compensation package that includes a commission for your Sales Manager based on the overall sales of the department as well as bonuses as the sales team achieves their objectives.
Does it make sense for the manager of the sales department to receive a lower compensation than any individual sales person he manages? This makes sense, as the sales person is the individual actually executing the sales activity and closing business directly with clients.
For more on the role of the Sales Manager and how to hire and compensate them for success, download some sample chapters from our best-selling The Best I.T. Sales & Marketing BOOK EVER!
Erick Simpson
MSP University
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