Sales Managers Occupation Details

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Sales Managers

The main tasks and work activities of Sales Managers are to resolve customer complaints or problems, conduct opinion surveys or needs assessments, direct sales, marketing, or customer service activities, determine pricing or monetary policies. In general, for the Sales Managers, persuasion, speaking, active Listening, critical Thinking and other 17 skills are required.

Sales Managers Job Description
Education	Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Related Experience	A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Job Training	Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Example	Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include real estate brokers, sales managers, database administrators, graphic designers, chemists, art directors, and cost estimators.

The following chart shows the education/training levels for Sales Managers jobs.

Less than a High School Diploma

0.00%

High School Diploma (or the equivalent)

0.00%

Post-Secondary Certificate

0.00%

Some College Courses

4.35%

Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)

13.04%

Bachelor's Degree and Above

82.61%

Tasks and Work Activities of Sales Managers

Resolve customer complaints regarding sales and service.
Monitor customer preferences to determine focus of sales efforts.
Direct and coordinate activities involving sales of manufactured products, services, commodities, real estate or other subjects of sale.
Determine price schedules and discount rates.
Review operational records and reports to project sales and determine profitability.
Direct, coordinate, and review activities in sales and service accounting and record-keeping, and in receiving and shipping operations.
Confer or consult with department heads to plan advertising services and to secure information on equipment and customer specifications.
Advise dealers and distributors on policies and operating procedures to ensure functional effectiveness of business.
Prepare budgets and approve budget expenditures.
Represent company at trade association meetings to promote products.
Plan and direct staffing, training, and performance evaluations to develop and control sales and service programs.
Visit franchised dealers to stimulate interest in establishment or expansion of leasing programs.
Confer with potential customers regarding equipment needs and advise customers on types of equipment to purchase.
Oversee regional and local sales managers and their staffs.
Direct clerical staff to keep records of export correspondence, bid requests, and credit collections, and to maintain current information on tariffs, licenses, and restrictions.
Direct foreign sales and service outlets of an organization.
Assess marketing potential of new and existing store locations, considering statistics and expenditures.

Selling or Influencing OthersConvincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
Thinking CreativelyDeveloping, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsDeveloping constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesProviding information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing WorkDeveloping specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Coaching and Developing OthersIdentifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
Interacting With ComputersUsing computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Developing and Building TeamsEncouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
Training and Teaching OthersIdentifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Communicating with Persons Outside OrganizationCommunicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.

Resolve customer complaints or problems.
Conduct opinion surveys or needs assessments.
Direct sales, marketing, or customer service activities.
Determine pricing or monetary policies.
Analyze financial records or reports to determine state of operations.
Confer with organizational members to accomplish work activities.
Advise others on business or operational matters.
Prepare operational budgets.
Approve expenditures.
Represent the organization in external relations.
Manage human resources activities.
Evaluate employee performance.
Establish interpersonal business relationships to facilitate work activities.
Advise customers on technical or procedural issues.
Supervise employees.
Evaluate potential of products, technologies, or resources.

Skills and Abilities for Sales Managers

PersuasionPersuading others to change their minds or behavior.
SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Service OrientationActively looking for ways to help people.
NegotiationBringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
CoordinationAdjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Social PerceptivenessBeing aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Complex Problem SolvingIdentifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Management of Personnel ResourcesMotivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Systems AnalysisDetermining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
InstructingTeaching others how to do something.
WritingCommunicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Systems EvaluationIdentifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
Learning StrategiesSelecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Speech ClarityThe ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Number FacilityThe ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Mathematical ReasoningThe ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
MemorizationThe ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

Desktop computerse.g. Desktop computers
Notebook computerse.g. Notebook computers
Personal computerse.g. Personal computers
Scannerse.g. Scanners
Tablet computerse.g. Tablet computers

Sales and MarketingKnowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Administration and ManagementKnowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Education and TrainingKnowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Computers and ElectronicsKnowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Communications and MediaKnowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
MathematicsKnowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Personnel and Human ResourcesKnowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Sales Managers Occupation Detailed Description

Tasks and Work Activities of Sales Managers

Skills and Abilities for Sales Managers