Now, let's explore the life of a sales manager. A sales manager has a good deal of diversity in their job responsibilities, and it is a mix between working with people, numbers, and customers. On a daily basis, sales managers direct and coordinate the selling efforts of the organization, and this includes a number of activities. People. Sales people regularly interface with the sales force, as well as other managers in the firm. The sales manager is the link between the salesperson and the firm. The sales manager reports to the firm senior management, and he's responsible for the sales function. Travel. Often sales territories are geographically disperse, requiring the sales manager to travel in order to meet with the entire sales team. Selecting employees. The sales manager is responsible for keeping the sales force fully staffed, and has the primary hiring authority. Managing employees. The sales force is managed by the sales manager. This individual sets goals, evaluates performance, and remedies underperforming situations. Meetings. Most interactions with the sales force individuals, customers, and other firm managers occur in face to face or increasingly, online video meetings. Paperwork. While most sales managers consider paperwork a less desirable aspect of the job, most sales forecast, analyses, performance appraisals, and so on are paper-based, and a sales manager is tasked with creating these documents. Fire fighting. No, I don't mean fighting real fires. But often overlooked in the life of a sales manager are emergencies and crises that demand immediate action on the part of the sales manager. A sales manager has to be flexible and able to respond to day-to-day crisis. Gosh! If I had a dollar every time, an appointment that I made with a sales manager was inadvertently canceled at the last minute because they had a crisis, I'd be a really rich guy. So, you need to understand that the job of a sales manager is very day to day, is full of crises and has to be responded to. Marketing. Often a sales manager markets the firm and its products to the customers, as well as the sales force. Sales. In a sales organization, even the boss is expected to sell. Many sales managers enjoy the art of selling and are anxious to help in the selling process. Now, to bring these points to life, I'd like you to meet a real sales manager. Lee Hardesty works for a major pharmaceutical manufacturing company. Lee sat down with me, and he discussed his jobs and duties. As you view this video, see if you can identify some of the job duties that I mentioned.
