Sales management is the process of developing a sales force. Coordinating sales operations and implementing sales techniques that allow a business to consistently hit, and even surpass, its sales targets.
If your business brings in any revenue at all, a sales management strategy is an absolute must. When it comes to managing sales and boosting; sales performance for any size of operation, no matter the industry. The secret to success is always precise sales management processes. This starts with a great sales manager who knows how to inspire and lead a sales department.
Besides helping your company reach its sales objectives. The sales management system allows you to stay in tune with your industry as it grows; and can be the difference between surviving and flourishing in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Whether you’re an experienced or new sales manager, you should be able to evaluate and gain visibility into your current sales force with the following guide to sales management.
Once you have a clear picture of what processes to monitor and how to keep track of them, you’ll be equipped to pinpoint issues early on; coach people before it’s too late, and have a better overview of the tasks the team should be doing to increase its sales.
If you’re a sales rep who happened to stumble upon this guide out of curiosity, you’re already winning.
What is a Sales Manager?
The first place to start when answering the question “What is sales management” is understanding the role of a sales manager. A great sales manager is the person who guides your salespeople and is responsible for:
- Setting sales goals and quotas
- Motivating and mentoring the team
- Creating sales plans and workflows
- Hiring and onboarding new hires
- Organizing sales training programs
- CRM and pipeline management
- Ensuring coordination with the sales enablement and marketing teams
- Overall team management
These are just some of the responsibilities in a sales manager’s job description. Let’s focus on three of the most important tasks a good sales manager excels at: building the team, defining the sales process and reporting.
Who Benefits from Sales Management?
Sales management in practice positively affects everyone involved in the sales cycle.
The more mature your sales process is and the more the sales manager adapts and improves it over time, the more likely your team will achieve top performance.
In the same way that we’ve outlined the three aspects of sales management; there are three key stakeholders involved with the sales management process: the sales manager, salesperson and customer.
Sales Manager
A sales manager is someone who directs an organization’s sales team, oversees its processes, and is typically in charge of talent development and leadership.
Clarity and scope is essential to sales managers, as they typically need to oversee planning and execution of company wide targets. Having an effective management process will allow them to drive their company forward. They’ll have a clearer vision of where they stand amongst their competition and know how to stay ahead of the competition.
Salesperson
A salesperson represents their company and is in direct contact with potential customers whether in person or over the phone or solely online. Salespeople typically report to and work closely with their sales managers on performance goals.
Sales is tough; to succeed you need to be able to engage your current base while also expanding your reach. Like the sales manager, scope and clarity via effective sales management boosts confidence and will give the salesperson better visibility of their work. If you’re a business owner, consider investing in sales training for every member of your sales team; it’ll pay off in the long run.
Customer
The customer will inevitably have a better experience and be more inclined to benefit from your company and purchase your product or services with an effective sales management process. They may even spread the word, which means more business for you and more social proof for future prospects.
With all of these parts working well together, a company can set themselves up for success, especially against their competitors.
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Source(s): https://www.pipedrive.com/
