"Behind every great sales team is a great sales manager."
Okay, that's not how the quote goes, but it's true: finding the right sales manager to guide your sales team is vital if you want to ensure the long-term success of your company. To do that, you need a candidate who's great at goal-setting, team leading and mentoring, strategizing, and empathy. And that's just the tip of the iceberg!
Responsibilities for a sales manager role vary from field to field, but there is some overlap. A good sales manager often creates sales quotas and plans, defines sales territories, builds on the data, and guides their direct reports to ensure they meet their quotas. Meanwhile, a great sales manager keeps their finger on the pulse of your customers and sales team alike, with the long-term goal of truly setting your company up for success.
Does sorting through a stack of sales cover letters seem like finding a needle in a haystack? It doesn't have to be! BeamJobs is here with the advice and tips you need to onboard the right talent to your organization, starting with three sample sales manager job descriptions.
Job details: "Strength lies in differences, not in similarities."
Hi, we're ThePeople, and our mission is to provide software that streamlines the HR process and helps you onboard the best talent. From AI-powered recruiting to automated payroll to overall HR management, we help companies centrally manage all their employee data. The result? HR teams can focus on what's most important: creating a diverse company culture and supercharging overall productivity.
ThePeople's vision has resonated across the country over the last 13 years. With an increase in demand, we're looking for a sales manager at our new Boston office to help us focus on penetrating the East Coast SMB space, emphasizing financial and accounting companies. It's a tall order to fill, but the opportunities and benefits are virtually endless. Ready to work hard, play hard?
What you'll do:
Who you are:
What we offer:
About the company: At ThePeople, our focus and mission are in our name. Creating better organizations with a solid people-centric work culture is our passion. We've helped over 12,000 companies across the country focus on their people by empowering them to step away from their admin work.
We started with a half-dozen folks and a bold vision in an LA co-working space. Fast forward to 13 years and 3 rounds of funding later, and we've now expanded to 5 locations across the country with over 130 employees, and no plans of slowing down! Want to learn more? Email us at hello@thepeople.com. Better yet, pay us a visit and see ThePeople mission in practice!
Job details: bSocial is the leading social suite and digital intelligence platform that helps the world's most successful brands stay ahead of the curve by better engaging with their customers with data-driven community management. We provide unmatched consumer insight, brand monitoring, content creation and scheduling, and customer engagement services, so you can best protect your brand image. Hello, rockstar social strategy!
Last year, we went public on the NYSE and haven't stopped growing since! That's why we're on the hunt for a sales manager in inside sales, reporting to our sales director, to help us increase our market share. You'll be overseeing the entire sales cycle run and building an inside sales team to support you in your sales outreach strategy. Up your alley? Keep reading!
Responsibilities:
Qualifications:
Benefits:
About the company: bSocial was founded by NYC-based sibling duo Janet & Siena, two millennials who grew up along with the Internet and, as communications experts, studied the adoption of social media on a corporate level. In a constantly evolving world, we believe brands need to work harder than ever to meaningfully connect with their customer; bSocial makes it easy with our world-class social intelligence tools.
Even better, we make sure our people fit: our executive team is made up of a diverse, smart group of people. We're a creative and curious bunch, collectively obsessed with finding the best way to forge genuine connections in an increasingly digital world.
So why not say hey? Drop us an email, tweet, or DM. Better yet, swing by one of our offices in Seattle, Chicago, NYC, Houston, or Miami, and let's bSocial!
Job details: When you hear the name Billy Ford, you think of innovative, high-quality tools. Since 1825, we've been offering not only reliable and traditional tools for personal, commercial, and industrial needs but also reimagining the tools we use with more creative approaches grounded in timeless function.
So whether you're a contractor building the next Golden Gate Bridge or a dad tinkering on a new dining table, Billy Ford's provides the tools and infrastructure systems necessary to work better, safer, and more sustainably.
We're on the lookout for someone based near San Francisco to build a team of sales professionals, create an ambitious growth strategy for the West Coast, and bring in new business. Ready to take your sales career to a new level in a fast-paced organization? Welcome to Billy Ford's.
Responsibilities:
Qualifications:
Benefits:
About the company: Unforgettable brands, a rich history, and game-changing automated machinery innovation are just a few of the ways you might describe Billy Ford's. Starting in a tiny hardware shop in Albany, New York, Billy Ford sold bolts, nails, and other high-quality tools to the local community. Years later, his name is on millions of tools used by inventors and builders everywhere.
At Billy Ford's, we offer practical tools and services that make the lives of our customers easier while constantly innovating and pushing the limits of what's possible. Nearly 200 years later, we're one of the world's largest tools, storage, and engineering systems providers. Most importantly: we do this all while continually achieving sustainable growth through our circular economy—the Billy Ford way.
Have you ever been flipping through TV channels and randomly landed on a movie that looks promising but started 45 minutes ago? It's probably hard to get a good idea about the main characters, the conflict, or even what's going on.
That same feeling of disorientation is what your potential applicants might feel if you don't take the time to write an unforgettable sales manager job description. It might not seem that difficult to do, but it could be harder than you think!
For example, in our research, we came across dozens of job descriptions listing nothing more than the responsibilities or qualifications necessary, with no information about the company! Cryptic, much?
Perhaps even worse, you'd be surprised how many job descriptions' "About Us" sections were nothing more than corporate jargon and empty buzzwords. (No, saying that you're an "innovative company transforming how we use technology" is not a substitute for telling the readers who you are).
From qualification sections so long you could print them out on a double-sided A4 to companies forgetting to tell readers what's in it for them, there are a lot of ways you can alienate great talent before they even give you a chance. We're here to make sure that doesn't happen.
All good stories make sure their characters have a motivation or a drive. There needs to be a reason the characters do what they do, no matter how emotional or illogical. In that same line of thinking, you need to clarify to your potential applicants why you need a new sales manager.
Are you expanding to new regions? Do you need to unify your sales team and have someone provide focus as you continue to grow? Tell your readers what pain point they can solve from the get-go, so they can instantly assess if the opening is a good match for them.
Research shows that it's important to write your job description to convey the values, skills, or attitudes you want your new sales manager to have. That way, you can ensure your vacancy text is resonating with the right people. For example:
By taking a few minutes to answer these kinds of questions, you can convey a solid message to attract the right people for your vacancy.
Remember that double-sided A4 sheet of qualifications we mentioned earlier? You don't want to have that, trust us. When listing requirements, it's important to stick to the essentials.
Ideally, sales managers are further along in their career and likely have picked up on various hard and soft skills, so there is no need to list them all. Instead, ask yourself what's a must-have and what's a nice-to-have. If it's essential, write it down. You can probably skip it if it can be learned on the job.
That said, it's okay to include some preferred skills. These aren't necessary but may help you quickly determine who could be a standout candidate. The aim is to avoid writing a lengthy job description that'll put off potential candidates.
Once you've finished with your draft, make sure you revise it once and then again! Keep an eye out for grammar, spelling, tone, and consistency. Is there enough info? Is it not too long? (We'd say try to keep it under 500-600 words).
After you've gone through the job description multiple times, have another pair of eyes look at it, like someone from the sales team. After that, preview the final version before it goes out, and then hit submit! Voila, you're done!
Procrastinating on your job description because you don't know how to start? Here's an outline you can easily follow to get the best sales manager resumes pouring in.
Job details: Consider this your 30-second pitch. This is where you need to provide a high-level overview about quite a few things, all in a paragraph or two. Use this section to introduce the reader to your company, what the role involves, and why you're on the hunt for a sales manager.
This section should allow readers to make a snap decision on whether or not the vacancy is right for them. If it's not clear, you'll need to rewrite it. While this is an important section, make sure to keep it concise. Consider it a teaser: if people want more, they can keep reading or look you up.
What you'll be doing/Roles/Responsibilities/Requirements: It's essential to include this section. While it seems like a no-brainer, it's not unusual to see companies gloss over the day-to-day requirements. Yes, there's some overlap in what sales managers do, but this is where you make it unique, so readers see what's special about your particular role.
Qualifications: Not everyone's the right fit for the job. The qualifications let applicants know what hard and soft skills are needed to land an interview, like CRM experience or strong verbal negotiation skills. Don't list every qualification that comes to mind; just put down the essentials. After all, a lot can be learned on the job.
Benefits: At the end of the day, it's essential to answer a question on your future sales managers' minds: "What's in it for me?" Use this section to provide any company perks and a salary range. Even if it's broad, it's good to promote transparency and offer readers a ballpark range of what they could earn, saving both parties valuable time.
About the company: It's easy to wax poetic about the product or service your new sales manager will be working with, but don't forget to give them some insight into who you are as a company. Keep it short and sweet, though.
Use this section to clue them in on your company's personality or values, as opposed to a long-winded written history about all of your organization's achievements. Creativity and brevity are key!
A great sales manager wears many hats. There's a little bit of marketing, product development, customer service, and coaching thrown in there, to name a few. Not only do they need to help steer the direction of your company's (product/service) growth, they often have a team of direct reports to manage. It can be a sizable undertaking, but the right candidate can handle it.
Below, we've provided some of the most common functions a sales manager might fulfill. Of course, they may not have to deal with them all, but they'll likely have to juggle at least a few.
Data Analyst
Recruiter
Mentor/Coach
Negotiator
Researcher