How to become a Sales Manager: Job description

Becoming a Sales Manager

Being a Sales Manager means managing every step of the sales process: prospecting in a competitive market, supplier management, sales strategy and customer relations.
A strong hands-on presence in the field allows Sales Managers to supervise the work of their teams and associates. They are therefore often on the road to visit the various stores or suppliers.
Sales Managers must have good interpersonal skills because they have to be available to all parties involved: management, sales reps, the marketing team, service providers/suppliers and clientele.
Sales Managers are naturally responsive and dynamic, and are motivated by challenges and growing the company.

What is a Sales Manager’s role?

First and foremost, Sales Managers manage a team of sales representatives.
They must know how to recruit, listen to their colleagues, intervene when necessary, and rally and motivate their team.
Their competitive nature motivates them to surpass themselves and to help their sales team to surpass themselves as well.
Their work is also based on the promotion of one or more departments in a store, so they plan an effective commercial strategy in conjunction with the marketing and sales teams with specific objectives: increasing awareness and turnover.
Sales Managers must also monitor this strategy, analyze its strong and weak points, and be constantly striving to optimize it in order to achieve their targets.

Where do Sales Managers work?

Sales Managers lead a team with a variable number of employees depending on the size of the stores, and can work in almost any sector of activity:

• A store
• A franchise of stores
• A service provider

The possibilities for promotion are: commercial director or sales director.

What qualities should a Sales Manager have?

In addition to being dynamic and possessing strong interpersonal skills, Sales Managers must be able to:

• Anticipate and respond quickly
• Listen to their team
• Be innovative
• Have a unifying approach

What salary do Sales Managers earn?

Sales Manager salaries range from an average of €25,000 gross per year for beginners to over €60,000 gross per year for more experienced sales managers.
They may receive bonuses for meeting sales targets.

Which qualifications are required to become a Sales Manager?

Become a Sales Manager in 3 years, with the ESDES Lyon Business School's Global Business Development Bachelor.

In addition to the basic principles of management and business management, you will develop the skills necessary for a career in sales or entrepreneurship: business creation or acquisition.

Development of innovation projects, new products, services, expansion of new activities in new markets, establishment in new locations.

This course is available in work-study format.