National Occupational Standard for Sales Manager

Definition of occupation

The Sales Manager oversees the teams responsible for generating organizational revenue through sales. They are responsible for creating and executing sales strategies, managing and developing the sales team, assigning sales territories and quotas, analyzing customer and sales data to determine opportunities and adjust sales tactics, championing technological innovation in sales, and general departmental management duties.

The Sales Manager may also be involved in managing key accounts, assisting in sales negotiations, and building strategic relationships with clients and prospective accounts.

In addition to sales, management, and business acumen, the Sales Manager must also have a deep technical understanding of the technical and scientific basis for the products or services being sold, and extensive understanding of the environment and constraints under which sales are conducted. This includes end customer requirements and constraints and the specific regulatory constraints associated with the markets in which they operate. They also act as a conduit to the business for feedback from customers that can inform adjustments to sales strategies and campaigns, influence product enhancements, and also serve as feedback loop to evaluate customer/rep relationships.

IN SOME (SMALLER) ORGANIZATIONS THE SALES MANAGER MAY ALSO PERFORM IN THE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER AND/OR MARKETING MANAGER ROLES

NOTE: The terms Marketing, Sales, and Business Development are often used interchangeably, but their purpose and processes are different:

  • Sales includes those processes directly associated with the transactions and exchange of value between the organization and its customers
  • Marketing is a strategic function that encompasses the processes involved in determining how to best leverage the capabilities of the organization in order to satisfy customer needs
  • Business Development in traditional organizations includes those processes involved in creating relationships with potential customers so that sales transactions can occur; in the bio-health/pharma and other “early stage” (pre-commercialization) environments, the role is focused on the creation and nurturing of technology partnerships, acquisition or licensing of IP, developing of relationships with funding sources, and similar activities

How to use a National Occupational Standard 

View summary of NOS profile here: Sales Manager – National Occupational Standard Summary

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