Field sales managers oversee outside sales representatives, set sales targets, and provide training and support. They also conduct interviews and performance reviews and have the authority to fire or reward employees. Successful sales managers can transition into executive sales roles.
Salespeople who place outside sales calls are known as field sales agents because they spend very little time working in the actual office. A field sales manager oversees a team of outside sales representatives and is responsible for ensuring that these employees achieve their personal sales goals. Generally, a field sales manager receives a base salary and commissions that depend on the revenue created by his employees’ sales results.
Many companies employ business, marketing or finance graduates to work as managers. Other companies promote experienced salespeople into management positions because these employees have hands-on experience working in the field. Every sales manager presides over sales employees working in a given district, and sales managers typically report to a general manager or executive who presides over multiple districts. Successful sales managers can transition into executive sales roles.
A field sales manager receives annual sales targets from the sales executive. The manager must break down annual targets into quarterly or monthly sales targets and, in doing so, must take into account factors such as business cycles and seasonal buying habits that often result in peak sales during certain months of the year. After dividing the company’s sales goals into short-term goals, the manager must divide the goals among the field sales employees.
The sales manager holds regular team meetings with the sales team, although managers with large territories may hold these meetings over the phone rather than in person. Company expectations for job performance are communicated at these meetings, and sales ideas and best practices are shared with salespeople. During the team meeting, the manager reviews the latest sales figures for the team as a whole, while individual sales results are usually discussed privately.
New sales staff typically receive some on-the-job training from the sales manager, which often takes the form of the field sales manager participating in sales calls for new and existing customers. Established salespeople are usually joined by the sales manager on business calls to major customers, and the manager may take the lead role in negotiations relating to major contracts. In many cases, the field sales manager has the discretion to offer discounts and price reductions to customers.
Sales vacancies are filled when the manager conducts interviews with potential job candidates. The manager also has the authority to fire employees who have performed poorly or who are not suited for the role. Managers compile reports to track each sales rep’s sales activities and results, and chair quarterly and annual performance reviews. The manager usually has the authority to grant pay raises to top performing employees and to place other employees in various forms of corrective action.
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