Sales Managers
Overview
Salary
Demand
Core Tasks
Technology Skills
Tools Used
Top 10 Knowledge Required
Top 10 Skills
Top 10 Abilities
Top 10 Work Activities
Detailed Work Activities
Work Context
Education
Majors
Interests
Top 10 Work Styles
Work Values
Related Careers
Overview
Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Experience
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Education
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Examples
Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include real estate brokers, sales managers, database administrators, graphic designers, chemists, art directors, and cost estimators.
Plan, direct, or coordinate the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer. Coordinate sales distribution by establishing sales territories, quotas, and goals and establish training programs for sales representatives. Analyze sales statistics gathered by staff to determine sales potential and inventory requirements and monitor the preferences of customers.
Salary Salary
Salary at 10th Percentile: $63K
Salary at 25th Percentile: $89K
Median Salary: $132K
Salary at 75th Percentile: $185K
Salary at 90th Percentile: $208K
Demand
Core Tasks
Direct and coordinate activities involving sales of manufactured products, services, commodities, real estate or other subjects of sale.
Confer with potential customers regarding equipment needs and advise customers on types of equipment to purchase.
Resolve customer complaints regarding sales and service.
Review operational records and reports to project sales and determine profitability.
Oversee regional and local sales managers and their staffs.
Determine price schedules and discount rates.
Monitor customer preferences to determine focus of sales efforts.
Prepare budgets and approve budget expenditures.
Assess marketing potential of new and existing store locations, considering statistics and expenditures.
Direct, coordinate, and review activities in sales and service accounting and record-keeping, and in receiving and shipping operations.
Plan and direct staffing, training, and performance evaluations to develop and control sales and service programs.
Visit franchised dealers to stimulate interest in establishment or expansion of leasing programs.
Direct clerical staff to keep records of export correspondence, bid requests, and credit collections, and to maintain current information on tariffs, licenses, and restrictions.
Advise dealers and distributors on policies and operating procedures to ensure functional effectiveness of business.
Confer or consult with department heads to plan advertising services and to secure information on equipment and customer specifications.
Direct foreign sales and service outlets of an organization.
Represent company at trade association meetings to promote products.
Technology Skills
Technology
Example
Hot Technology
Tools Used
Tool
Example
Top 10 Knowledge Required
Sales and Marketing
94%
Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Customer and Personal Service
90%
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
English Language
87%
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Administration and Management
80%
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Education and Training
67%
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Communications and Media
64%
Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Computers and Electronics
64%
Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Mathematics
62%
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Personnel and Human Resources
61%
Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Clerical
59%
Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Top 10 Skills
Persuasion
83%
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Active Listening
80%
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking
80%
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Coordination
78%
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking
78%
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Negotiation
78%
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Reading Comprehension
78%
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Service Orientation
78%
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness
78%
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Active Learning
75%
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Top 10 Abilities
Oral Comprehension
80%
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression
80%
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Comprehension
80%
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Deductive Reasoning
78%
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Speech Clarity
78%
The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition
78%
The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written Expression
78%
The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Fluency of Ideas
75%
The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Inductive Reasoning
75%
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Problem Sensitivity
75%
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Top 10 Work Activities
Selling or Influencing Others
94%
Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
Thinking Creatively
88%
Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
87%
Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
87%
Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
87%
Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Coaching and Developing Others
86%
Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
Interacting With Computers
86%
Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Developing and Building Teams
85%
Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
Training and Teaching Others
85%
Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization
84%
Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Detailed Work Activities
Direct sales, marketing, or customer service activities.
Resolve customer complaints or problems.
Analyze financial records or reports to determine state of operations.
Supervise employees.
Determine pricing or monetary policies.
Approve expenditures.
Prepare operational budgets.
Conduct opinion surveys or needs assessments.
Evaluate employee performance.
Manage human resources activities.
Advise others on business or operational matters.
Confer with organizational members to accomplish work activities.
Represent the organization in external relations.
Advise customers on technical or procedural issues.
Evaluate potential of products, technologies, or resources.
Establish interpersonal business relationships to facilitate work activities.
Work Context
Electronic Mail
How often do you use electronic mail in this job?
Telephone
How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Contact With Others
How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
Deal With External Customers
How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?
Face-to-Face Discussions
How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Work With Work Group or Team
How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
Responsibility for Outcomes and Results
How responsible is the worker for work outcomes and results of other workers?
Coordinate or Lead Others
How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job?
Letters and Memos
How often does the job require written letters and memos?
Freedom to Make Decisions
How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?
Education
Majors
Major
Interests
Enterprising
100%
Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Conventional
67%
Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Social
53%
Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Realistic
43%
Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Artistic
29%
Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
Investigative
29%
Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Top 10 Work Styles
Initiative
96%
Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Integrity
93%
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Adaptability/Flexibility
92%
Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Dependability
92%
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Leadership
92%
Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Stress Tolerance
91%
Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Persistence
90%
Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Achievement/Effort
87%
Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Cooperation
87%
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Independence
86%
Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Work Values
Independence
81%
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Working Conditions
79%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Achievement
77%
Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Support
77%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Recognition
67%
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
Relationships
58%
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.