Sales Managers
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.
At a Glance
Sales Managers earns a median of $138,060/yr with +4.7% projected growth. Typical entry: Bachelor's degree. Top skills: Integrity, Dependability, Achievement Orientation.
$138,060/yr
+4.7%
49
Bachelor's degree
Skills & Requirements
Skills (19)
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.
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Knowledge (5)
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.
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.
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
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.
Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Abilities (12)
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
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).
The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Technology (39)
Category: Development environment software | Hot Technology
Category: Project management software | Hot Technology
Category: Data base user interface and query software | Hot Technology
Work Activities (28)
Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
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.
Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Recruiting, interviewing, selecting, hiring, and promoting employees in an organization.
Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Work Styles (5)
A tendency to be reliable, responsible, and consistent in meeting work-related obligations.
A tendency to establish and maintain personally challenging work-related goals, set high work-related standards, and exert high effort toward meeting those goals and standards.
A tendency to be open to and comfortable with change, new experiences, or ideas at work.
Careers with Overlapping Skills
These occupations share the most skills. A career transition between them means many of your skills transfer directly.
General and Operations Managers
Management · 265 shared skills
Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
Computer and Mathematical · 259 shared skills
Management Analysts
Business and Financial Operations · 258 shared skills
Marketing Managers
Management · 256 shared skills
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products
Sales and Related · 255 shared skills
Software Developers
Computer and Mathematical · 255 shared skills
Information Technology Project Managers
Computer and Mathematical · 254 shared skills
Computer User Support Specialists
Computer and Mathematical · 254 shared skills
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