What Does a Sales Manager Do and What Is Their Role in the Company?

Who Is a Sales Manager or Sales Director?

A sales manager—or head of sales—is an experienced salesperson who oversees the entire sales team and is responsible for its performance.

In English, this position is typically referred to as a sales director or sales manager. In the Czech context, the titles obchodní ředitel (sales director) and obchodní manažer (sales manager) often mean the same thing, though in some companies the director holds a higher rank than the manager—it depends on the company’s hierarchy.

Despite the difference in titles, the roles are similar: both are leaders of the sales team, setting strategy and sales goals, and ensuring that the team follows through on them.

Sales Manager Job Description

A sales manager is responsible for the sales team and the achievement of sales goals. Specifically, this means:

• setting the sales strategy and ensuring it is followed,
• planning sales targets and being accountable for team performance,
• leading the sales team, training, motivating, and evaluating salespeople,
• establishing and updating sales processes,
• maintaining relationships with VIP clients and key partners—typically with the help of a CRM system that stores all relevant information,
• representing the company,
• developing major business opportunities.
  
  

If you want to learn how to work with a CRM system, try it out first. Most CRM providers offer a free trial version for a limited time.

Sales Manager Salary

Like many other sales roles, a sales manager’s salary typically consists of two parts—a fixed base and a variable component based on sales performance. It largely depends on the manager’s abilities, but on average, they earn around CZK 60,000 gross per month.

What Is the Role of a Sales Manager?

A sales manager operates at the intersection of sales and leadership. They need to excel at both—managing sales and leading the sales team.

They are responsible for both the team’s successes and failures. To ensure that sales reps perform at their best and remain satisfied, the sales manager must be a strong leader. That means:

• fostering good relationships within the team
• guiding the team toward top results,
• recruiting new team members and onboarding them,
• training existing salespeople.

What Should a Sales Manager Be Like?

As you can see, a sales manager has many tasks and significant responsibility. To succeed in this role, they need to:

• be detail-oriented and persistent,
• have strong communication skills,
• be decisive and skilled in negotiation,
• be capable of assessing risks,
• be a strong leader who can inspire their sales team,
• maintain a positive attitude and be a good listener.

Hard and Soft Skills Every Sales Manager Should Have