What does a sales manager do?
A sales manager leads the sales team, sets revenue goals, manages pipelines, and ensures consistent performance. They coach team members, forecast results, and develop sales strategies to achieve company growth targets.
What are the key skills to assess while looking for a sales manager?
- Leadership & Coaching: Inspiring teams and building high-performance culture.
- Forecasting & Planning: Setting realistic goals and aligning sales with demand.
- Pipeline Management: Tracking opportunities, conversion rates, and deal velocity.
- Negotiation & Closing: Supporting reps with deal strategy and pricing.
- Communication: Keeping alignment across Sales, Marketing, and Operations.
- Data Analysis: Understanding KPIs and using CRM insights for decision-making.
- Recruiting & Onboarding: Hiring, training, and ramping up top performers.
- Change Management: Adapting sales processes during growth or restructuring.
What are the KPIs for a sales manager?
To measure success effectively, tie performance metrics to revenue generation, team efficiency, and customer impact.
- Revenue Growth % / Quota Attainment %
- Pipeline Coverage Ratio / Conversion Rate %
- Sales Forecast Accuracy %
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
- Sales Cycle Length / Average Deal Size
- Rep Ramp-Up Time / Rep Retention Rate
- Lead-to-Opportunity and Opportunity-to-Close Ratio
- Win Rate / Loss Rate
- Upsell and Cross-Sell Revenue %
- Customer Retention Rate / Repeat Purchase %
