Sales manager
The person who answers for the result of the whole department, their own sales included.
In plain words
A sales manager, or head of sales, answers for what the whole department sells. That result comes through the team: inquiries get answered on time, deals move forward, and the sellers get better at both. In a small company this is often the best seller, promoted, or the owner. The hardest change is to stop measuring yourself by your own sales.
The job splits into numbers, people and rules. Numbers: you read the same weekly numbers from the CRM and know what each one counts. People: you hire, train and coach the sellers and give clear tasks. Rules: you decide how inquiries are assigned, what the response standard is and what counts as a next step, so the team can work the same way when you are not there.
How to use it
Example (invented numbers): in a team of six, each day starts with ten minutes of morning checks. Then come a 30-minute team meeting and a 45-minute pipeline review. The week also holds a few one-on-ones and, on Friday, a one-page report to the owner.
The head of sales sits between the owner and the team. The owner sets goals and resources. You turn them into a plan, a forecast and a weekly rhythm, then come back with facts and open questions. Sellers get clear tasks from you, quick decisions on stuck deals and an honest reading of their numbers.
The other terms in this group meet in this role. The management rhythm is your schedule. Tasks make agreements stick. The response standard is one of the first rules you own. If you still carry a few large deals, keep them in the CRM like anyone else’s.
Common mistakes
- Staying the top seller. Closing deals yourself feels productive, but it eats the hours the team needs. Hand over your deals one at a time and keep only the ones you agreed with the owner.
- Managing by impression. Without defined numbers, every meeting turns into a trade of opinions. Agree one definition per number and read the same page each week.
- Doing the seller’s work for them. Rewriting their message or taking over the call saves one deal and teaches nothing. Ask what should be true by now, let the seller pick the step, and check it next week.
- No agreed goals with the owner. If the owner expects revenue and you work on process, you will both be disappointed. Agree two goals, for day 30 and day 90, in the owner’s own words.
Questions
What does a sales manager do?
A sales manager is responsible for the team’s result through the work of the team, not through their own sales.
NEXT STEP · TOOL
By Friday, write down how this week went in hours: your own selling, work with the team, reports and meetings. Show it to the owner next to the two goals you agreed, and ask whether the split fits them. Then pick one thing to hand over to a seller next week, and give it as a task with a name and a date.
A weekly meeting on stuck deals that ends with a decision and an owner for each.