Building a sales team? A good place to start is by learning the different sales job titles and what responsibilities are generally associated with each role. The number of sales positions that you choose to offer at your business will depend on the size of your organization as well as the number of services or products you offer. Some of these sales jobs will be more common than others, but this list is a good starting point for understanding exactly what roles are needed at your company.
[Read more: What Is the Difference Between Sales and Marketing And Why You Need to Know]
Director of sales
At a small business, the director of sales is usually the most senior-level salesperson. Large enterprises will sometimes have a vice president of sales or a chief sales officer who sits above the director of sales in the hierarchy.
A director of sales or national sales director is responsible for working with sales managers to determine sales objectives, forecasts and quotas. This person will be responsible for the performance of the sales team. Sometimes, their compensation is tied to sales performance. She or he will also play a role in hiring and budgeting; because the director of sales oversees efforts to meet and exceed sales goals, this person will be involved in all aspects of running the sales team. According to data from Glassdoor, the national average base pay for a director of sales is $109,477.
[Read more: Executive Job Titles: What Do They Mean?]
Regional sales manager
Many enterprises structure their sales team by geography and location. This means there will be certain members of the sales team dedicated to reaching new clients and serving existing ones in a particular territory. Depending on the size of your business, you could have a national director, four (or more) regional managers and teams of account managers assigned to each region. Smaller businesses keep it simple with one sales director, one (or more) sales managers and a few account managers.
The outside sales representative spends a lot of time “in the field,” going to conferences and meeting with prospective clients to pitch your company, though this role is becoming increasingly virtual.
The regional sales manager is in charge of overseeing sales managers at multiple locations in the same territory. “This individual can be expected to travel frequently to stores or offices in the region to work closely with individual sales managers. They help implement corporate-wide sales plans and make sure they are being followed and that sales goals are being reached at each location,” explained The Balance.
Compensation for a regional sales manager, according to Salary.com, ranges between $94,000 and $130,000.
Inside and outside sales representatives
An inside sales representative is someone who takes walk-in clients or answers phone calls from prospective clients. Inside sales reps guide prospective new clients through the sales process using video, phone calls and email, and they typically deal with clients who find your business of their own accord and reach out to get more information.
An outside sales representative is proactive about reaching out to prospective leads. This person actively seeks new clients by visiting them personally, calling them or networking. The outside sales representative spends a lot of time “in the field,” going to conferences and meeting with prospective clients to pitch your company, though this role is becoming increasingly virtual.
Account manager
An account manager takes over once the sales team has identified a new client. This person is tasked with bringing the new client on board and retaining their business. An account manager uses in-depth knowledge of the product or service to build a relationship with the client and ensure customer satisfaction. Sometimes, account managers participate in upselling—introducing new or additional products and services to the existing client. Each account manager may manage more than one client, depending on how extensive your sales network is. The average national salary for a sales account manager is around $60,000 per year.
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