Area Sales Manager Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of an area sales manager. Feel free to use our area sales manager job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as an area sales manager.
Who is an Area Sales Manager?
An important aspect of every business or organization is sales management; goods, products, and services need to be promoted and sold to boost the firm’s revenue. Sales have always been an art, but sales management has turned it into a science. While a salesperson concentrates on putting a product or service into a client’s hands, sales management drives an entire Salesforce to meet strategic goals that grow the wider business.
Sales management is an essential business discipline that is focused and concerned with the practical application of sales techniques, principles, and processes as well as the management of an organization’s sales operation. The concept of sales management has been adjudged to be an essential business function; since net sales through the sale of services and products and profit generated drive most commercial businesses and entities. The aforementioned constitutes the goals, endpoints, and performance indicators of sales management. Several professionals are responsible for coordinating and ensuring successful sales management; they are known as sales managers. However, unique or distinct forms of sales managers that handle sales management in specific climes exist; these individuals work in particular regions or areas and are referred to as area sales managers.
The area sales manager is an individual or group of individuals employed by enterprises and companies to generate revenue from an assigned and specific geographical location. Area sales managers implement and execute the laid down executive strategies and techniques to achieve sales goals and targets. These astutely talented individuals typically manage, lead, and direct field sales representatives amongst others. They also conduct sales territory analysis, supervise marketing procedures, and close sales. Many industries, firms, and businesses need sales teams to maximize profits; this poses difficulties for managers to cope with the demands on their own, especially in organizations and businesses with several branches and franchises. Thus, they recruit, hire, and assign area sales managers to different areas and regions.
Being a sales manager is enthralling, fulfilling, and challenging since it may require relocation to a different and new environment. However, the positives outwit the negatives; you at least get to enhance the company’s sales, products, and services as an area sales manager. In other words, an area sales manager is responsible for overseeing the sales operation of an organization in a particular geographical location or clime. The demanding aspect of the role of an area sales manager involves working extra hours, working weekends, and working in unfamiliar territories. Although area sales managers are predominantly office-based, they tend to travel and visit head offices, sales teams, and customers. They attend trade fairs, conferences, exhibitions, workshops, seminars, and other developmental and promotional events to increase and fortify their organization’s sales operations.
Additionally, an area sales manager tracks, records, and monitors the sales team within a region; this may range from a small remote area to a large metropolitan town or city. An area sales manager also travels across the region to meet with other sales managers and different sales teams to plan new sales goals and measure growth. The area sales manager not only makes sales and secures new customers but also supports and motivates sales teams in the particular area to stimulate target realization and ensure remarkable business growth. Furthermore, an area sales manager conducts regular analysis and surveys of sales territories to make changes and adjustments when required. They also interview and hire new staff to join the sales team and make sure employees adhere to and follow the firm’s policies and procedures. While assigning sales territories and quotas to teams, the area sales manager concurrently develops and implements standards for quality of service, productivity, and customer service.
In contrast to other managers in sales management, an area sales manager conducts sales forecasts to determine the business’s financial objectives and target market for services, goods, and other products. These professionals prepare and submit annual budgets that provide details of expenditure and profits to senior management for scrutiny and approval. Area sales managers secure sales contracts in a particular area through calls, arranged meetings, and emails respectively; also, they build and maintain a strong and positive working relationship with potential and current customers to create an atmosphere that enhances sales. As part of their tasks, most area sales managers provide coaching and mentorship to address employee inability, elaborate on the unique features of a product or service, conduct research to ascertain trending customer requirements, and identify new product or service opportunities.
Sometimes, an area sales manager acts as middle management staff and handles high-level issues related to making sales, running stores, and measuring growth in a particular area. They serve as liaisons between employees involved in completing sales procedures and organizational management or executives. When setting and drafting budgets in a location, the area sales managers consider and use a rubric that includes reports on past expenses, profitability, and projected sales for the business period. They focus on workflows that can lead to the greatest and optimum return of investment and contribute to the long-term growth and vision of the company. An integral part of the responsibilities of an area manager is they ensure that the business’s brand and quality are consistent across all stores and branches under their jurisdiction. They develop plans and strategies to resolve and address discrepancies between locations. An area sales manager can advance or progress to a higher position after successful years of service, advanced educational attainment, and increased experience.
Area Sales Manager Job Description
Below are the area sales manager job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write an area sales manager job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The role of an area sales manager is vital to the success of a firm’s sales unit. Though every organization may vary, some general tasks and duties will be required of an area sales manager. At times, individuals often wonder,” what does an area sales manager do? How exciting or not are the day-to-day activities of an area sales manager?” Well, area sales managers ensure the smooth running and functioning of stores in an assigned region. The job description below shows the major tasks, duties, and responsibilities most employers assign to area sales managers to complete;
- Train, guide, and provide developmental opportunities for staff members and sales teams of an assigned territory.
- Ensure and promote consistency of quality of products and services in a particular area.
- Constantly communicate with vendors, clients, and customers.
- Maximize profit and sales across stores in the assigned terrain.
- Monitor and assess the performance of assigned stores using a performance evaluation rubric.
- Set reasonable sales targets for individual stores in the assigned area.
- Motivate sales teams to meet or exceed sales targets.
- Collect customer feedback and report to senior executives and management.
- Use phone calls, arranged meetings, and emails to close sales.
- Travel to meet current and potential clients within the assigned clime to present company offerings and increase brand awareness.
- Create and implement a sales management procedure to aid sales teams to identify and prioritize key customers and prospects.
- Sustain, develop, and build long-term relationships with customers and specialists in the sector.
- Establish, maintain, and expand the company’s customer base in a particular area.
- Achieve and reach the sales goals and targets for the assigned region.
- Allocate areas individually or collectively to sales representatives.
- Recruit, train, and mobilize new sales staff.
- Monitor and evaluate the sales team’s performance.
- Keep up to date with products, trends, and competitors.
- Utilize business intelligence tools to provide sales insights to sales and marketing staff.
- Identify both struggling and burgeoning sales initiatives and suggest ways to improve on sales metrics.
- Review sales policies and update policies and curriculum where necessary.
- Ensure sales personnel in the assigned terrain adhere to organizational regulations, policies, and rules.
- Develop and implement standards for productivity, customer service, and quality of service.
- Prepare and submit budgets to senior management for approval.
- Analyze and interpret sales records and customers’ accounts.
- Support store managers with their daily activities and operations.
- Address potential problems and complaints and recommend prompt solutions.
- Participate in decisions for expansion, acquisition, and franchising. Determine the company’s gross profit and annual unit plans in the territory.
- Maintain technical, developmental, and professional knowledge by participating in professional societies, reviewing professional publications, and establishing personal and professional networks.
- Stay current with economic indicators, changing trends, supply and demand, and competitors to maintain sales volume and product mix.
- Document customer interactions and keep data related to accounts, activities, and partners in the assigned territory.
Qualifications
Area sales managers come with different qualifications and credentials. In addition, their end-products may range from software to hardware to service delivery. Throughout this diversity, some key unifying themes and cogs have emerged as common qualification requirements of successful area sales managers. If you are gunning for the position of an area sales manager and are looking for specific qualification requirements employers and recruiters look for, follow the list below to start and enjoy a successful career in sales management;
Education and training: An area manager should possess a Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communication, business, and other related fields. Other relevant disciplines include economics, management, and accounting. A master’s degree in the aforementioned fields is desirable by most organizations and hiring managers. However, some employers and industries prefer a master’s of business administration. The individual will be mandated to undergo training organized and provided by the company to be suitable for the position of area sales manager.
Experience: A 1-5 years of experience as a sales representative is an added advantage; most employers favor candidates with relative working experience in a sales team as well. For more lucrative roles, the applicant must present a proven record of excellence in sales and reaching targets; a verifiable previous sales management experience is desirable. In some sectors and industries like information technology or engineering, expert market knowledge gained from experience in design and manufacturing is preferred. Similarly, experience in analyzing performance indicators including KPI and ROI is a bonus.
Professional certification: Relevant work-based and professional certifications are also required. The aspiring area sales manager must present qualifications in sales and marketing from professional entities such as the chartered institute of marketing, the institute of sales and marketing management, and the managing and marketing sales association.
Essential skills
Whether you just received a promotion to an area sales manager position or have aspirations of becoming an area sales manager, there are certain skills you need to cultivate and hone to further achieve your goals. These skills consist of technical and professional abilities that enable area sales managers to guide their sales teams successfully. By reviewing the beneficial area sales manager skills, you can decipher the areas to focus and improve on to maximize your position. Enumerated below are some benefits of area sales manager skills;
- These skills enable area sales managers to maintain effective leadership within the assigned location.
- Helps them overcome department problems and challenges.
- Ensures the area sales manager is updated on current sales trends.
- Enables them to inspire and motivate the sales team.
Mental agility: This is an important skill for area sales managers. Regardless of the performance of their teams (whether underperforming or over-performing), successful area sales managers shouldn’t get stuck in a rut. Instead, they must be willing to experiment with new strategies or revert to old techniques and procedures in a constant re-optimization.
Accountability skills: An area sales manager must be accountable concerning sales numbers on behalf of the sales department. This is an essential skill common in good leaders. In addition, the area sales manager should bear the brunt of errors and the inability to meet sales goals and targets. Accountability skills help to promote positive and healthy relationships between area sales managers and the sales teams.
Goal orientation skills: A crucial skill for an area sales manager is goal orientation. A goal-oriented area sales manager is often associated with success. They achieve and set realistic and strategic sales goals for the team that aligns with the company’s vision and targets.
Proactivity: The area sales manager must be proactive enough to identify potential sales leads before their competitors in the assigned region. By being proactive, the area sales managers maximize their unit’s sales opportunities and instill values in the sales team.
Creative- thinking: Creative thinking is the process of developing unique ideas to apply to different situations or solve problems. An area sales manager will surely benefit from having creative-thinking skills; it enables them to develop brilliant sales pitch ideas. Creative-thinking skills are also important when brainstorming ways to sell products and services.
Additional area sales manager skills include interpersonal communication, company product knowledge, self-discipline, customer service skills, computer knowledge, and planning and organizational skills.
How to Become an Area Sales Manager
Here are some important steps to follow to become an area sales manager;
- Earn a bachelor’s degree in business, management, marketing, finance, economics, and other related fields.
- Update your credentials.
- Apply for salesperson role and gain early work experience
- Understand what makes an effective area sales manager.
- Take on more responsibility and learn how to be a team player.
- Earn a master’s degree preferably a Master of Business Administration.
- Enroll in a mentorship program and find a great mentor.
- Consider professional certification online or on-site and build your professional network.
- Develop a positive work reputation by working hard and showing positivity always.
- Develop, harness, and hone area sales managers’ and technical skills.
- Seek advancement within and outside the company by applying for advertised area sales manager roles.
Where to Work
Area sales managers have a lot of responsibilities that may include traveling to national, state, regional, and local offices to boost sales. Hence, several businesses and organizations tend to recruit area sales managers to help build their brands in different regions. Some examples of employers of area sales managers include;
- Scientific, professional, and technical institutions.
- Wholesale and retail organizations.
- Manufacturing firms.
- Finance and insurance companies.
- Business corporations.
Area Sales Manager Salary Scale
The median annual salary of an area sales manager in the United States of America is 132,290USD. The median represents the point in which half the workers in area sales management earn more than the specified amount and the other half earn below it. The lowest and highest salary percentile is 63,170USD and 208,000USD respectively. However, this salary may vary based on the area sales manager’s level of experience, location, education, and the specific employer. Relatively, area sales managers in the United Kingdom earn an average salary of 38,352GBP per year. However, most employers in Britain earn additional perks and bonuses to cover health, holidays, and transportation.
