How to Hire Your Next Sales Manager By Dimitrios Shistohilis


Are you looking to augment your sales division by hiring a manager? Many companies do not place enough emphasis on the matter.
How structured is your sales division? Obviously, the sales department is a major component of your structure, but not many people orchestrate their department well. Many obstacles arise within a sales division involving transition, hiring, promoting, etc. It is important for a company to know how to efficiently hire a sales manager in order to promote the sales department’s success. The following article is structured to help your business hire the right sales manager for your department and your company.


Managing vs. Selling

It happens often in business - companies promote top producers. A company may promote a top salesperson to a management position and find the move does not work well for the business. Some salespeople (despite how well they perform at sales) are not fit to be managers. This puts pressure on the employee to perform in relation to previous capacities and puts the business at a disadvantage by having someone performing a job that is not a good fit for them.

A company must decide on the manager’s role in relation to the rest of the company. If they want a manager with strong sales experience, then hiring in-house, and promoting a salesperson may be the best approach. If a company will rely on the sales manager heavily to fulfill executive duties, then hiring someone with managerial experience might be better.

Who will be the role of the sales manager?

As referenced in the previous section, a company will have to decide on the role of the sales manager. Some companies will have their sales department already well-structured. This means that the manager will have a more hands-on approach towards the sales team and would benefit from having sales experience. Some companies will look to their managers to implement new ideas and play a larger executive role in the company. This means a company will have to find a person that has experience being an executive. Thinking ahead will help your company better fill the position. First assess what duties and characteristics will ideally define the manager, and then find the candidate that best matches the predetermined standards.
Be wary of titles
‘Titles’ can be very ambiguous and misleading. For instance, a “vice president” of one company can have the same impact on the company and executive responsibility as the “sales manager” of another; yet, most peoples’ perceptions will lead them to believe that the former gets paid more, has a senior-level position, and makes more decisions for the company. Clients will be impressionable in relation to a title.

Job candidates will also pay attention to titles. Your “sales manager” position may be one of high prestige and salary, but top candidates may become disinterested because the title lacks intrigue and connotes less responsibility.

The process of choosing

An interviewee for a management position will have experience in interviewing- both as an interviewee and interviewer. They will know what to say and how to say it. It is suggested to make interviews short and then narrow the process down to a few candidates. Make the final candidates compose a written business plan based on an issue that will be highly pertinent to the position. A written business plan serves many purposes in deciding on a candidate:

- You will be able to see how the candidate communicates in written form
- You will see that the candidate knows what the job entails
- You will be able to see how the candidate will use their resources
- You will see how a candidate can meet a deadline and follow directions