The Sales Manager is responsible for converting qualified opportunities into paying customers, achieving revenue targets, and leading the sales team to consistently meet or exceed performance goals. This role owns pipeline management, sales forecasting, coaching, and closing strategies while ensuring a disciplined sales process across the organization.
The Sales Manager works closely with Marketing, Customer Success, and executive leadership to improve lead conversion, accelerate revenue growth, and optimize the customer buying experience. This individual serves as both a hands-on sales leader and strategic manager, driving performance through effective coaching, forecasting, negotiation, and process improvement.
Key Responsibilities:
- Set and manage sales targets, quotas, and performance expectations.
- Recruit, develop, coach, and retain high-performing Account Executives, Sales Representatives, and Business Development Representatives.
- Conduct regular sales meetings, pipeline reviews, performance reviews, and coaching sessions.
- Develop sales methodologies, best practices, and standardized sales processes.
- Assign leads and accounts to sales representatives to maximize conversion opportunities.
- Foster a high-performance sales culture focused on accountability and results.
- Build, manage, and optimize the sales pipeline to achieve revenue objectives.
- Follow up on and qualify sales-ready leads generated by Marketing.
- Review opportunities and deal progression throughout the sales cycle.
- Manage strategic, high-value, and complex customer opportunities.
- Drive opportunities through discovery, demonstration, proposal, negotiation, and closing stages.
- Ensure consistent pipeline coverage to support revenue goals.
- Communicate directly with prospects and customers through meetings, calls, emails, presentations, and negotiations.
- Understand customer business needs, challenges, buying processes, and decision criteria.
- Coach sales representatives on:
- Discovery and qualification
- Solution presentations and demonstrations
- Closing strategies
- Build trusted relationships with key stakeholders and decisionmakers.
Forecasting & Performance Management
- Conduct regular pipeline and forecast meetings.
- Forecast bookings, revenue, and sales performance.
- Track sales metrics and identify improvement opportunities.
- Monitor:
- Win rates
- Conversion rates
- Develop action plans to address performance gaps and improve outcomes.
- Establish sales pricing schedules and discount guidelines.
- Participate in pricing strategies and commercial negotiations.
- Negotiate contracts, terms, and conditions with customers.
- Ensure deals align with company profitability and growth objectives.
- Work with leadership on strategic pricing decisions for major opportunities.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with Marketing to improve lead quality, campaign effectiveness, and conversion rates.
- Provide feedback on sales collateral, presentations, competitive positioning, and messaging.
- Collaborate with Customer Success to support renewals, account growth, expansions, and upsell opportunities.
- Work with Product and leadership teams to communicate market feedback and customer needs.
- Ensure accurate and timely CRM data management.
- Monitor sales activity, pipeline health, and reporting accuracy.
- Utilize CRM, forecasting, proposal, quoting, and sales engagement tools effectively.
- Drive adoption of sales technology and data-driven decision making.
Required Skills & Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Sales, Marketing, or related field.
- 5+ years of sales experience with at least 2 years in sales leadership or management.
- Proven track record of achieving or exceeding revenue targets.
- Experience managing complex B2B sales cycles.
- Strong leadership, coaching, and team development skills.
- Excellent communication, presentation, and negotiation abilities.
- Experience with CRM platforms and sales forecasting tools.
Preferred
- Experience leading Account Executives, Sales Representatives, or BDR teams.
- Knowledge of sales methodologies such as MEDDIC, Challenger, SPIN, or Solution Selling.
- Experience in strategic account management and enterprise sales.
- Understanding of customer success, renewals, and account expansion strategies.