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Sales Managers

Plan, direct, or coordinate the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer. Coordinate sales distribution by establishing sales territories, quotas, and goals and establish training programs for sales representatives. Analyze sales statistics gathered by staff to determine sales potential and inventory requirements and monitor the preferences of customers.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Confer or consult with department heads to plan advertising services and to secure information on equipment and customer specifications.
    • Visit franchised dealers to stimulate interest in establishment or expansion of leasing programs.
    • Direct, coordinate, and review sales and service accounting and record-keeping, as well as receiving and shipping.
    • Plan and direct staffing, training, and performance evaluations to develop and control sales and service programs.
    • Determine price schedules and discount rates.
    • Review operational records and reports to project sales and determine profitability.
    • Monitor customer preferences to determine focus of sales efforts.
    • Confer with potential customers regarding equipment needs, and advise customers on types of equipment to purchase.
    • Plan and direct staffing, training, and performance evaluations to develop and control sales and service programs.
    • Direct and coordinate activities involving sales of manufactured products, services, commodities, real estate, or other subjects of sale.
    • Prepare budgets and approve budget expenditures.
    • Direct clerical staff to keep records of export correspondence, bid requests, and credit collections, and to maintain current information on tariffs, licenses, and restrictions.
    • Assess marketing potential of new and existing store locations, considering statistics and expenditures.
    • Direct foreign sales and service outlets of an organization.
    • Oversee regional and local sales managers and their staffs.
    • Prepare budgets and approve budget expenditures.
    • Represent company at trade association meetings to promote products.
    • Advise dealers and distributors on policies and operating procedures to ensure functional effectiveness of business.
    • Resolve customer complaints regarding sales and service.

    Skills

    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    Abilities

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.

    Knowledge

    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    Education

    Education
    Bachelor's degree
    Work Experience
    Less than 5 years work experience
    Training
    No on-the-job training

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    167210/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    80.39/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    9,920
    Yearly Projected Openings
    910

    Personality

    Enterprising: People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Achievement/Effort
    • Persistence
    • Initiative
    • Integrity
    • Leadership
    • Stress Tolerance

    Tools

    • Desktop computers
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Scanners
    • Tablet computers

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Business intelligence and data analysis software
    • Calendar and scheduling software
    • Cloud-based data access and sharing software
    • Cloud-based management software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Customer relationship management CRM software
    • Data base management system software
    • Data base reporting software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Data mining software
    • Desktop communications software
    • Desktop publishing software
    • Development environment software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Enterprise system management software
    • Financial analysis software
    • Geographic information system
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • Human resources software
    • Information retrieval or search software
    • Internet browser software
    • Inventory management software
    • Object or component oriented development software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Process mapping and design software
    • Project management software
    • Sales and marketing software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Transaction security and virus protection software
    • Video conferencing software
    • Video creation and editing software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Web platform development software
    • Word processing software