Sales Management: 9 Questions People from Trinidad and Tobago Asked About It.

The role of the sales manager or sales leader in an organization is critical and comes with its fair share of challenges and rewards. From our experience, we would say that sales management is one of the most character and career-building roles one can find in an organization.

In this article, we answer nine questions asked by persons interested in the role of sales management in Trinidad and Tobago.

1. What is sales management?
2. What are the roles and responsibilities of sales managers?
3. How do sales managers get paid?
4. How much do sales managers get paid?
5. Sales management vs sales leadership - What's The Difference?
6. How can sales managers stay relevant?
7. How to get promoted to sales manager?
8. Is sales management stressful?
9. What is sales management in French?

Source: Answer The Public

1. What is Sales Management?

Sales Management is the coordination of a company's revenue through the sale of its products and services. Sales management also includes managing the company's salesforce to drive sales to new and maintain and build relationships with existing customers.

2. What are the roles and responsibilities of sales managers?

The roles and responsibilities of a sales manager vary on several things: 

1. Type of sales organization.
2. Industry
3. Products or services sold
4. Size of team
5. Geography

However, the core roles and responsibilities of a sales manager are but not limited to the following:

• Oversee the sales team to ensure they achieve the company's revenue quota.
• Create and execute a strategic sales plan that expands customer base and extends global reach
• Meet with potential clients and grow long-lasting relationships by understanding their needs
• Track, analyze, and communicate key quantitative metrics and business trends.
• Recruit salespeople, set objectives, train, coach, and monitor performance. 
• Ensuring assigned sales tasks and responsibilities are fulfilled.
• Identify knowledge gaps within the team and develop an action plan.
• Holding daily check-ins with team members, setting objectives for the day monitor their progress.
• Manage month-end and end-of-year closing processes.

View: Sales Manager Job Description Template - LinkedIn

3. How do sales managers get paid?

Sales Managers are given an annual salary and paid on a performance-based metric that measures the overall achievement of the team, branch, or the company's numbers.

While the above seems straightforward, not all companies may take the same approach. In some industries, a sales manager can engage in a direct sale activity with a customer and earn their commission apart from what they receive from the sales team.

Here are some factors that vary one sales management compensation structure from the other.

1. Industry
2. Average deal size
3. Average profit margin
4. Time to close
5. Size of team
6. Company structure
7. Company targets
8. The achievement of the company.
9. Experience
10. Education level/Certifications

4. How much are sales managers paid?

According to salaryexplorer.com a sales manager in Trinidad and Tobago typically earns an approximate salary of $16,500.00TTD.

Also, based on the variables we mentioned earlier in (How Managers get Paid). A sales manager's monthly salary can fall anywhere between $8,080TTD ($1,188USD) to $25,000TTD ($3,676USD). 

It's important to note that to move up the salary bracket in a sales management position, experience and expertise would be two important criteria.

5. Sales management vs sales leadership - What's The Difference?

It's common to think that leadership and management in sales are the same things. However, they are different but have to be delivered by the same person.

Our simple description is this:

• Sales Management addresses the desk, deliverables, roles, responsibilities of the sales manager. While, sales leadership looks at setting the right culture within the company and improving the techniques, skills, strategies, etc. of the salespeople ultimately, helping them achieve their goals.

You will find that successful sales managers have learned how to balance company deliverables with motivating and inspiring their sales team for greatness.

6. How can sales managers stay relevant?

Relevancy suggests that at some point, sales managers may become obsolete. While companies move towards implementing technologies like CRM to improve the sales and customer experience. Sales managers would still be required to add that human element to customer experience and the sales team.

Here are a few ways sales managers can step their game up in 2021.

• Learn Sales Enablement
• Improve your recruiting strategies
• Learn how to sell
• Create a performance culture
• Become a sales coach
• Focus on your people
• Allow the CRM to manage the sales process while you use it to coach the team.

7. How to get promoted to sales manager?

The natural progression of a sales representative would be to become a sales manager, but before you do that, there are a few things you must do first.

• Commit to being a continuous learner.
• Commit to being focused on people first and yourself after.
• Work on your leadership skills and traits.
• Support your peers more.
• If possible, try to become specialized in a specific knowledge area.
• Become accountable to your manager
• Communication skills for internal and external customers
• Hit your numbers

It's important to note that you do not have to be a top performer to be recognized or promoted as a sales manager. While being a top performer is a benefit, companies are looking for someone that can bring a team together, drive performance and grow their business.

Once you can achieve that, then you are on the right track.

Read: Should Top Performers Become Sales Managers?

8. Is sales management stressful?

Sales management is a role like no other. The demands are high as the success of the company is dependent on the sales department's ability to do one thing, and one thing only, which is to close sales. However, the challenges sales managers receive

However, the challenges sales managers experience is not based on sales alone but things like logistics, headcount, inventory, etc. What is required in circumstances like these is the sales manager's ability to effectively communicate the challenges to his team and seniors and navigate these challenges with the right strategies.

9. What is sales management in French?

This question was a strange but fun question to answer and we were up for the challenge 😀.

• Sales manager in french is - "Gestionnaire de vente"

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In the end, sales management/leadership can be a beautiful career one done right. It comes with major responsibilities and a demand to be more people-focused (team and customer) first as opposed to the lone ranger salesperson from the past.

In Trinidad and Tobago, there is a need for stronger sales leadership and we hope this answered or gave clarity to any of the questions you may have had on the role of moving up the sales leadership ladder.