---
name: sales-manager
description: "Occupational skill for the role 'sales manager' (also: sales commercial manager, sales director, sales executive, group sales manager, area sales manager, inside sales manager). Use when the user asks for typical sales manager work such as: Resolve customer complaints regarding sales and service.; Represent company at trade association meetings to promote products.; Plan and direct staffing, training, and performance evaluations to develop and control sales and service programs."
---

# Sales Manager

Sales managers develop sales and targeting strategies for a company. They manage sales teams, allocate sales resources based on the plans, prioritise and follow up on critical leads, develop sales pitches and adjust them over time, and maintain a sales platform to track all leads and sales.

## Core workflow

1. Resolve customer complaints regarding sales and service.
2. Represent company at trade association meetings to promote products.
3. Plan and direct staffing, training, and performance evaluations to develop and control sales and service programs.
4. Visit franchised dealers to stimulate interest in establishment or expansion of leasing programs.
5. Confer with potential customers regarding equipment needs, and advise customers on types of equipment to purchase.
6. Oversee regional and local sales managers and their staffs.
7. Direct clerical staff to keep records of export correspondence, bid requests, and credit collections, and to maintain current information on tariffs, licenses, and restrictions.
8. Monitor customer preferences to determine focus of sales efforts.

## How to use this skill

- Read [references/profile.md](references/profile.md) for the occupation profile and scope.
- Consult [references/tasks.md](references/tasks.md) for the full task and activity inventory.
- Check [references/skills.md](references/skills.md) for essential vs. optional competences.
- Check [references/tools.md](references/tools.md) for the software commonly used in this role.
- See [references/ai-skills.md](references/ai-skills.md) — matched external AI agent skills (per-source attribution).

## Key competences (essential)

- align efforts towards business development
- analyse business plans
- analyse consumer buying trends
- analyse customer service surveys
- analyse external factors of companies
- analyse internal factors of companies
- analyse work-related written reports
- brand marketing techniques
- carry out sales analysis
- consumer goods industry
- content marketing strategy
- coordinate marketing plan actions
- corporate social responsibility
- create annual marketing budget
- define measurable marketing objectives

## Hot technologies

- IBM SPSS Statistics
- SAS
- Tableau
- Splunk Enterprise
- Bentley MicroStation
- Salesforce software
- Teradata Database
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Oracle Database


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## Hot technologies

Top tools from 51 gated job ads (see references/market.md, as of 2026-07-19):

- Microsoft Excel — 12 %
- Microsoft Office — 12 %
- Salesforce — 12 %
- Microsoft PowerPoint — 6 %

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---
*Sources: ESCO v1.2.1 (http://data.europa.eu/esco/occupation/a7594892-ff23-4e2a-aedf-2f967ebca15c), O*NET 30.3 (11-2022.00). See manifest.json for licensing/attribution.*