Best Careers 2011: Sales Manager

As one of the 50 Best Jobs of 2011, this should have strong growth over the next decade

The rundown:

If you aspire to this position, make sure you're comfortable with a lot of responsibility riding on your shoulders. Sales managers hold one of the most high-profile positions in a company, and are charged with running an efficient and effective sales team—and ultimately, accomplishing sales objectives to boost the company's bottom line. As a manager, you'll be in charge of hiring, supervising, coaching, and motivating a team of sales associates. Ensuring the quality and success of sales efforts is a top priority. "You've got to figure out where the bottlenecks are that are keeping people from being productive in selling," says Bob Kelly, chairman of the Sales Management Association. You'll also set sales goals, define selling roles and sales territories, and establish training programs for your staff; meanwhile, you'll build and maintain customer relationships. The job is a balancing act that requires "analytic rigor, process discipline, [and] fluency with technology," Kelly says, and "what people in the past called leadership, but now call coaching ability."

The outlook:

Overall employment of sales managers is expected to increase by 51,800 jobs, or 15 percent, between 2008 and 2018, according to the Labor Department. During the recession, companies cut spending wherever they could, laying off employees, postponing projects, and streamlining operations. "Now the narrative is all about growth—coming out of the recession with an organization that's able to sustain growth," says Kelly. "The frontline sales manager is seen as a productive place to invest because they have ... an enormous impact on sales growth." But be warned: competition is fierce for these highly coveted positions.

Money:

Excellent. Median annual wages for sales managers in May 2009 were $96,790, and bonuses can equal 10 percent or more of their salaries. Wages vary widely, depending on the sales manager's responsibility and length of service, as well as the size and location of the firm, the size of its sales territory, and the industry in which it operates. Case in point: As of May 2009, the bottom 10 percent of sales managers earned $47,660 and the top 10 percent earned upwards of $166,400 per year. Not surprisingly, sales managers at financial investment firms in large metropolitan areas earn among the highest salaries.

Upward mobility:

Sales manager positions are highly competitive because they're also highly lucrative in terms of compensation and status. "This profession is high-risk, but it's also high-reward, which reflects the value of the role," Kelly says. The high-profile nature of the job often makes sales managers candidates to move to the highest ranks of the company.

Activity level:

Be prepared for long hours. You'll spend plenty of time in meetings—with your sales team, customers, and company executives. You may be required to travel to meet with customers and to national regional and local offices.

Stress level:

This can be a high-pressure job that's difficult to disconnect from when the day's over. Sales managers are directly accountable for the performance of their team, and there's a "constant battle between reacting to incoming demands on your time and trying to be proactive in setting a deliberate course and focusing your team," says Kelly. The position involves a fair amount of internal diplomacy, he adds, such as when higher-ups put non-productive demands on your staff.

Education and preparation:

A college degree is mandatory—and a master's degree in business administration is sometimes preferred—but this is a profession that tends to value experience over education, says Kelly. The path to the corner office, he adds, usually starts in the sales ranks.

Real advice from real people about landing a job as a sales manager:

Ever heard that great salespeople make lousy sales managers? "I'm not sure I agree," says Kelly. "In the sales force, because the jobs are highly compensated, their profile is high and accountability is very high ... Salespeople are high-performing and have a real focus on achievement. If they can translate that into an interest in seeing others achieve, they can bring that into management."

By Katy Marquardt

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