| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Sales and Business Development |
| Level | Senior management |
| Reports to | Regional Sales Manager |
| Direct reports | Sales Manager, Sales Executive |
| Experience | 8 to 12 years in sales with several years managing a team |
Senior Sales Manager job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Senior Sales Manager
Department: Sales and Business Development
Reports to: Regional Sales Manager
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Senior Sales Manager leads a larger team, a key territory or an important segment, carrying a bigger target and more responsibility than a sales manager. They coach sales managers or executives, drive the sales process and handle the most important deals and accounts. A strong senior sales manager delivers a demanding target consistently, develops the team and brings judgement to pricing and negotiations. The role reports to a regional, zonal or national sales manager and leads sales managers, executives and officers.
Key responsibilities
- Own a larger sales target for a key territory, segment or set of accounts.
- Lead and coach sales managers, executives and officers on their numbers.
- Drive the sales process, review cadence and pipeline discipline in the team.
- Handle the most important deals, negotiations and key accounts personally.
- Plan territory coverage, beats and account allocation for the team.
- Own the team forecast and drive actions to close any gap to target.
- Set and monitor activity standards such as visits, demos and follow ups.
- Manage pricing and discounts within the authority given to the role.
- Develop team members through field coaching and structured feedback.
- Report team performance, pipeline and risks to the reporting manager.
Requirements
- Graduate in business, commerce or any discipline
- MBA in sales or marketing is an advantage
- Strong record of managing a sales team to targets
- 8 to 12 years in sales with several years managing a team
KRAs and KPIs for a Senior Sales Manager
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Sales target | Team achieves 100 percent of the assigned target each period |
| Team quota | Share of the team hitting individual targets grown to the agreed level |
| Pipeline health | Qualified pipeline held at the agreed multiple of target |
| Key accounts | Priority accounts retained and grown as per the plan |
| Forecast accuracy | Team forecast within the agreed variance of actuals |
| Team development | Team members coached with visible improvement each quarter |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: CRM platform, Sales dashboards, MS Excel, Route or beat planning tools, Forecasting tools.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Regional Sales Manager, Zonal Sales Manager, National Sales Manager
Interview questions for a Senior Sales Manager
- How do you plan coverage and targets for a larger team?
- How do you coach a manager whose team is missing its number?
- How do you handle your most important accounts while leading the team?
- How do you keep the pipeline healthy across several sub teams?
- How do you build a forecast for a key territory?
- Tell me about a demanding target you delivered and how.
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What does a senior sales manager do?
A senior sales manager leads a larger team, a key territory or an important segment, carrying a bigger target than a sales manager. They coach managers and executives, drive the sales process, and handle the most important deals and accounts. They plan coverage, own the team forecast and develop their people to deliver a demanding number consistently.
What is the difference between a sales manager and a senior sales manager?
A sales manager runs a team or territory and delivers its target. A senior sales manager takes on more: a bigger team, a key territory or important accounts, and often coaches other managers. The senior role carries a larger number, more authority on pricing and deals, and more responsibility for developing the team.
How do you move up to senior sales manager?
Deliver your target consistently as a sales manager, build a strong team and show you can handle bigger accounts and complex deals. Demonstrate coaching, forecasting and pricing judgement. Most companies promote managers who have delivered for several years and can take on a larger territory or segment, so a steady track record is the key.