Adding a sales manager is a pivotal moment in the life of a growing company. It's also expensive. Here is a step-by-step guide for incorporating the best hiring practices into your search.
It's a truism for almost any company: You don't have revenue if you don't have sales. And without revenue, well, you don't have a company. Sales are essential, and any sales department should be staffed with that in mind. Finding a leader to head that team is a particularly important moment in the life of a growing company.
It can also be expensive.
For start-ups, in which the president or CEO has served as the company's primary salesperson, this hire can be a significant transition – but you'll know when it's necessary, experts say.
"One day, the entrepreneur will wake up and realize they're no good at it or they're spreading themselves too thin to be effective," says hiring expert Roberta Chinsky Matuson, president of the Human Resource Solutions.
Before posting a job listing, or even sending out feelers, it's important to identify exactly what the position you'll be hiring entails. The simplest method: Take the time necessary to carefully craft a job description and clearly define what you're looking for.
"Sometimes when you think you need a sales manager, you actually need a marketing manager, and vice-versa," Matuson says.
Dig Deeper: What Makes a Great Salesperson?
Hiring a Sales Manager: The Job Description
The first item under the job title should be a summary overview of what the position entails. A list of job duties and responsibilities should follow. Depending on what your company needs in a sales manager, that list could include managing new business and key accounts, generating leads, assembling and managing a sales team, meeting revenue goals and handling client relations. Bullet points work best for organizing these responsibilities.
It's important not to forget a catch-phrase line to include additional "duties as assigned," just in case the job morphs over time or a meaningful duty is accidentally omitted. "Basically, it's so a hire doesn't come back and say 'that wasn't in my job description," Matuson says.
When the job description is clearly laid out and agreed upon by management, it's time to write and post the job listing, for which the foundations are already laid.
Dig Deeper: View a Sample Job Description Template
Hiring a Sales Manager: How to Determine Compensation
In sales, salaries vary tremendously – especially in small companies where creative compensation packages exist. This is good news for entrepreneurs looking to recruit a sales leader to help
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build a sales organization. At a large company, a sales manager's compensation may be governed by rather tight salary guidelines. Meanwhile, at a small company, an owner can get creative. A large portion of a sales salary can be based on upside, with bonuses and sales incentives. Location matters, too, of course. Urban centers will demand higher salary due to living costs, while rural areas will demand less.
To find a salary that's fair to offer, a small business owner or hiring manager should contact an agency or two that do HR salary studies. Average sales-manager salary information, particularly if it is industry-specific, may cost you a fee. You can take that data and combine it with knowledge gleaned from PayScale.com or Salary.com and current job listings online to obtain an accurate picture of what candidates are expecting.
That said, it's perfectly couth to ask applicants about their salary expectations in terms of base plus commission plus benefits. It's also worth asking what sort of salary scale the candidate expects for the rest of his or her staff.
And don't ignore the power of benefits to affect a sales manager's decision to join your company. In small companies, benefits send important signals about culture and stability. "If you're like Google and have incredible benefits, then you might not need to pay that much. But if you don't offer health insurance, you might need to pay more," Matuson said.
Dig Deeper: How to Set Up a Sales Compensation Plan
Hiring a Sales Manager: Attracting the Right Applicants
In addition to the overview and list of responsibilities found in the job description, a great job listing incorporates the desired behavioral characteristics of your ideal hire. If you're not sure about these temporal and experiential traits, Matuson suggests to just look around you.
"If you have employees, you look at your star performers, and look at what they have in common," she says. "In a start-up, the ideal employee is someone who can multi-task, who has high-energy, and can switch their game instantly. A person who will work well at a law firm is very different."
For a sales manager, admirable behavioral traits could include self-direction, motivation, high energy, financial ambition, and persuasive communication skills. Lines in the resulting listing might read: "Ideal candidate will couple strong managerial skills with steadfast integrity, and will work well in a fast-paced, energetic environment while striving to meet high goals. Will be able to maintain positive attitude and professionalism through stressful situations, including managing challenging sales deadlines and quotas."
Next, include at least a paragraph detailing minimum qualifications, including preferred educational and experiential background. Being detailed will help narrow the applicant pool.
Preferred educational and experiential background can also incorporate behavioral characteristics. Instead of a bullet point saying "10+ years experience required," consider something along the lines of "Team player with strong leadership skills and 10 or more years of demonstrated ability to manage effectively."
