An area sales manager analyzes market trends, sets revenue goals, and negotiates contracts. They oversee sales department policies, procedures, and performance and assemble, train, guide, and motivate the sales team.
Understanding the steps in transitioning from sales rep to area sales manager strengthens career advancement. The following guidelines can help.
Develop Area Sales Manager Skills
These skills are essential for becoming an area sales manager:
- Strategic planning: Develop targeted tactics to reach company goals.
- Analysis: Identify patterns, forecast trends, calculate probabilities, and translate information into actionable decision-making steps.
- Sales forecasting: Use consumer and market predictions and specialized software to develop sales targets.
- Adaptability: Quickly adjust to changing social, market, and economic factors.
- Team-building: Organization, communication, and empathy are essential for enhancing sales team performance.
- Interviewing: Actively listening to candidates helps evaluate their skills, experience, and cultural fit for hiring decisions.
- Leadership: Training, constructive feedback, and ongoing encouragement support goal attainment.
- Coaching: Informal one-on-one interactions and formal group training sessions strengthen productivity and work quality.
Earn Area Sales Manager Certification
Area sales manager certifications verify your deep understanding of sales strategies, customer relationship management, and team leadership. Use your career goals and current sales industry needs to determine whether any of the following fit your objectives:
- Certified Business Development Professional
- Certified Master Sales Professional
- Certified Sales Operations Professional
- Certified Sales Executive
- Certified Sales Coach
- Certified Sales Leadership Professional
Network
Networking with other sales industry professionals helps build relationships and learn about area sales manager roles. These tips can help:
- Clarify your networking goals: Understanding your objectives helps narrow your target audience, craft your message, and follow up. For instance, you might want to find a specific company or area sales manager role aligned with your skills and interests.
- Research your prospects: Focus on the sales professionals who can help you attain your goal. Consider LinkedIn, industry blogs, webinars, podcasts, industry events, or a sales recruitment firm to find contacts with relevant experience and insights.
- Connect with value: Express genuine interest in the prospect’s work and offer something that benefits them, such as a relevant resource or event invitation. Ask for an informational interview, referral, or feedback to support your area sales manager job search.
- Follow up: Stay in touch with your connections. Regularly provide value to show you appreciate them.
Stand Out During Interviews
These tips help you stand out during area sales manager interviews:
- Research the company: Thoroughly understand the company’s mission, vision, values, products or services, customers, competitors, and other relevant details. Develop questions to demonstrate your knowledge and interest in the role.
- Practice your pitch: Clearly and concisely summarize your background, skills, achievements, and goals. Demonstrate your ability to resolve the company’s pain points, add value, and generate revenue.
- Showcase your skills: Prepare answers to behavioral and situational questions testing your sales knowledge, strategies, and techniques. Use the STAR method (situation, task, action, result) to provide stories, details, and numbers showing your sales process, challenges, and results. Emphasize communication, negotiation, and resilience.
- Bring your portfolio: Bring your cover letter, resume, certificates, work samples, performance reports, sales awards, testimonials, and references to provide evidence of your sales achievements, skills, and value. Show how you stand out from the other candidates.
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