Main Responsibilities and Required Skills for Sales Operations Manager

sales manager working on a laptop

A Sales Operations Manager is responsible for developing sales operations policies and procedures. They analyze an interpret sales performance data and present feedback. In this blog post we describe the primary responsibilities and the most in-demand hard and soft skills for Sales Operations Managers.

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Main Responsibilities of Sales Operations Manager

The following list describes the typical responsibilities of a Sales Operations Manager:

Address

Address and resolve all performance issues in a timely manner.

Administer

Administer, manage and report on revenue forecasting using Salesforce automation / forecasting tools.

Align

Align business strategies with pricing, discounts, and compensation.

Analyze

  • Analyze business performance data to support management team decision-making.

  • Analyze customer profiling and targeting activities.

  • Analyze data to identify best practices (both internal and partner related).

  • Analyze effectiveness of sales initiatives, such as short-term pricing campaigns.

  • Analyze existing customer data to identify expansion revenue opportunities.

  • Analyze individual performances and identify areas for improvement.

  • Analyze sales operations and cross-functional efficiencies, identifying areas for improvement.

  • Analyze sales performance data, interpret overall results of sales.

  • Analyze team performances and the effectiveness of different plays.

  • Analyze the sales funnel and customer journey.

Animate

Animate our Sales and Finance key performance indicators.

Assist with

  • Assist functional leadership to deliver repeatable and scalable solutions.

  • Assist in the preparation and organizing of promotional material or events.

  • Assist Sales in calculating pricing / rebate accruals into their net revenue attainment.

  • Assist Sales Leadership with Pipeline and Opportunity inspection.

  • Assist sales management in understanding process bottlenecks and inconsistencies.

  • Assist with financial year planning in terms of quotas, account assignments and attainment.

  • Assist with incentive planning & sales performance tracking.

  • Assist with opportunity pipeline management.

  • Assist with various Sales reporting needs.

Build

  • Build and help to standardize business reporting for strategic analysis and internal business review.

  • Build an effective, capable and high performing organization.

  • Build a report on pipeline progression and existing customer opportunities and revenues.

  • Build a robust process to handle quotes and renewals.

  • Build strong sales strategy and monitor the execution and effectiveness.

Carry out

Carry out assessments to identify and eliminate efficiency limiting and time-consuming factors.

Challenge

Challenge team members to provide exceptional support to customers.

Champion

Champion the adoption and roll-out of sales enablement activities.

Close

Close attention to detail, as operations performed are intricate and tedious.

Collaborate with

  • Collaborate cross‐functionally to establish reporting standards.

  • Collaborate with Headquarter sales operations to setup, maintain and modify sales territories.

  • Collaborate with Marketing to optimize the marketing and sales funnel.

  • Collaborate with national and regional staff to foster professional development of direct reports.

  • Collaborate with sales leadership to setup, maintain and modify sales territories.

  • Collaborate with Sales Region Managers and Account Managers, to achieve financial objectives.

Collect

  • Collect and aggregate feedback from internal & external stakeholders on their needs & pain points.

  • Collect, analyze data and present results in a concise, actionable format.

  • Collect requirements from Leadership to create reports, design dashboards, and track KPIs.

Communicate

Communicate recommendations to sales leadership and the broader organization.

Conduct

  • Conduct forecast to detect emerging market trends with potential sales opportunities.

  • Conduct market analysis and recommend optimal unit mix.

  • Conduct market research for new business opportunities and key growth verticals.

Contribute

Contribute toward the Business Planning Process.

Coordinate

  • Coordinate communications with various vendors which will include troubleshooting.

  • Coordinate cross-functional activities across departments.

Create

  • Create automated work loads using CRM.

  • Create automation and workflows in CRM per business requirements.

  • Create better targeted campaigns.

  • Create collateral & messaging such as sales decks, one-pagers, detailed FAQs, and more.

  • Create comprehensive reporting.

  • Create visibility into the acquisition funnel through dashboarding and report building.

Define

  • Define KPIs and sales targets to ensure we work with measurable goals.

  • Define, manage, and provide insights on key performance metrics.

Design

  • Design and coordinate the roll-out of new core sales processes & tools.

  • Design and execute equitable territories for each sales rep.

Develop

  • Develop 3 year forecast in conjunction w / sales team & track first 90 days of launch.

  • Develop and lead sales monthly performance reviews and present feedback to senior sales leadership.

  • Develop and maintain integrations to any third-party solutions.

  • Develop and manage Salesforce dashboards, reports, and forecasting tools.

  • Develop and refine meaningful, actionable KPIs for diverse business units.

  • Develop comprehensive governance framework for channel operations.

  • Develop innovative and accurate analytical dashboards for Sr Leadership.

  • Develop sales operations policies and procedures.

  • Develop scripts and tactics allowing team to carry out effective negotiation.

  • Develop training materials and provide training and support to SalesForce.com end users.

Direct

Direct end user training related to sales operations processes and systems.

Document

Document and train users on new processes and changes.

Drive

  • Drive compensation plan changes to drive accelerated growth and desired outcomes for the business.

  • Drive CRM adoption for the global sales community and cross-functional stakeholders.

  • Drive operational efficiency by automating and improving processes, tools, and dashboards that scale.

  • Drive organized and consistent execution of approval flows for sales deals.

  • Drive other sales operations projects to improve sales processes and productivity of the sales reps.

  • Drive positive change in the world while working with the best and brightest.

  • Drive process improvement & automation initiatives to streamline deliverables.

  • Drive strategic projects that enable commercial leaders to drive revenue opportunities.

Ensure

  • Ensure accuracy of contracts / NDA's are signed and logged.

  • Ensure full engagement of sales teams in relevant demand generation actions.

  • Ensure sales pipeline is kept up to date in Salesforce CRM.

  • Ensure special documentation required by customers and customs is properly and efficiently managed.

  • Ensure the accuracy of forecasting process to ABB supply units and external suppliers.

  • Ensure the visibility and exchange of overstock with other sales operations units within the Hub.

Establish

Establish go-to-market approaches and productivity enhancements.

Evaluate

Evaluate, recommend, and build business cases for technologies which drive process improvements.

Execute

  • Execute excellent spelling and grammar.

  • Execute in-depth analyses of Sales Operations performance across a variety of projects.

Executive

Executive sales leadership support and strong business partnering skills.

Facilitate

Facilitate an organisation of continuous process improvement.

Foster

Foster an environment of continuous process improvement.

Generate

Generate ad hoc reporting for sales management.

Handle

Handle the processing of all orders with accuracy and timeliness.

Help

  • Help and control their work.

  • Help establish quotas and monitor rep performance against their quotas.

  • Help Spiff identify and implement a CPQ solution.

Hold

Hold and be accountable to ensure deadlines and quality of deliverables meet / exceed expectations.

Identify

  • Identify, document, and implement opportunities for continuous improvement.

  • Identify and implement strategies and initiatives to improve the sales team performance.

  • Identify, diagnose and rectify issues with data & reporting when they arise.

  • Identify, measure and report on key performance indicators.

  • Identify new opportunities for the brand POS activities.

Implement

  • Implement enabling technologies, including CRM (SDFC) , to field sales teams.

  • Implement new systems and workflows to scale our sales operations.

Inform

Inform clients of unforeseen delays or problems.

Lead

  • Lead and governs all trade review, monitoring, reporting and post promotion / ROI analytics.

  • Lead the Accruals Planning and Deductions Management processes.

  • Lead the sales division to become more efficient.

Learn

Learn about the suite of Lever products in Sales Ramp Camp.

Maintain

  • Maintain and enhance quarterly business performance reporting.

  • Maintain an inventory of sales tech stack licenses, ordering, provisioning, and reconciling invoices.

  • Maintain database integrity and accuracy including cleansing and duplicate record management.

  • Maintain Industry mapping and changes.

  • Maintain key performance reports that support business reviews by the management team.

  • Maintain monthly category & competitor reports.

  • Maintain security model, role hierarchy, security profiles, and access rights.

  • Maintain solid client relationships and providing outstanding customer service.

Make

  • Make data driven decisions.

  • Make forecasting for Sales / Business Development transparent and predictable.

Manage

  • Manage all tool integrations and assist in evaluation of new potential tools.

  • Manage and develop the monthly management information requirements for the Commercial team.

  • Manage and support the contract, proposal and quoting process.

  • Manage annual sales planning process.

  • Manage, develop, track and calculate sales commissions.

  • Manage incentive compensation plan.

  • Manage internal communications inc weekly CRUs, dashboards, performance reports etc..

  • Manage Salesforce as our Primary Salesforce Administrator.

  • Manage Sales Operations data and performs data validation and cleansing as required.

  • Manage the Sales team "Tech Stack”.

  • Manage the training and upkeep of our Sales Playbook.

Maximize

Maximize value of our sales tools and other company assets.

Meet

Meet with the hiring manager and other members of the team.

Monitor

Monitor and measure sales performance.

Own

  • Own initiatives coming out of meetings and owning until completion.

  • Own relationships with third party sales-tech vendors.

  • Own the optimization of Sales Tools.

Partner

  • Partner w / Sales & Marketing on "launch” plans & communication to key stakeholders.

  • Partner w / Supply Chain to manage existing inventory levels & ensure smooth transition.

Pipeline

  • Pipeline, funnel and sales conversion ratios.

  • Pipeline, Metrics and Quota review.

Plan

  • Plan and chair an annual SKO (Sales Kickoff) and coordinate participation from other departments.

  • Plan and execute all occupancy, pre-delivery and post-delivery Homebuyer information sessions.

  • Plan are nothing, but planning is everything” said someone famous.

Prepare

  • Prepare reports showing performance and present results to senior leadership.

  • Prepare sales reporting and forecasting for executive management.

Present

Present findings / project to relevant stakeholders and follow up as necessary.

Process

Process Improvement and Change Management Expertise.

Produce

  • Produce quality work and is ready to learn new skills.

  • Produce the monthly flash report.

Provide

  • Provide ad hoc reporting and analysis for leadership and executive teams.

  • Provide business leadership in managing and reviewing quota assignments.

  • Provide input and recommendation on sales compensation design.

  • Provide ongoing coaching to help the Sales population fully leverage our resources and tools.

  • Provide ROI on each territory.

  • Provide sales leadership support on deals.

  • Provide simulation tools to efficiently run accurate business scenarios.

  • Provide support for Salesforce CPQ.

  • Provide support in implementing technologies, including CRM, to field sales teams.

  • Provide support to sales leadership on deals.

Report

Report on short and long term sales performance.

Research

Research - Constant update of all relevant sales trends / regulations applicable to the project.

Respond

Respond to inquiries and issues issues as they arise.

Review

Review processes for operational efficiency.

Seek

Seek adventures and smiles.

Set

Set sales goals aligned with corporate strategy.

Strategize

Strategize, design, analyze and manage gaming proposals and RFP programs.

Support

  • Support and improve the inventory planning and reporting functions for Canada across all brands.

  • Support B2B Campaigns by assisting with dealer targeting and CRM data extraction.

  • Support commercial team in developing strategic plans.

  • Support quarterly business reviews with sales leadership.

  • Support Sales Incentive planning, governance and performance against targets.

  • Support the Sales Director driving performance by being a great leader.

  • Support the Sr Sales Strategy Manager, Sales Operations in leading 3 Sales analysts.

  • Support the team with client assurance requests.

  • Support the use of Salesforce and ensure that is being utilized to its fullest capability.

Take

  • Take concepts and turn them into clear and actionable projects.

  • Take on complex projects in a start-up like collaborative environment.

Track

  • Track, analyze data and communicate sales metrics and forecast to leadership and other stakeholders.

  • Track and help improve performance compensation for multiple teams.

  • Track and monitor performance of the sales team.

  • Track and report on these activities.

  • Track quota attainment for the sales team.

  • Track sales activities according to the defined tasks for each team and ensure the SLAs are followed.

Trade

Trade launch package should be developed accordingly to the agreed lead times.

Understand

Understand and help refine our full sales cycle from prospecting and qualifying through closing.

Use

Use performance metrics and analysis to improve and customize training.

Utilize

Utilize technology to retrieve, display, input, gather, produce, and analyze information.

Work with

  • Work directly with Sales & Marketing leadership to improve go-to-market execution.

  • Work in conjunction with Marketing and Sales to analyze campaign trends.

  • Work to define and build best practice processes in our CRM environment and beyond.

  • Work with finance team to ensure that sales reporting and forecasting are accurate and timely.

  • Work with operations to resolve client issues.

  • Work with partners on joint projects and help to coordinate public sector bids.

  • Work with Product Marketing on pricing and ensure reps understand guardrails.

  • Work with Sales Director to develop key components of the Sales Playbook.

Most In-demand Hard Skills

The following list describes the most required technical skills of a Sales Operations Manager:

  1. Sales Operations

  2. Salesforce

  3. MS Excel

  4. Sales

  5. Project Management

  6. Finance

  7. Analytics

  8. Business

  9. Business Operations

  10. MS Powerpoint

  11. CRM

  12. SQL

  13. Tableau

  14. Marketing

  15. SAAS

  16. Business Acumen

  17. Business Development

  18. Sales Strategy

  19. Revenue Operations

  20. Sales Processes

  21. Google Suite

  22. Hubspot

  23. Operations

Most In-demand Soft Skills

The following list describes the most required soft skills of a Sales Operations Manager:

  1. Written and oral communication skills

  2. Analytical ability

  3. Attention to detail

  4. Problem-solving attitude

  5. Interpersonal skills

  6. Organizational capacity

  7. Self-starter

  8. Team player

  9. Presentation

  10. Time-management

  11. Flexible

  12. Creative

  13. Collaborative

  14. Sense of urgency

  15. Self-motivated

  16. Detail-oriented

  17. Multi-task

  18. Consistent levels of evident enthusiasm

  19. Copes well under pressure

  20. Positive thinker

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