Main Responsibilities and Required Skills for Sales Director

sales manager working on a laptop

A Sales Director is a senior executive who is responsible for leading and managing a company's sales team. They lead and execute all company sales activities and develop and implement sales and go-to-market strategies. In this blog post we describe the primary responsibilities and the most in-demand hard and soft skills for Sales Directors.

Get market insights and compare skills for other jobs here.

Main Responsibilities of Sales Director

The following list describes the typical responsibilities of a Sales Director:

Achieve

Achieve or exceed sales objectives in their region.

Adjust

Adjust and prepare periodic activity reports and present them as appropriate to management.

Advise

  • Advise Agents products, workflow, and administrative guidelines.

  • Advise management and negotiates contracts and agreements.

Analyze

  • Analyze and summarize data and trends.

  • Analyze regional market trends and discover new opportunities for growth.

  • Analyze the projects of our local competitors and maintain constant communication with the PD.

  • Analyze to determine the effectiveness of your sales strategy and goals.

Apply

Apply knowledge of Company products to show how prospects can overcome business pain points.

Attend

Attend workshops to learn more technical and professional skills for the job.

Build

  • Build and orchestrate the Sales Pursuit team.

  • Build a network of advisors in your territory through industry conferences and trade associations.

  • Build awareness for Kafka and Confluent within large enterprises.

  • Build effective relationships with industry-specific partners, channels and distributors.

  • Build effective relationships with internal / external stakeholders.

  • Build key account management capability amongst the ethical salesforce.

  • Build relationships with local and global technology and consulting partners.

  • Build strong, lasting relationships with clients and partners.

  • Build strong, long-lasting client relationships.

Collaborate with

  • Collaborate regionally with peers.

  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to enable customer success for optimal time to revenue.

  • Collaborate with operations to ensure needs and expectations are met and provide resale support.

Communicate

  • Communicate any special needs of incoming residents to the appropriate personnel.

  • Communicate key insights and proactively make recommendations to senior leadership.

Compute

Compute payments to invoices within the system to account for customer receivables correctly.

Conduct

  • Conduct client and prospect presentations of our products and services.

  • Conduct competitive intelligence by gathering information on competitor products, and activities.

  • Conduct high energy, team building sales meetings to update staff on best practices.

Connect

Connect with C-suite decision makers and articulate Workday's impact on business value.

Contribute to

Contribute to attainment of overall business sales plan and meet or exceed personal sales targets.

Coordinate

Coordinate the efforts for response to Requests for Proposals / Information.

Create

  • Create and drive revenue within a specified territory or region.

  • Create value and differentiates our services / products from competitors.

Cultivate

Cultivate mutually beneficial relationships with strategic partners.

Define

Define business opportunity and provide short & long term forecast accurately.

Deliver

Deliver sales growth through winning specification market share.

Design

  • Design and implement strategic plans to reach sales targets.

  • Design strategies to win new business and execute the tactics working with direct reports and peers.

Develop

  • Develop and communicates a vision for a major segment of the organization.

  • Develop and deliver proposals that address customer and prospect critical needs.

  • Develop and deliver solution proposals and presentations.

  • Develop and implement sales and go-to-market strategies that meet / exceed overall corporate goals.

  • Develop and implement the strategy and playbook for partnership growth.

  • Develop and lead strategic sales plans and structures to grow business into identified channels.

  • Develop and maintain a strong executive call plan / relationship w / the CXO's for the account set.

  • Develop and maintain relationships with advertisers.

  • Develop and test new sales strategies and tactics, replicating those that are most successful.

  • Develop annual objectives and sales action plans by direct report and monitor actual results vs.

  • Develop best in class supplier and trade customer relationships.

  • Develop clients' proposals on treasury solutions including the presentation development and delivery.

  • Develop, monitor, and appropriately adjust the annual budget for department (s).

  • Develop new customers in order to increase market share.

  • Develop partnerships with key mobile app platforms across Europe.

  • Develop presentation slides as typically act as the centre point of coordination.

  • Develop, refine and implement customer trading strategies.

  • Develop regional Alliances / Partner organizations that are instrumental to success.

  • Develop sales prospecting plans targeting Fortune 500 companies.

  • Develop strategies and tactics with Partner Schools and cross-functionally.

  • Develop strategies to promote thought leadership in the market.

Discover

Discover and develop new Canadian and American markets and participate in the marketing plan.

Document

  • Document daily activity in Salesforce to track performance.

  • Document your activities in SFDC.

Drive

  • Drive and lead all inside sales and SDR demand gen efforts.

  • Drive daily sales management via SalesForce.

  • Drive new business sales to expand our customer base throughout the territory.

  • Drive the development of partnership strategies in related countries.

Ensure

  • Ensure account and territory assignments are aligned with account segmentation strategy.

  • Ensure cooperative and collaborative communication and execution between all internal stakeholders.

  • Ensure effortless experience for our customers.

  • Ensure high quality customer satisfaction and retentions.

  • Ensure that all stores consistently adhere to merchandising standards.

  • Ensure that the team is hitting all metrics and quotas.

Establish

  • Establish and execute the Corporate Treasury program at Genesis Global Trading.

  • Establish and maintain relationship with senior leaders of customers.

  • Establish a quarterly business review cadence.

  • Establish sales territories, quotas, and goals for the sales team.

Extend

Extend relationships into new parts of Fortune 100 CPG partners.

Forecast

  • Forecast and proactively uncover opportunities within key business groups.

  • Forecast quarterly and annual profits.

  • Forecast future departmental needs including human and material resources and capital expenditures.

Foster

  • Foster and lead change, and create a mindset of innovation.

  • Foster collaboration across geographic markets to improve specification results globally.

Generate

  • Generate a strong pipeline of opportunities in the Revenue Collection / Ticketing Systems market.

  • Generate new ideas to improve overall business performance.

Guide

  • Guide and ensure regular and optimal usage of SFDC system by the each TM and CS.

  • Guide and make recommendations based on your experience and insights.

Help

Help develop a supportive, transparent and collaborative team culture.

Hire

  • Hire a team of Account Executives, Account Managers, and junior sales team members.

  • Hire the best people in the market.

Identify

  • Identify and make improvements in process, efficiency, enablement, and productivity.

  • Identify, develop and create relationships in support of new sales.

Integrate

Integrate sales motions with SaaS Seller and leaders such as Kenna Security.

Interlock

Interlock with the BE on what packages offers the sales team needs to succeed.

Lead

  • Lead and execute all company sales activities in the region.

  • Lead and motivate the team and ensure achievement of operational goals.

  • Lead by example by demonstrating on a daily basis the core values of Info-Tech Research Group.

  • Lead from the front with a hands-on approach being deeply involved in deals.

  • Lead, guide, and coach direct reports to set and achieve business targets, improve.

  • Lead our team of Account Executives in the Netherlands to achieve individual and team quotas.

  • Lead, plan and negotiate with respective broker and rep groups.

  • Lead the sector planning and review process.

Learn

Learn from a top notch sales team, dedicated to helping you grow and reach your personal goals.

Maintain

  • Maintain a fully resourced, well trained and consistently motivated sales teams.

  • Maintain and update information in SFDC.

  • Maintain clean and safe learning environment.

  • Maintain effective communication and relationships with key external and internal customers.

  • Maintain strong relations and market share with existing customers.

Make

Make sales calls to advisors at MGAs to ensure successful sales of IA investment products.

Manage

  • Manage and resolve escalations allowing the team to stay focused on sales.

  • Manage a sales territory, National Expansion in Major Metropolitan Areas.

  • Manage a team of School Reps globally.

  • Manage a team of two to effectively develop partners within their channels and territories.

  • Manage complex sales cycles utilizing internal and external resources as appropriate.

  • Manage current customer expectations and finds new ways to exceed them through consultative selling.

  • Manage customer expectations for high level of customer satisfaction.

  • Manage genomic consultant evaluations, goal setting, and productivity.

  • Manage key customer relationships and participate in closing strategic opportunities.

  • Manage lead qualification and conversion from interested prospects.

  • Manage top new prospects in coordination with Account Leaders and National Sales Leaders.

Measure

Measure and benchmark success metrics.

Meet

  • Meet and exceed individual daily, weekly, and monthly targets and goals.

  • Meet annual sales targets within assigned territory and accounts.

  • Meet / exceed the assigned quota within the designated region.

  • Meet the daily needs of all children (i.e. napping, meal times, toileting).

Monitor

Monitor all costs associated with assigned organizational unit.

Negotiate

  • Negotiate and close contracts.

  • Negotiate and finalize service contracts.

  • Negotiate contracts and close agreements.

Oversee

Oversee all aspects of sales order management.

Own

Own the sales cycle – from lead generation to closure.

Perform

Perform demos of the technology for customers.

Plan

  • Plan autonomously visits to the main stakeholders, our facilities and international fairs.

  • Plan and manage the CRM sales effort for assigned region.

Prepare

  • Prepare reporting as needed.

  • Prepare weekly reports that summarize activities against Targets.

Present

Present to varying audiences of seniority and knowledge levels.

Provide

  • Provide career development for employees through direct performance feedback and coaching.

  • Provide feedback on how to improve the company and the sales process.

  • Provide field support when payroll integration is key to a sale or retention.

  • Provide input into resource allocation decisions across Region.

  • Provide leadership to the day-to-day operations of the department in charge, while maintaining.

  • Provide professional and technical expertise.

  • Provide regular coaching and account strategy sessions with sales executives.

  • Provide strong qualification of which opportunities should be followed through to execution.

  • Provide support for marketing activities and events.

Recommend

Recommend sales strategies for improvement based on market research and competitive analysis.

Recruit

Recruit, hire, and retain qualified Account Specialists.

Respond to

Respond to RFI, RFP, RFQ which entails data collection and writing responses.

Retain

Retain sales staff by recruiting, selecting top talent, orienting and training employees.

Review

  • Review each team member's performance regularly, identifying skills and areas of improvement.

  • Review your own sales performance and effectively manage your pipeline.

Schedule

Schedule and conduct meetings with existing and potential clients.

Sell

Sell products by establishing contact and developing relationships with prospects.

Set

Set sales quotas for each of your team's pool reps and set territory objectives.

Shape

Shape and refine our sales process.

Show

Show thought leadership in local market and attendance at industry events with clients.

Solicit

Solicit new business and re-establish contact with advisors.

Support

Support business development activities in Asia Pacific, with a particular focus in ASEAN.

Take

Take initiative to become a subject matter expert for all products and services.

Track

  • Track action plans to optimize sales and customer service.

  • Track record of overachievement of revenue targets.

Understand

  • Understand and communicate value proposition of our materials relative to competitive products.

  • Understand how Tier 1 global banks operate and their buying processes.

  • Understand the business challenges of Product Owners.

Update

  • Update and create sales proposals, pitches, presentations, weekly sales pipeline updates and reports.

  • Update and manage pipeline and prepares revenue forecasts accordingly.

Uphold

Uphold corporate standards with respect to center cleanliness & operational standards.

Use

  • Use best business practices to ensure success in areas of responsibility.

  • Use Salesforce to record progress with accounts and stay organized.

Utilize

Utilize a customer-focused selling process to identify needs and goals of potential customers.

Work with

  • Work closely with channel partners to generate new business opportunities.

  • Work closely with marketing and inside sales to move new prospects into the funnel.

  • Work closely with Marketing on go-to market strategies and see them through to successful completion.

  • Work closely with pricing and finance to develop winning commercial solutions.

  • Work on full cycle sales from lead validation to negotiations to close.

  • Work within the sales team but also within the wider Revenue team and company.

  • Work with marketing on various campaign strategies.

  • Work with team members individually as needed while always promoting a healthy team environment.

  • Work with technical experts to ensure the best product and service solutions for a given client.

Most In-demand Hard Skills

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

  1. Sales

  2. Marketing

  3. Business

  4. Saas

  5. Sales Management

  6. Salesforce

  7. CRM

  8. Business Development

  9. Enterprise Sales

  10. MS Excel

  11. Sales Leadership

  12. MS Powerpoint

  13. Account Management

  14. ERP

  15. Software Sales

  16. Management

  17. Business Administration

  18. Managing Complex Sales Cycles from Start to Finish

  19. Business Acumen

  20. Customer Service

Most In-demand Soft Skills

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

  1. Written and oral communication skills

  2. Interpersonal skills

  3. Leadership

  4. Presentation

  5. Organizational capacity

  6. Self-starter

  7. Problem-solving attitude

  8. Negotiation

  9. Creative

  10. Analytical ability

  11. Attention to detail

  12. Team player

  13. Self-motivated

  14. Listening

  15. Entrepreneurial mindset

  16. Collaborative

  17. Organized

  18. Time-management

  19. Work ethic

  20. Results-oriented

Stay on top of the sports job market!

Subscribe to our newsletter