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Job description: Sales Director
As a sales director, you will be responsible for creating and delivering sales strategy for your company, product range or designated market.
You'll play a fundamental role in developing future growth, and provide vision, direction and leadership. Your specific duties are likely to include:
- Developing strategy, tactics, sales plans and profit targets.
- Delivering sales by developing relationships with retail partners.
- Identifying and reporting on business opportunities in target markets
- Acting as an ambassador and role model for your business
- Taking responsibility for profit and loss
- Increasing market share in existing markets and maximise new business development opportunities.
- Achieving targets for revenue, profitability and sales growth.
- Provide direction to your department.
Hours and Environment
Nominally, you'll work 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. However, your duties are likely to involve a lot of out of hours activity.
You'll be office-based, but also spend much of your time visiting clients, partners, other branches of your organisation and your sales team in the field. You may also need to attend conferences, trade fairs and exhibitions. Your job may involve travel in both the UK and abroad.
Skills and Interests
To be a sales director you'll need to have:
- Excellent sales and negotiation skills
- Good business sense
- The ability to inspire, motivate and lead a team
- Initiative, drive and enthusiasm
- Excellent communication and 'people skills' Good planning and organisational skills
- The ability to work calmly under pressure
- Good IT, budget and report writing skills
- A full driving licence
- Be able to speak at least one European language, preferably two.
Entry
You'll need proven sales management experience, together with a good record of achieving targets. Some companies may prefer you to have a business-related BTEC HND or degree, but your experience and track record are usually considered more important than your formal qualifications
That said, you may well find it an advantage to have work-based qualifications, such as NVQs in sales or qualifications from professional bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM) and the Managing and Marketing Sales Association (MAMSA).
For technical sectors such as hi-tech, IT or engineering, you're likely to need a degree or at least an HND in a relevant subject. Alternatively, you could have expert market knowledge gained from experience in design or manufacturing.
Training
As a sales director, you'll be expected to have good sales and management skills already, together with appropriate qualifications. Your employer will normally provide some training in their products and in-house sales administration systems.
You could work towards NVQ levels 3 and 4 in Sales, or other advanced qualifications such as:
- Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Advanced Certificate in Sales Management, and Diploma in Professional Sales
- Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM) Level 5 Diploma in Strategic Sales (Sales Management or Key Account Management)
- Managing and Marketing Sales Association (MAMSA) Advanced Diploma in Sales Management.
See the CIM, ISMM and MAMSA websites for more details about their qualifications.
You could also choose to take qualifications in general management, such as NVQ levels 3, 4 and 5 in Management.
Opportunities
You could work as a sales director all over the UK, for all kinds of industries and markets including manufacturing, wholesale distribution and consumer goods.
Jobs may be advertised with specialist sales recruitment websites and agencies, in the local and national press, and trade publications for your particular industry.
With experience and a good track record, you could be promoted to managing director or chief executive.
Annual Income
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
- Salaries can reach six figures, frequently in the £130,000 - £150,000 range.
- Most companies offer a basic salary with a bonus or commission scheme, which can vary widely depending on experience and the industry or market sector.
- A car or petrol allowance and expenses are usually included in the salary package.
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