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Distribution sales manager skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Adry S. Clark Ph.D.,

Andrea Dixon Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical distribution sales manager skills. We ranked the top skills for distribution sales managers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 20.8% of distribution sales manager resumes contained customer service as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a distribution sales manager needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 distribution sales manager skills for your resume and career

1. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how distribution sales managers use customer service:

Provided personal customer service coordinated my distributors and maintained customer satisfaction by selling natural plant based wellness products.
Provide customer service and establish strong relationships with clients, generating repeat business through successful follow-up.

2. Customer Complaints

Here's how distribution sales managers use customer complaints:

Resolved customer complaints by investigating problems, developing solutions and suggesting recommendations to management.
Provided service to meet customer satisfaction and resolved customer complaints.

3. Sales People

Here's how distribution sales managers use sales people:

Performed on site training of new product and made buddy calls with the sales people.
Managed teams of up to 8 sales people on a daily basis.

4. Product Line

Product line is a collection of similar or related products that may be under a single brand manufactured by the same company. It may include different varieties of a specific product of a brand which comes in different categories. In other cases, the product line may differ in some characteristics despite being from the same manufacturer.

Here's how distribution sales managers use product line:

Assessed customer needs and designed solutions that retained and expanded product lines that maximized profitably.
Directed ten product line selling teams to ensure efforts do not overlap and are consistent with the company's sales goals.

5. Retail Store

Here's how distribution sales managers use retail store:

Identified new channels of distribution by prospecting and qualifying possible new retail store owners in the U.S. and Mexico.
Conducted retail store audit of sales, pricing and positioning, and product distribution.

6. Business Development

Business development is the ideas or initiatives that work to make business work better. Selling, advertising, product development, supply chain management, and vendor management are only a few of the divisions involved with it. There is still a lot of networking, negotiating, forming alliances, and trying to save money. The goals set for business development guide and coordinate with all of these various operations and sectors.

Here's how distribution sales managers use business development:

Facilitated business development by collaborating with distributors as technical resources and addressing architects and engineers regarding technical aspects of manufactured products.
Developed and executed business development plans and oversaw staff deployment and program management through distribution and contract manufacturing channels.

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7. Customer Relations

Here's how distribution sales managers use customer relations:

Trained new employees on internal customer relationship management systems, proper sales technique, and management of customer interaction
Direct external customer engagement activities used to deepen customer relationships and deliver market specific value propositions

8. Route Sales

Here's how distribution sales managers use route sales:

Route sales and delivery to independent distributors.
Hired additional Route Sales Representative.

9. Sales Growth

Here's how distribution sales managers use sales growth:

Designed promotional programs aimed to increase opportunities and sales growth with distributor partners.
Formulated and implemented comprehensive business strategies, marketing campaigns, policies and procedures that drove sales growth 20% year-over-year.

10. Market Trends

Here's how distribution sales managers use market trends:

Research and develop business intelligence on competitors, customers, market trends, and government regulations.
Communicate directly with principles on market trends and targets.

11. Sales Strategies

Here's how distribution sales managers use sales strategies:

Formulated sales strategies with distribution management and sales representatives to achieve sales goals.
Identified local competition and cultivated in-depth knowledge of sales strategies.

12. ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is computer software used by major corporations and organizations for conducting their management and accounting tasks efficiently. ERP systems bind different business processes with each other allowing smoother flow of data between them resulting in swift project assessment and completion.

Here's how distribution sales managers use erp:

Maintained accurate inventory of 400+ SKU's with utilization of Microsoft Dynamics NAV enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.
Experience with SAP and other ERP systems, creating work orders, purchase orders, cycle counting and inventory management.

13. Sales Territory

Here's how distribution sales managers use sales territory:

Increased revenue by 25% through consolidation and expansion of sales territory.
Broadened scope of sales territory to include the southwest United States and Mexico

14. Distribution Channels

Here's how distribution sales managers use distribution channels:

Planned and executed strategy to grow company's penetration within existing distribution channel.
Direct, coordinate, and manage distribution channel resources for represented manufacturers.

15. OEM

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer and is a term for a company that produces and markets the parts of equipment for another company after having received the go-ahead to do so. The company can also produce devices from the combination of parts from different companies while in partnership with these companies. This is common in the computer hardware industry and is popular in the automobile and computer industries.

Here's how distribution sales managers use oem:

Reviewed and renegotiated major OEM agreements.
Developed and performed technical and sales training of new and existing representatives, in addition to joint OEM sales calls.

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What skills help Distribution Sales Managers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on distribution sales manager resumes?

Adry S. Clark Ph.D.

Director, Western Oregon University

The skills that stand out on resumes fall into two categories: 1) Skills required to do the job and 2) Skills almost all employers look for. The most important aspect of resumes is to make sure it reflects exactly what the employer needs. Study the job description, identify key skills, and have them reflected on your resume. Think about transferrable skills, not the specific roles you've had.

Most employers look for skills such as communication (written/oral), flexibility, proactivity, problem-solving, project management, and technical. Make sure to cultivate those skills in whatever role you have, and have examples that demonstrate those skills.

What soft skills should all distribution sales managers possess?

Andrea Dixon Ph.D.

Executive Director, Center for Professional Selling, Frank and Floy Smith Holloway Endowed Professorship in Marketing, President, University Sales Center Alliance 2019-2021, Baylor University

Since sales professionals have a lot of information available to them today via customer relationship management (CRM) systems, the sales manager's "supervisory" role is less important (especially for experienced sellers). Consequently, the sales manager needs to be more of a coach and enabler of high performance. Having confidence balanced with humility allows the sales manager to engage more effectively with their salespeople.
One of the critical soft skills for sales managers going forward will be the ability to connect members of the sales team to others in the organization - in other words, the sales manager of the future needs to have strong skills in network building for others. Sellers have access to data which helps them build success.
They also need access to the right people to turn to when they need specific expertise or assistance.

What hard/technical skills are most important for distribution sales managers?

Andrea Dixon Ph.D.

Executive Director, Center for Professional Selling, Frank and Floy Smith Holloway Endowed Professorship in Marketing, President, University Sales Center Alliance 2019-2021, Baylor University

One of the growing technical skill requirements for sales managers is in the area of data analytics. Our performance and customer systems provide a myriad of data, and the role of the sales manager is to be a sense-maker of that mound of data. What are the implications for changes in strategy or behavior evident in last quarter's activity? How can the sales manager help a specific seller "see" where the data suggest new approaches?

What distribution sales manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Kerri Orders

Assistant Professor of Business, Aquinas College

In terms of a gap year, I recommend that international business students acquire tangible skills, relevant experience and/or certifications which will enhance their success in their desired area of interest. For example, a gap year could consist of gaining technical or digital training overseas, which would also further the students' cultural intelligence and language proficiency. These types of enriching gap year experiences will assist students to distinguish themselves in a highly competitive market. Furthermore, students should focus on broadening and maintaining their global network during a gap year in order to be ready for the job market once the gap year is concluded.

What type of skills will young distribution sales managers need?

Michael Mikitka

Executive Vice President, MHI – Material Handling Industry

Courses and internships are essential. While the required depth of knowledge may vary from one position to another, employers are generally looking for candidates with strong "people-related" skills, those who are willing to continue to learn, and those with the ability to be flexible and adapt.

By "people-related" skills, I mean the abilities associated with effective communication (listen and express ideas and direction) and the skills related to working independently and a team.

As for the interest to continually learn... from a technology, data, and equipment perspective, today's supply chain looks very different than it did 10-years ago. The willingness and ability to continually learn are essential for anyone in a leadership role.

As for flexibility and adapting...supply chain/logistics is as much about responding to disruption and demand as it is planning for it. There is a predictable demand (i.e., seasonal...everyone knows when back-to-school shopping begins). Then there is the unpredictable demand (i.e., power-outages, wildfires, pandemic) that impact market and the ability to operate. Candidates that express flexibility and problem-solving skills will be much sought-after.

What technical skills for a distribution sales manager stand out to employers?

Todd Lee Goen

Instructor & Internship Director, Christopher Newport University

Technical skills are often industry and/or position specific. Applicants should highlight any technical skills related to the position advertisement and those that add value to the position/organization. Most importantly, requirements for technical skills change with time and technological advances. This means employers value workers capable of adapting to change and continually improving and acquiring new technical skills. Thus, it's usually more important to demonstrate you are capable of learning and developing technical skills than it is to have a specific skill set upon hire (although this is not true for some positions/industries).
That said, technical skills related to online presentations, virtual meetings, virtual networking, remote working and the like are hot commodities right now. While most organizations were in the process of adopting many of these technologies and ways of doing business pre-pandemic, the pandemic accelerated the process. Organizations are making it work, but they often don't know best practices or the most efficient means of working in the largely virtual, pandemic environment. Post-pandemic, many of the remote/virtual changes the pandemic brought will stay in some form. Technical skills that support this type of workplace will make applicants stand out to many employers because they need/want to do virtual/remote business better.

Do you want to know more?

List of distribution sales manager skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a distribution sales manager resume and required skills for a distribution sales manager to have include:

Customer Service
Customer Complaints
Sales People
Product Line
Retail Store
Business Development
Customer Relations
Route Sales
Sales Growth
Market Trends
Sales Strategies
ERP
Sales Territory
Distribution Channels
OEM
Sales Presentations

Direct Reports
Trade Shows
Grocery Store
Pre Sales
Sales Plan
Sales Support
Product Knowledge
POS
Direct Sales
Gross Profit
Business Reviews
Product Training
Sales Reps
Sales Volume
Market Penetration
Inventory Control

Distribution Network
Sap Sd
MM
Sales Training
Product Sales
Healthcare
Sales Quota
Windows
Sales Revenue
Indirect Sales
ROI
Channel Marketing
Customer Orders
Inventory Management
Cold Calls
Customer Support

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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