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Government 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 government sales manager skills. We ranked the top skills for government sales managers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 19.9% of government sales manager resumes contained veterans as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a government sales manager needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 government sales manager skills for your resume and career

1. Veterans

Here's how government sales managers use veterans:

Prepared and /or validated the Veterans Administration Public Law pricing and Public Health Service pricing for Johnson and Johnson pharmaceutical products.
Called on Department of Defense and Veterans Administration Hospitals in New York State.

2. Customer Satisfaction

Here's how government sales managers use customer satisfaction:

Developed and implemented job performance and training programs to maintain customer satisfaction.
Track orders from shipment to delivery to ensure customer satisfaction.

3. Database

A database is a collection of data and information which makes it easy to view, access, and manage. Databases save a lot of time and can store huge amounts of data. Databases make sorting data easier and stores it in certain fields which narrows the searching criteria. A database usually contains tables, graphs, and columns to display data.

Here's how government sales managers use database:

Managed complex IT projects including web development, database integration, document conversion and new application building.
Helped develop the division-wide Business Development database which tracked customer activity and maintained pricing history.

4. Enterprise Sales

Here's how government sales managers use enterprise sales:

Led a highly skilled inside sales team that closed $2 million in enterprise sales from acquisition accounts.
Led entire 20-person group to gain 2 promotions and move to various enterprise sales, channel sales, and management roles.

5. 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 government sales managers use erp:

Established implementation overview for Lotus Notes and ERP application.
Fine-tuned and align value-adding internal key controls with corporate objectives across 30+ countries and 10+ ERP platforms.

6. Government Affairs

Government affairs refer to the process of state influencing public policy at all governance levels: regional, local, national, and global.

Here's how government sales managers use government affairs:

Produced all legislative and regulatory policy literature, as well as internal Board of Directors government affairs update memos.
Coordinated and edited Federal Government Affairs department weekly activity summary for association's member company representatives.

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7. Project Management

Here's how government sales managers use project management:

Project Management Financial representative for IT/Infrastructure Services Spend Transparency Project, resulting in greater visibility to actual project spend.
Managed a steering committee that developed a standard project management methodology across the enterprise.

8. Local Government

Here's how government sales managers use local government:

Review State or Local Government agency or Municipality and Fleet customer specifications for vehicles being bid.
Managed state and local government relations activity in 20 states and co-managed federal government relations efforts.

9. 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 government sales managers use business development:

Coordinate and partner with manufacturers for go to market strategy including target accounts and business development.
Implemented strategic business development goals and sales training tailored to government customer needs.

10. Government Sales

Here's how government sales managers use government sales:

Managed the Government Sales Engineer program in positioning all product lines and associated support services into the federal integrator community.
Managed our Government Sales and Sourcing departments and team members while securing Government opportunities through effectively utilizing online bid sites.

11. Government Officials

Here's how government sales managers use government officials:

Develop and maintain relationships with government officials, legislators and stakeholders.
Developed and maintained, consistent and effective relationships with government officials at the local, state, and federal levels.

12. Medicaid

Here's how government sales managers use medicaid:

Directed contracting, product positioning and public relations within state Medicaid channel.
Served as company liaison to Medicaid staff, HMO's and PBM's in addressing problems with product prior authorization denials.

13. Logistics

Logistics is a complete organization and implementation of a problem. Logistics are often considered in a complex business operation, as some works need detailed plannings. Logistics are also used in military action.

Here's how government sales managers use logistics:

Managed 28+ contracts/subcontracts for a large international logistics firm.
Manage A-Z logistics of bids awarded, including specialized packaging, supply chain, and shipping.

14. Medicare

Medicare is a federal government insurance program that offers health care coverage to people who are 65 and above. In some cases, younger people with disabilities whose status is identified by the SSA can also avail the insurance program. Medicare covers the health expenses of people who are not able to afford it plus it protects the payee from rising health care costs.

Here's how government sales managers use medicare:

Collaborate efforts with key stakeholder organizations and Congress to develop legislative proposal to redesign the Medicare home oxygen benefit.
Created corporate Medicare compliance auditing program.

15. Lean Six Sigma

Here's how government sales managers use lean six sigma:

Sponsored Lean Six Sigma Kaizen Event in largest government account to maximize customer benefits.

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What skills help Government 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 government 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 government 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 government 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 government 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 government 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 government 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 government sales manager skills to add to your resume

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

Veterans
Customer Satisfaction
Database
Enterprise Sales
ERP
Government Affairs
Project Management
Local Government
Business Development
Government Sales
Government Officials
Medicaid
Logistics
Medicare
Lean Six Sigma
Government Contracts

State Government
Sales Growth
Political Action Committee
DOD
Direct Reports
Pre Sales
Trade Associations
Regulatory Issues
GSA Schedule
ISO
DCAA
Trade Shows
Sales Strategies
Government Regulations
Government Market
CAS

Government Accounts
State Agencies
DCMA
Cost Accounting Standards
Sales Revenue
Healthcare
RFP
Sales Training
US Government
Customer Inquiries
Government Clients
Revenue Growth
Federal Contracts
Government Entities
Product Line

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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