What does a sales development manager do?
Sales Development Managers oversee a specific function in the sales department. They are in charge of creating sales pitches, communication tools, and strategies to boost the company's sales performance. They may be assigned to do these activities for a specific product or service or for the whole product line of the organization. Sales Development Managers are also expected to create branding images that will help their sales strategies. They are required to fully understand the company's history, image, and target market. This will ensure that the branding and sales strategies they create are in line with the company's values.
Sales development manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real sales development manager resumes:
- Create the communication of leads into the sales CRM to be follow up on by the inside sales force.
- Develop and manage customized patient education programs for nationwide distribution through healthcare nonprofit associations by securing third-party pharmaceutical sponsorship.
- Conduct healthcare need assessments for prospective assist living residents.
- Maintain CRM customer database for assign and newly develop customers.
- Generate week-over-week sales snapshots for management that identify actionable insights to improve market share in territory.
- Create ad sales materials for lifestyle category editorial content packages as well as determined optimal pricing models to maximize revenue earnings.
- Regulate OEM production from company's manufacturing plants that positively impact brand perception in key markets.
- Core competencies include custom OEM transceiver development, web and interface design, and leading edge wireless cellular communication controls development.
- Create a comprehensive program for new representatives internationally, incorporating instruction & assessment utilizing eLearning and live in-classroom / lab-base training.
Sales development manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Sales Development Managers are proficient in SDR, Salesforce, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Business skills, Collaboration skills, and Instructional skills.
We break down the percentage of Sales Development Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- SDR, 9%
Manage and train Sales Development Representatives (SDR) on product, services and sale techniques to convert leads into sales.
- Salesforce, 7%
Optimized SalesForce for best lead referral to RVP's.
- Customer Service, 7%
Changed culture from purely operational to more balanced approach which included sales management and customer service.
- CRM, 5%
Maintain CRM customer database for assigned and newly developed customers.
- Sales Process, 5%
Re-tasked job descriptions with sales-driven functions and aligned compensation to sales process.
- Business Development, 5%
Analyzed territory, customer requirements, business development opportunities and determined need for sales focus and penetration for our 13 centers.
Common skills that a sales development manager uses to do their job include "sdr," "salesforce," and "customer service." You can find details on the most important sales development manager responsibilities below.
Business skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a sales development manager to have is business skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "training and development managers must understand business operations in order to match training with business goals." Sales development managers often use business skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "set individual and company-wide sales objectives and formulate plans to expand business. "
Collaboration skills. Another essential skill to perform sales development manager duties is collaboration skills. Sales development managers responsibilities require that "training and development managers need strong interpersonal skills because delivering training programs requires working in concert with staff, trainees, subject matter experts, and the organization’s leaders." Sales development managers also use collaboration skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "conduct voc surveys and set up customer collaborations for new product development. "
Instructional skills. This is an important skill for sales development managers to perform their duties. For an example of how sales development manager responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "training and development managers need to understand the fundamentals of teaching and lesson planning." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a sales development manager: "designed & implemented various instructional sessions in topics ranging from scientific/technical reviews to account/regional sales strategies".
Leadership skills. A big part of what sales development managers do relies on "leadership skills." You can see how essential it is to sales development manager responsibilities because "managers are often in charge of a staff and programs." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical sales development manager tasks: "partnered with hr staff to lead change management and leadership programs, acting as liaison to align competencies with business outcomes. "
Communication skills. Another common skill required for sales development manager responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of sales development managers all the time, as "training and development managers must clearly convey information to diverse audiences." An excerpt from a real sales development manager resume shows how this skill is central to what a sales development manager does: "created and made sales presentations, which sold specific features and benefits of dix communications products. "
The three companies that hire the most sales development managers are:
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Compare different sales development managers
Sales development manager vs. Product manager/sales
A sales product manager is responsible for monitoring the sales performance of a specific product and ensuring that the marketing strategies adhere to market standards and client requirements. Sales product managers work closely with the marketing and public relations team to enhance the product's brand image on various market platforms to reach the target audience. They also conduct data and statistical analysis to identify business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources and increase the company's profitability.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, sales development manager responsibilities require skills like "sdr," "salesforce," "lead generation," and "training programs." Meanwhile a typical product manager/sales has skills in areas such as "product sales," "product management," "cycle management," and "customer support." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Product managers/sales really shine in the education industry with an average salary of $108,541. Comparatively, sales development managers tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $107,980.On average, product managers/sales reach similar levels of education than sales development managers. Product managers/sales are 3.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Sales development manager vs. Commercial sales manager
Commercial sales managers have various duties and responsibilities. These include managing marketing campaigns via phone, direct mail, and the internet, supervising the sales executive teams to develop and maintaining good relations with healthcare professionals, and managing client relationships and identifying opportunities for new business. Additional duties include evaluating supply chain and logistics infrastructure, negotiating contract terms, and bidding on new projects. Commercial sales managers are also responsible for overseeing the company's business growth, identifying areas that can be developed, and generating quotes for prospective customers.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, sales development manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "sdr," "salesforce," "sales process," and "lead generation." Meanwhile, a commercial sales manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "work ethic," "hvac," "business sales," and "commercial vehicles." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Commercial sales managers may earn a lower salary than sales development managers, but commercial sales managers earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $90,326. On the other hand, sales development managers receive higher pay in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $107,980.In general, commercial sales managers achieve lower levels of education than sales development managers. They're 6.4% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for sales development managers in the next 3-5 years?
Bill Thorne
Executive Director of the NRF Foundation and Senior Vice President of Communication and Public Affairs of NRF, National Retail Federation
Sales development manager vs. Technical sales manager
A technical sales manager is responsible for monitoring the sales techniques and performance of the sales team in selling technical services and systems to the customers. Technical sales managers coordinate with clients to discuss and negotiate offers of new products and services. They also identify business opportunities by analyzing current technology trends from public demands to generate more revenue resources and increase the company's profits. A technical sales manager facilitates and plans sales training and programs to maximize staff's efficiency and productivity.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, sales development managers are more likely to have skills like "sdr," "salesforce," "lead generation," and "strong work ethic." But a technical sales manager is more likely to have skills like "sales management," "windows," "post sales," and "emerging technologies."
Technical sales managers make a very good living in the manufacturing industry with an average annual salary of $116,399. On the other hand, sales development managers are paid the highest salary in the manufacturing industry, with average annual pay of $107,980.Most technical sales managers achieve a similar degree level compared to sales development managers. For example, they're 2.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sales development manager vs. Territory sales manager
A territory sales manager is an individual who supervises the daily sales operations of sales representatives that are assigned to a particular location. Territory sales managers are required to meet sales targets to gain an increase in revenues and must maintain excellent customer relationships. They attend trade shows to promote the products and services of the company at the same time, conduct surveys to better understand the needs of their customers. As they are engaged in sales, territory sales managers must possess a bachelor's degree in business administration or management.
Types of sales development manager
Updated January 8, 2025
