What does a sales support manager do?
A sales support manager is responsible for monitoring the sales operations of an organization, evaluating the sales performance, and conducting data analysis and research to identify business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources and increase the company's profitability. Sales support managers also meet with existing potential clients to discuss services and negotiate contracts, responding to their inquiries and concerns, and addressing their requests. They also handle the training and programs for the sales staff to maximize efficiency and productivity to meet target goals and increase sales volume.
Sales support manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real sales support manager resumes:
- Develop specifications, samples, and product metrics to achieve production readiness for all POS material.
- Leverage other sales office resources and administrative/support staff to achieve personal and team relate revenue goals.
- Improve sales order checklist and re-evaluat assigned duties; ensure sales order fulfillment and logistics process improvement.
- Coordinate daily workload within team using SalesForce and GP metrics to ensure that assign tasks are complete expeditiously.
- Direct proposal development activities including RFP review and bid determination.
- Coordinate with legal and contracting departments to obtain information to fulfill RFP requirements.
- Develop analytical reports/dashboards in SalesForce to review performance of direct sales and partner accounts.
- Participate fully in cross-functional teams that addressed strategic business issues involving CRM and sales operations.
- Develop and implement CRM campaign process that eliminate noise and increase visibility to key market segments and strategic accounts.
- Process all orders including invoicing, fulfillment, shipping logistics including BOL, international documentation and tracking for customers.
- Conduct process analysis and assist with design and development of new claims/order entry module within existing ERP.
- Assist in rolling out new OEM strategy with target partners and leading change process with team members.
- Quoted, win and execute multiple and detail technical projects for international and NA base semiconductor and consumer OEM clients.
- Create marketing content for pages and promotional initiatives, newsletter design and implementation, create designed and produce PowerPoint presentations.
Sales support manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Sales Support Managers are proficient in Project Management, CRM, and Salesforce. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Customer-service skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Sales Support Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 12%
Utilized project management skills to organize network professionals, IT Operations leaderships and product management to participate in on-site audit presentations.
- CRM, 7%
Developed and implemented CRM campaign process that eliminated noise and increased visibility to key market segments and strategic accounts.
- Salesforce, 7%
Coordinate daily workload within team using SalesForce and GP metrics to ensure that assigned tasks are completed expeditiously.
- Sales Training, 6%
Conducted sales training clinics and sales coaching programs for national and international account sales representatives.
- Excellent Interpersonal, 5%
Possess excellent interpersonal, analytical, and organizational skills.
- Direct Reports, 5%
Performed formal monthly and annual developmental one-on-ones with direct reports.
"project management," "crm," and "salesforce" are among the most common skills that sales support managers use at work. You can find even more sales support manager responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a sales support manager to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "sales managers must collect and interpret complex data to target the most promising geographic areas and demographic groups, and determine the most effective sales strategies." Sales support managers often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "managed a team of sales reps covering lower michigan for their data, mailing and shipping automation product lines. "
Customer-service skills. Many sales support manager duties rely on customer-service skills. "when helping to make a sale, sales managers must listen and respond to the customer’s needs.," so a sales support manager will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways sales support manager responsibilities rely on customer-service skills: "maintain all master service agreements in our erp system to guarantee customer coverage never lapsed & all products are covered. "
Communication skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of sales support managers is communication skills. This skill is critical to many everyday sales support manager duties, as "sales managers need to work with colleagues and customers, so they must be able to communicate clearly." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "shared bulletins and memos to maximize communications between the front end and other departments affected by change. "
Leadership skills. sales support manager responsibilities often require "leadership skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "sales managers must be able to evaluate how their sales staff performs and must develop strategies for meeting sales goals." This resume example shows what sales support managers do with leadership skills on a typical day: "completed hr and leadership training programs through dick's sporting goods. "
The three companies that hire the most sales support managers are:
- Bath & Body Works144 sales support managers jobs
- Wolters Kluwer56 sales support managers jobs
- Danaher8 sales support managers jobs
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Sales support manager vs. Business development sales manager
A business development sales manager is in charge of securing sales by reaching out to clients through calls, correspondence, or appointments. Their responsibilities often revolve around performing research and analysis to identify new leads and sales opportunities, offering different products and services, and creating proposals and price quotes for potential clients. A business development sales manager may also tailor payment plans, process billing, participate in various marketing initiatives, and produce progress reports. Furthermore, it is essential to ensure customer satisfaction and build positive relationships to strengthen the company's client base.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a sales support manager are more likely to require skills like "project management," "excellent interpersonal," "direct reports," and "excellent organizational." On the other hand, a job as a business development sales manager requires skills like "customer service," "healthcare," "business relationships," and "cold calls." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Business development sales managers earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $130,807. On the other hand, sales support managers are paid more in the professional industry with an average salary of $106,396.The education levels that business development sales managers earn slightly differ from sales support managers. In particular, business development sales managers are 2.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a sales support manager. Additionally, they're 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sales support 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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, sales support manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "salesforce," "excellent interpersonal," "direct reports," and "excellent organizational." Meanwhile, a product manager/sales has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "product sales," "product management," and "cycle management." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Product managers/sales earn a higher average salary than sales support managers. But product managers/sales earn the highest pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $108,541. Additionally, sales support managers earn the highest salaries in the professional with average pay of $106,396 annually.In general, product managers/sales achieve similar levels of education than sales support managers. They're 0.7% more 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 support managers in the next 3-5 years?
Executive Director of the NRF Foundation and Senior Vice President of Communication and Public Affairs of NRF, National Retail Federation
Sales support manager vs. International sales manager
An International Sales Manager is responsible for coordinating the sales department's global operations through sales volume monitoring and establishing goals. International Sales Managers maintain the company's global sales for services and commodities, and create methodical procedures and ideas to attract and persuade international clients to buy. In addition, it is their duty to plan, inspire, and motivate the sales workforce, and prepare and create daily, monthly, and annual sales reports. They also design and enforce a variety of assessment programs and plans.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from sales support manager resumes include skills like "project management," "crm," "salesforce," and "excellent interpersonal," whereas an international sales manager is more likely to list skills in "product development," "sales growth," "distribution channels," and "r."
International sales managers earn the highest salary when working in the transportation industry, where they receive an average salary of $81,240. Comparatively, sales support managers have the highest earning potential in the professional industry, with an average salary of $106,396.international sales managers typically earn higher educational levels compared to sales support managers. Specifically, they're 7.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Sales support 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.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between sales support managers and commercial sales managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a sales support manager might have more use for skills like "salesforce," "excellent interpersonal," "excellent organizational," and "sales process." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of commercial sales managers require skills like "customer service," "sales targets," "work ethic," and "hvac. "
The manufacturing industry tends to pay the highest salaries for commercial sales managers, with average annual pay of $90,326. Comparatively, the highest sales support manager annual salary comes from the professional industry.In general, commercial sales managers hold similar degree levels compared to sales support managers. Commercial sales managers are 1.9% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of sales support manager
Updated January 8, 2025











