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Strategic sales manager skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
Quoted experts
Adry S. Clark Ph.D.,
Andrea Dixon Ph.D.
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical strategic sales manager skills. We ranked the top skills for strategic sales managers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 10.8% of strategic sales manager resumes contained business development as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a strategic sales manager needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 strategic sales manager skills for your resume and career

1. 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 strategic sales managers use business development:
  • Developed account penetration strategy and managed business development at Cisco Systems for 10Gb network processors, securing several design wins.
  • Initiate New Business Development for mid-sized organizations within SaaS business model for Microsoft Hosted Exchange.

2. Cloud

Cloud is a server that is accessed over the internet. There are different programs and software that also run on these servers. These clouds can be accessed from anywhere in the world as they are not present in your computer storage, but have their online servers. Cloud consists of data centers all across the world.

Here's how strategic sales managers use cloud:
  • Developed segment strategic direction and vision for Volume Purchase Agreements, E-Procurement, Cloud Solutions and major technology initiatives.
  • Provide guidance on organizational transformation required to support cloud initiatives

3. Salesforce

Salesforce is an American cloud-based software company based in San Francisco, California. This company provides customer relationship management services that enable the customers to be closer to the company. It gives the company detailed information about each customer, including marketing, sales, commerce, and services. Salesforce also helps market a product to attract more buyers, and helps win more customers by targeting the right audience.

Here's how strategic sales managers use salesforce:
  • Developed and implemented effective sales, marketing and business development plans, including acquisition and integration of market database into SalesForce.com.
  • Served as Project Team Leader on SalesForce Database design resulting in streamlined reporting and increased accuracy of market data.

4. 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 strategic sales managers use erp:
  • Recognized as subject matter expert in wireless data transfer, EDI, ERP device integration, and emerging Mobile technology.
  • Project lead for a team of 35 in a 16 month ERP implementation and financial systems rebuild.

5. Sales Pipeline

Here's how strategic sales managers use sales pipeline:
  • Quadrupled prospect database of corporations/distributor channels and secured preferred vendor agreements to increase sales pipeline resulting in new accounts and revenue.
  • Developed preliminary sales pipeline, initiating and managing all communications with local and national merchant prospects prior to release of product.

6. Revenue Growth

Here's how strategic sales managers use revenue growth:
  • Worked extensively with the channel partners to boost revenue growth on Federal projects.
  • Developed an annual sales conference involving cross-divisional teams to streamline processes, enhance corporate awareness, and promote revenue growth initiatives.

7. C-Suite

C-suite alludes to the leader level chiefs inside an organization. Regular c-suite heads incorporate (CEO), (CFO), head working official (COO), and boss data official (CIO).

Here's how strategic sales managers use c-suite:
  • Managed hospital C-suite client relationships to guarantee service delivery according to contract specifications and client service level expectations.
  • Developed relationships with C-suite executives and crafted custom solutions by conducting needs analysis.

8. Saas

Here's how strategic sales managers use saas:
  • Launced new division within $40M privately held pioneer in call tracking technology (SaaS)/business analytics industry.
  • Developed and implemented strategic plans for market penetration and focused primarily on Enterprise and SaaS solutions.

9. Post Sales

Here's how strategic sales managers use post sales:
  • Edged out competition by offering better product fit with superior post sales service and winning profitable COA Services account.
  • Managed all accounts from the beginning through delivery and post sales support.

10. Sales Cycle

Here's how strategic sales managers use sales cycle:
  • Managed full sales cycle, which included collaborating with clients.
  • Assisted in generating a process workflow map to help the client better understand the Sales cycle.

11. C-Level

C-Level refers to corporate-level jobs such as chief executive officer (CEO) and chief financial officer (CFO). These positions are the highest level of management within a company and are typically earned after years of working at various positions within a single company. As C-level executives oversee large teams, excellent communication and management skills are required for these positions.

Here's how strategic sales managers use c-level:
  • Targeted market - C-Level decision makers of large Commercial Accounts.
  • Charged with developing highest level of sales professional on key business strategies with effective C-level engagement.

12. Contract Negotiations

When a contract is negotiated, an agreement is reached on a series of legally binding terms before it is signed and made official. Two or more parties agree on the terms of their relationship. When negotiating a contract, the focus is usually on risk and return.

Here's how strategic sales managers use contract negotiations:
  • Coordinate with both sides' legal departments in contract negotiation, flexibility, liability, terms and conditions, renewal etc.
  • Led contract negotiations with clients at the VP level and above.

13. Trade Shows

Here's how strategic sales managers use trade shows:
  • Participated in numerous trade shows and demonstrated services to recruiters while managing a large territory in the Eastern US.Public service
  • Presented at trade shows and analyst conferences and represented our corporation in analyst briefings and conducted presentations at numerous investor conferences.

14. Sales Organization

Sales organization is part of a firm or company's entire business organization, which is focused on the distribution of goods. The sales organization is responsible for the efficient allocation of goods and services to the client. This is also defined as the group of individuals working together to market a product and sell to consumers or clients. And the sales organization is tasked with planning and controlling activities to include recruitment, orientation, and training of employees and the assigning to their tasks, supervision, and motivation to perform well.

Here's how strategic sales managers use sales organization:
  • Worked closely with the sales organization to manage the budget, long term plan, quarterly forecasting and reporting.
  • Established MoveSignals as a consistent marketing product now sold throughout the national Equifax sales organization.

15. Cold Calls

Cold calling is a kind of business solicitation from customers who didn't express interest in their product and services before. In this technique, a salesman conducts a call with potential customers with whom they haven't had a prior interaction. Cold calling can include phone calls or telemarketing. However, in-person visits like door-to-door marketing are also a type of cold calling

Here's how strategic sales managers use cold calls:
  • Generate new business and meet with key decision makers in assigned territory through prospecting and cold calling.
  • Executed cold calling campaigns within Federal accounts to uncover and sourced new sales opportunities.
top-skills

What skills help Strategic 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 strategic sales manager resumes?

Adry S. Clark Ph.D.Adry S. Clark Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

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

Kaustav Misra Ph.D.Kaustav Misra Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Dean, Central Connecticut State University

This pandemic taught us many things and one important thing that we have an efficiency gap.

The way of doing business will be much more technology orientated. Hence graduates should be ready to unskill and upskill their credentials. This time it is necessary to forget the old way of doing business and learn new skills to get a job or stay in a current job. Soft skills have become much more important than before, but a different soft skill set would be essential to interact with future market participants. Thus, a gap year should be utilized to unskill-upskill and enhance relevant credentials by getting into short-long term programs, training, and workshops would be highly recommended.

What type of skills will young strategic sales managers need?

Michael MikitkaMichael Mikitka LinkedIn profile

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 strategic sales manager stand out to employers?

Todd Lee GoenTodd Lee Goen LinkedIn profile

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.

List of strategic sales manager skills to add to your resume

Strategic sales manager skills

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

  • Business Development
  • Cloud
  • Salesforce
  • ERP
  • Sales Pipeline
  • Revenue Growth
  • C-Suite
  • Saas
  • Post Sales
  • Sales Cycle
  • C-Level
  • Contract Negotiations
  • Trade Shows
  • Sales Organization
  • Cold Calls
  • Relationship Building
  • CRM
  • Account Management
  • Strategic Accounts
  • Business Plan
  • Cycle Management
  • Sales Growth
  • Sales Strategies
  • ROI
  • Market Research
  • Client Relationships
  • Lead Generation
  • Direct Sales
  • Product Development
  • Delta
  • IP
  • Product Sales
  • OEM
  • Healthcare
  • Strategic Partnerships
  • RFP
  • Gross Profit
  • Product Line
  • Direct Reports
  • Process Improvement
  • Electronic Components

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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.

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