Perform a Google search for the query, “MBA and Sales Management” and you’ll find dozens of articles claiming that sales and MBAs don’t mix. The reports argue that sales people are born, not made. However, that’s not entirely the truth.
Sales is the lifeblood of every company. An effective sales team increases revenue and drives enterprise value. That’s why top programs at schools such as the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago offer executive programs in Strategic Sales Management. These schools understand that sales management is a discipline that can be taught just like product management and consulting.
To truly understand a career in sales management; first, you have to understand what it takes to be successful.
Sales Manager Job Description
A Sales Manager is the person on the sales team who drives results. They enable their staff members to do their jobs while defining tasks, setting objectives, and keeping control. According to Hubspot, there are 23 traits that every sales manager must demonstrate. We’ve outlined a few of the essential characteristics below:
- Analytical Ability: Sales Managers are repositories of information. They have to be able to draw conclusions and sift through all the information to get to the hard facts.
- Planning and Organization: A strong Sales Manager leads his team from the front with well-written objectives and a plan to reach them. However, a sales manager must be able to do more than make a plan; they have to be adaptable and able to anticipate problems and come up with solutions.
- Excellent Communicator: Not only do Sales Managers need to be able to communicate effectively with customers and clients, but they also have to be able to communicate with their team clearly.
- Knowledgeable: Sales Managers need to be knowledgeable about the technical side of their business as well as the management side. They need to be able to understand and implement modern management techniques while also having an exceptional understanding of their industry.
Working as a Sales Manager
An excellent Sales Manager develops and maintains sales relationships while overseeing a team of sales representatives out in the field. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), an effective Sales Manager should have taken courses in Marketing, Accounting, Finance, Statistics, Business Law, Economics, Information Systems, Strategic and Operations Management, and Business Communication.
On a day-to-day basis, a Sales Manager will be required to work with Marketing to ensure consistent lead generation. They’ll also need to collaborate with sales leadership on various sales processes. They’re also responsible for managing the day-to-day performance of all their sales team members while hiring and training new sales people. It’s also a position focused on coaching and developing direct reports while also holding responsibility for meeting revenue goals.
Qualifications include:
- Three to five years of sales experience
- Managerial experience (at least one year)
- Strong intrapersonal skills
- Familiarity with data analysis and reporting
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
Sales Manager Salary
The average Sales Manager makes $113,860 a year or $54.74 an hour, according to the BLS. They also have a positive job outlook, with 5% growth expected until 2024, about as fast as average for all occupations. In the top industries, Sales Managers salaries are as follows:
- Finance & Insurance: $148,390
- Professional, Scientific & Technical Services: $141,460
- Manufacturing: $118,200
- Wholesale Trade: $117,540
- Retail Trade: $81,000
Do You Need an MBA?
So, do you need an MBA for a role as a Sales Manager?
Not really. While the Global MBA (Sales Management) Degree at the London School of Business and Finance prepares MBAs for a successful career in sales management, it’s only a springboard.
According to eFinancialCareers, the success of a sales job is based mainly on revenue results. An MBA could start off behind a University classmate who went straight into sales from undergrad since Sales is mostly about results.
For Scott Chepow, an MBA and Sales Manager at Global Negotiation Strategist, he believes that most MBAs don’t go into sales because an MBA is not fundamentally necessary to success in the job. He revealed his thoughts on LinkedIn in response to the article, “Why Don’t MBAs Go Into Sales?”
“As someone who holds an MBA and works in sales, the reason most MBA’s don’t go into sales is because you fundamentally don’t need to earn an advanced degree to be successful as a salesperson. Even more to the point, once the path of sales is chosen, advancement is typically limited to ‘he/she who sells the most’ rather than he/she who illustrates the strongest traits of leadership. So, the ROI on an advanced degree is limited in the field. I definitely had coursework on sales through my marketing curriculum, but it was rather cursory as opposed to a true sales course.”