what is a sales director?
As a sales director, you're a motivator and planner. You are hired to manage salespeople across multiple teams to follow effective strategies. Additionally, you work with marketing divisions to create campaigns that increase the organization's revenue and client base. As you are at the director level of senior management, you have complete control of the sales portion of a company's budget.
Would working as a sales director suit your leadership skills? Then read on to find out what competencies and qualifications you need to thrive in a sales director role.
view jobs near youaverage sales director salary
Would you like to know what a sales director earns? Where the highest salaries are paid for a sales director? Then check out this sales director salary page and find out all about the salary of a sales director in the USA.
types of sales director
There are several types of sales director positions. These are specific to different organizational units. For example, a role as an e-commerce manager, your focus as a director of IT sales is the sale and service of hardware, software applications or both. On the other hand, when you take the director position for external sales, your operations look beyond the scope of your geographic region; for instance, sales products and services in Europe or Asia.
working as a sales director
You'll succeed in the position of sales director if you can increase the revenue and customer service levels of an organization. With the development of strategic plans and sure-fire motivation, you encourage your managers and their salespeople to go beyond their normal responsibilities. Ultimately, you set the tone for all the salespeople under you.
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sales director job description
As a sales director, you take on several duties to make sure your company's products or services are getting sold. Some take place on a regular schedule. Others occur on an as-needed basis.
- sales audits: The actions of your sales managers and representatives aren't done in a vacuum. As a sales director, you're responsible for auditing your team members and their processes. This includes reviews of organizational charts and client information. From this, you draw up reports and presentations to address issues and suggest recommended changes.
- customer service: Customer service is an enormous responsibility for your team. You must ensure your representatives provide the utmost care possible to the organization's customers. This is done through regular performance reviews and training your managers and team leads. Your job is to seamlessly coordinate all of these aspects and review their outcomes.
- reviews of sales-based information systems: Application-based information systems supplement communications within or outside of the company. In your role as a sales director, you examine Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools. These consolidate and track client interactions from cold calls to the signing of contracts. Once implemented, you regularly review the statistics generated from the CRM. From this data, you work with the application developer and your managers to fine-tune its modules.
- report generation: Regularly, your sales managers and team leaders compile reports that contain data on cold calls, purchases and customer service issues. Once you receive this information, it's your responsibility to create a comprehensive sales report. In turn, this is presented to other executives at the director level for further consideration.
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sales director work environment
You work in an executive office that's normally on the same floor as the other directors. It contains a desk and a sitting area for small meetings. Occasionally, it's connected to a larger conference room.
- office equipment: You work on a desktop or laptop computer. It has several analytical and report-creation applications to consolidate sales data and customer service statistics. Furthermore, you have a mobile device to access these programs in the cloud and communicate with your employees and sales promoter when off-site.
- transition to a virtual environment: Some companies move away from brick-and-mortar operations into virtual environments. As the sales director inside this type of organization, you operate from a remote location, such as a home office or a shared workspace. You have a laptop and smart device with the necessary tools to conduct meetings and compile data.
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who are your colleagues?
As a sales executive, you regularly communicate with sales managers and sales representatives to ensure the sales team is on track to reaching its targets. You work closely with other senior-level leaders in the organization.
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work schedule
As a sales director, you usually work a standard 9-5 schedule Monday through Friday. There are times where you come in earlier or later. For instance, when you deal with international clients or must be available for an executive meeting. However, you don't come in for second or third shifts when the company operates on a 24/7 schedule.
Some companies allow the option of a compressed schedule. Usually, this is Monday through Thursday or Tuesday through Friday, between the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In the end, the four-day schedule grants an extra day off to you and your team. Some people prefer longer off periods in exchange for longer work days.
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job outlook for sales director
From 2022 to 2032, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that there will be 43,200 sales director openings each year. Most of these openings are from people retiring or changing occupations. The role is growing each year at a rate of 4%, which is the average job growth rate. Sales is critical to a business's success, so sales directors are in demand. Related careers that you can transition to as a sales director are consultants, business directors, general managers and CEOs. With your skills and experience, you can start your own business if you have a viable idea.
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benefits of working for randstad as a sales director
Working through Randstad offers you a range of benefits:
- being paid weekly
- flexibility
- always a contact person you can fall back on and ask for help from
- many training opportunities
- a range of jobs in your area
Want a permanent contract? But you wonder why it would be interesting for you to work with a staffing company? A temporary job as a sales director is often a stepping stone to an attractive permanent job. Every year, thousands of people earn a permanent contract with great employers thanks to a temporary job found through Randstad. What's more, many companies recruit their permanent employees through Randstad too!
sales director skills and education
Most sales director positions require a bachelor's degree, but some consider applicants who have a high school diploma if they can prove their sales and leadership skills.
Courses that are relevant to seeking a sales director position:
- marketing
- communications
- business
- business law
- management
- finance
- statistics
- accounting
- economics
Sales experience of 1–5 years is what most employers look for when they are hiring sales directors. You can get this experience as a sales representative, a purchasing agent or a retail sales worker. Career advancement in sales usually occurs faster in large organizations than in small organizations. Many sales directors took the career advancement path of sales representative to sales manager and then sales director.
skills and competencies
Develop these skills to become a successful sales director:
- leadership: You can read books and take courses on leadership to learn how to be an effective leader. Encouraging people to take action and stay motivated isn't easy and takes practice to master. Working as a sales representative exposes you to different personalities so that you can begin learning how to connect with anyone and spur the different personality types into action. As a sales manager, you get more experience in a leadership role to prepare for the bigger responsibility of a sales director.
- sales planning: As a sales director, you write sales plans that push people to achieve without going too far into the realm of impossibility. Finding that sweet spot of growth and achievability requires skill. Other aspects of sales planning are target market research, prediction of possible obstacles and how to overcome them, strategy and goal setting. You can take the big goal and break it down into manageable steps for the team.
- organization: There are a lot of documents to keep track of as a sales director. You don't want to waste time trying to find what you need. Strong organizational skills allow you to be efficient and reduce your stress. You can research organization tips and strategies to get ideas on how to stay organized. Everyone is different, so you may have to experiment to find what works for you. General tips to follow are to always return objects to the place they belong and process your inbox everyday instead of allowing emails to pile up.
FAQs about working as a sales director
Here you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions about sales directors.
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how long does it take to become a sales director?
It usually takes 7–10 years of sales experience to become a sales director. This prior experience often consists of time spent as a sales representative and a sales manager. If you want to increase your chances of advancing to a sales director position, then it may take you an additional four years to earn a bachelor's degree unless you manage to work as a sales representative while working on your degree.
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what's the highest salary of a sales director?
The highest reported salary of a sales director is $337,015 in the United States. Keep in mind, however, that this number is an outlier. It's more common to earn around $160,000–$200,000 as a top earner. Your education, location and experience influence how much you can earn as a sales director. If you generate outstanding results for a company, you may be able to request a higher salary.
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what's the difference between a sales manager and a sales director?
As a field sales manager, you train salespeople, monitor the sales team and execute marketing strategies. A branch sales manager oversees the entire sales operation in a company. As a branch sales manager, you maintain merchandising standards, collaborate with head management to write sales plans and handle customer complaints about the sales team. Sales directors are higher up in the sales hierarchy than sales managers. They manage the sales managers and control the overall strategy and targets.
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is a sales director at the top of the sales hierarchy?
Yes, a sales director is at the top of the sales hierarchy. If you love working in sales, then you may want to make it your goal to become a sales director and work on developing the essential skills for this promotion. Sales trainees and sales representatives are at the bottom of the sales hierarchy but can be lucrative careers, too, especially if you have strong sales skills.
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what does it take to be a sales director?
Sales directors have mastered the basics of sales and developed strong leadership skills. They know how to create a solid sales plan that includes strategies on achieving the targets and ideas for overcoming potential obstacles. A sales director can pinpoint the right target markets and accurately evaluate their pain points, values and other important information. Knowing how to motivate others is also an essential skill for a sales director. You can learn all of these skills through reading books, taking courses and implementing what you learn as a sales representative and sales manager.
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how do I find a job as a sales director?
Applying for a sales director job is easy: create a Randstad profile and search our sales director jobs for vacancies in your area. Then simply send us your CV. If you do not have a resume, no worries. Just check out our resume builder. This state of the art tool will help you to create your own resume. Need help with your application? Check out all our job-hunting tips!
