A regional sales manager is a person who coordinates and supervises the sale of a company’s goods and services across a specified physical district. He or she may be responsible for finding new clients or buyers in an area, distributing promotional items and advertisements, managing a team of sales representatives, and conducting professional customer service. A successful sales manager must have excellent communication and problem-solving skills, understand the economical principles of supply and demand, and be capable of making important decisions.
Competent sales managers are essential in companies that market products to the general public as well as those that supply smaller distributors. A regional sales manager is often required to travel to different cities or stores within a district to speak with dealers and distributors who may be interested in carrying a product offered by the company. He or she constantly analyzes statistics regarding the number of sales made in a given time period, the resulting profits, and the need for new clients and inventory.
A sales manager at a large corporation is usually responsible for training, organizing, and directing a team of representatives. The manager works closely with his or her team to identify sales goals, create and implement strategies, and evaluate performance. He or she might supervise representatives as they place phone calls or accompany them in physical meetings with potential buyers. The sales manager may be required to intervene to settle a dispute or discrepancy about an order and ensure that the buyer is ultimately satisfied.
The majority of communication and order processing at modern companies is done through email and Internet websites. A regional sales manager must be comfortable working with different types of computer programs, email servers, spreadsheets, and word processing software. He or she is often required to keep detailed electronic records of client information, past sales records, pending shipments and payments, and employee information.
To become a regional sales manager in most industries, an individual must typically obtain at least a bachelor’s degree in business administration, marketing, finance, or a similar field. Many large companies require sales managers to hold master’s degrees and attend specialized training to prepare them for the job. A large number of employees prefer to promote successful workers from within their companies to the ranks of managers, rather than hiring new individuals who are unfamiliar with company policies and regulations. A new regional sales manager typically begins his or her career by working as an assistant to an established professional, learning the fundamentals of the position and becoming familiar with specific procedures.