A channel sales manager is in charge of a company’s efforts to market its products or services via a specific channel, such as an online portal or a chain of retail stores. Managers supervise a sales and marketing team and are in charge of setting individual goals and ensuring that annual revenue targets are met. Most employers expect a channel sales manager to have prior industry experience as well as specific academic credentials.
Sales managers are typically required to have completed high school, and many employers prefer to hire college graduates for managerial positions. Those who work in sales supervisory positions typically have a bachelor’s degree in business administration, marketing, or management. A person in charge of a high-volume sales channel may be required to have completed a postgraduate degree program in sales management or a related field.
In many cases, a company’s annual sales and revenue goals are set by the board of directors. Channel managers divide company-wide goals among themselves, and each of these individuals divides those goals among the sales team members. The channel sales manager must meet with the sales team to design and implement a sales action plan after assigning goals. The manager must communicate with the individual salespeople on a regular basis to track their progress toward the goal. If necessary, the manager may provide one-on-one coaching to employees who are struggling to meet their quotas, and in some cases, the manager may reassign revenue goals if some employees exceed their personal goals sooner than expected.
A channel sales manager is typically responsible for a single type of sales outlet or channel, such as big-box stores, online retailers, or wholesalers. The manager must negotiate contracts with these outside vendors and determine product pricing so that both the company and its partners profit from sales. Managers sometimes make strategic decisions about signing exclusivity agreements with specific companies to avoid potential conflicts of interest. On other occasions, a channel sales manager may choose to market the company’s products through a number of competing vendors, even if each of those vendors can also sell products and services from other manufacturers or service providers.
Because of the nature of the job, most employers prefer to hire managers with prior sales experience, and in many cases, the most successful salespeople are able to transition into supervisory positions. In order to effectively coach employees and negotiate deals with clients, managers must also have strong interpersonal and administrative skills. Many managers are responsible for overseeing operations across a large geographic area, which necessitates frequent travel and, in some cases, the use of a second language.