Sales & Marketing Manager: who he is and what he does

The Sales & Marketing Manager is the professional responsible for researching new marketing opportunities, and planning and implementing new sales plans.

Sales and Marketing Managers are leaders who oversee the day-to-day operations of sales and marketing teams. And because these departments have similar goals and work closely together, they often share a single manager.

Sales & Marketing Managers therefore typically have a background in marketing or sales and help the two teams work together to achieve business goals.

Their main tasks include developing a strategic vision for the two divisions, planning and guiding sales and promotion projects, and assisting in such aspects as staff recruitment and training.

Sales & Marketing Manager, what it does

Depending on the company at which he or she works, the Sales & Marketing Manager may have different responsibilities:

• develop an overall sales and marketing strategy : i.e., identify target customers, develop a brand-identifying language and image, select marketing tools, and define short- and long-term goals for both divisions;
• Prepare a budget and gather resources: after identifying goals and strategies, it must find the resources needed to implement them. He will then present budgets to business leaders for approval and to negotiate details;
• supervision and coaching: The Sales & Marketing Manager must provide leadership to the marketing and sales departments. This includes determining workflows, assigning tasks, answering the team’s questions and concerns, and also ensuring that the activity complies with departmental policies. He can also plan and hold meetings, help workers achieve their goals, supervise team building activities, and act as a mediator between teams and company leadership;
• Conduct market research: to improve business sales, you need to know the market. It is the Sales & Marketing Manager’s job to investigate customer needs, identify unserved or underserved market segments, monitor industry trends, and examine competitor activities;
• plan and manage marketing campaigns, identifying the advertising techniques that appeal most to the target customer: thus, he or she will plan campaigns on social media, Google Ads, and print media, and help creatives design graphics and text for communication materials;
• monitor results, measuring market penetration rate, growth, ROI, engagement, and many other metrics so that existing marketing and sales strategies can be refined. The data collected will then be entered into special reports, to be presented to management;
• recruit and train staff by filling out Job Descriptions, reviewing resumes, conducting interviews, and then assisting new hires in the onboarding process.

How to Become a Sales & Marketing Manager

To become a Sales & Marketing Manager, it is advisable to take a degree in Marketing, Finance, Marketing & Sales or Business Administration, preferably followed by an MBA (Master in Business Administration).

What matters most, however, is work experience: most companies look for candidates with 3-5 years of experience in marketing or sales in order to assign them to the role of manager.

In addition, a Sales & Marketing Manager should have the following skills:

• Propensity for teamwork;
• Interpersonal skills: conflict resolution skills, mediation, active listening, negotiation, persuasion;
• Writing, speaking and listening skills;
• Strong data collection and analysis skills;
• Knowledge of social media;
• Leadership skills;
• creativity;
• problem solving skills;
• Skills in conducting research;
• budgeting skills;
• marketing expertise;
• business sense.

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