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Job Title: National Sales Manager
Education: BA in Economics, University of Massachusetts
Previous Experience: I worked as a Territory Sales Manager and then as a Regional Sales Manager for various consumer products companies.
Job Tasks: My company manufactures various office products and supplies. These are mostly used by people in a business environment. These products are also used by small business and home office users. I am responsible for creating a sales and marketing plan, and then working with our sales representatives to make sure it is implemented properly. I also have headquarter responsibility for the major accounts we do business with. These are major Fortune 500 customers that have stores and distribution centers throughout North America.
Upwards of 85% of my day is spent on essential tasks. I have a sales administrator that handles most of the administrative tasks. Days in the office include talking on the phone, communicating by e-mail, creating sales presentations, documenting sales and expenses, forcasting products for production. I also work with our computer system. This allows me to see sales from individual customers, or see trends with various business groups of customers. This helps us target our products to better suit our customers' needs.
While I am in my office I work with with other departments in the company, like customer service, accounting and marketing. My job also requires travel. When I am out of office I meet with customers and attend trade shows so they can see our products. I also travel with our sales representatives. While I am with them we will call on customers together. I will give them training and educate them on our product line. With my job there is also business entertaining involved. This usually involves dining with customers, playing golf or attending sporting or musical events.
Best and Worst Parts of the Job: The best part of the job is the reward of getting a big order or landing a big account. The worst part of the job is that is it very stressful and there are a lot of demands on your time to hit deadlines.
Job Tips: I would suggest working for a big multi-national company, to get experience and training. These types of companies have lots of resources and can give you experience that you can use for the rest of your business career. This also will help you later on, when looking for a job with another company, as this experience looks very good on a resume and gives more validity to your work history.
Additional Thoughts: Sales can be very rewarding, both financially and emotionally. You need to be a self starter and be able to handle rejection to be successful in this career.
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