Sales operations managers are responsible for supervising a team of salespeople in a company. Their job is to systemize the sales process, which will allow the sales specialists to work smoothly and productively.

So what are the indispensable skills a successful sales operations manager should have? A good sales operations manager should be familiar with lead generation, sales forecasting, pipeline management, and CRM data analysis. In addition to troubleshooting day-to-day issues, an efficient sales operations manager must have experience in leading individuals to work as an effective team.

Responsibilities of a Sales Operations Manager

A sales operations manager is responsible for identifying how to simplify a company’s sales processes and make them more efficient. On top of that, the role also requires a sales operations manager to learn how to recognize, implement, and maximize sales technology.

Aside from making the process more efficient, a modern sales operations manager is in charge of building reports from the data gathered by the sales technology. By presenting findings from historical data, present results, and future forecasts, a sales operations manager can help company leadership make informed decisions.

Qualified sales operations managers must combine technology know-how, business acumen, familiarity with marketing, leadership skills and a prior experience in sales to keep a sales team running smoothly.

Sales Operations Manager Job Description

In short, the sales operations manager job description includes the following:

• The operation team’s main point of contact, managing all salespeople and keeping the team operating efficiently
• Proactively identify issues and problems in the process, and assess the best strategies to reduce these issues
• Maintaining process documentation, optimizing lead scoring and qualification, and training new sales reps
• Working alongside upper management or sales operations directors to standardize reporting, create reports and dashboards, and plan quarterly objectives

The sales operations manager job description can include a number of responsibilities, as this position requires both hard and soft abilities while working with both management and salespeople.

Skills Effective Sales Operations Managers Need

1) Generating Leads

Lead generation is the process of converting prospects into potential clients or customers: people who are interested in your company’s product or service. Anything that gets people interested in your business can be considered lead generation, such as job applications, events, online content, and the like. Sales operations managers should take charge in generating these leads so salespeople can focus on selling.

Sales operations managers would need to be organized and detail-oriented in order to generate leads. They will have to coordinate with sales and marketing to design the business’s strategies and processes. They must also be prepared to handle administrative tasks such as booking appointments, managing transactions, and drawing up contracts.

2) Forecasting Sales

Sales operations managers should also know to accurately forecast sales. Sales forecasting is the process of estimating what your business’s sales are going to be in the future, using past data and performance trends.

For example, if a sales forecast indicates that there will be a 30% increase in sales next quarter, a sales operations manager can notify management. This allows the company time to prepare, as they may choose to invest in more machines or hire additional staff to meet the demand.

Sales forecasts are useful because it allows an operations manager to spot potential issues so they can be resolved, set realistic goals to challenge a sales team, help sales leaders make data-driven decisions, and design a powerful sales strategy.

3) Monitoring a Pipeline

A sales pipeline is a visual representation of the stages a prospect passes through as they progress from lead to customer. It allows a sales operations manager to streamline each complex stage a sales representative will encounter before closing a deal. Creating a pipeline around your process can improve conversions, shorten cycles, and maximize wins.

Each sales stage would be monitored by a sales operations manager and adjusted according to what a sales team needs. As a sales pipeline is built from the point-of-view of a sales representative, a sales operations manager will be able to tell where the pain points of a team are and assist them where they need it. From the pipeline, they can help a sales representative connect with more prospects, log data consistently, and route inbound callers to the right representatives.

Sales pipelines can also show an estimate of the average time it takes for a lead to become a customer, and alert you if there are leads that will not go further down the pipeline. Experienced sales operations managers can also use the pipeline to forecast sales and troubleshoot other issues that may arise for the business.

4) Managing a Sales Team

A sales operations manager should also be able to manage a sales team, set goals for it, and drive a team’s growth. Managing sales teams includes communicating with them and organizing them in a way that will encourage healthy competition.

Sales operations managers would be in charge of creating a fair compensation structure. This includes rewarding both good individual and team achievements with incentives, and designing a process to acknowledge and address poor performances. Training new hires may also be part of a sales operations manager’s job, as they have years of experience in doing sales and are most familiar with the sales process.

5) Analyzing Data Through CRM

One goal of an effective sales operations manager is to successfully implement CRM. With optimal CRM analytics, a sales operations manager can measure and evaluate sales data to determine the success of a product, process, or campaign. Aside from evaluating internal information, a sales operations manager may also use CRM to study the external market and perform competitor research.

CRM can also be used by sales operations managers to organize lead lists, manage custom fields and ensure they are correctly updated, handle lead assignment rules, and automate administrative and marketing tasks. A sales operations manager would need experience in using CRM, presenting its data, and analyzing how its findings can help their sales teams.

Getting More Done with Commence

Commence CRM’s software is the ideal partner CRM for experienced sales operations managers. Our software is designed with features that can save you time and boost your productivity.

With Lead Management, you can capture, manage, and score your leads easily. Reporting and Analytics can give you clear insights through customizable ad-hoc reports coupled with graphical interpretations. Account and Contact Management helps you build a unified database where you can add custom fields and generate customer reports with no programming required.

Focus on managing your team, getting the most out of your sales operations manager skills, and let Commence do the rest. Explore the rest of our features by signing up for a free trial today.