8 answers
Luke
Student
Canton, Georgia
1
Question
Asked
932 views
Sales Manager Career Questions
I'm a freshman at Creekiview high school and I have some questions regarding sales manager careers.
1. What is your favorite part about the job?
2. What is your least favorite part about the job?
3. Do you work from home or in an office?
4. What do you do on a daily basis.
5. Would you recommend someone to go into sales?
8 answers
Megan Breyer
Sales
2
Answers
Dallas, Texas
Updated
Megan’s Answer
Hi Luke- love that you are interested in learning about sales! I have been in software sales for the past 10 years.
1. What is your favorite part about the job?
Getting to help my customers solve complex needs with our solutions and the compensation potential :)
2. What is your least favorite part about the job?
Working with people who are hard to motivate/get the job needed done. Working with unhappy customers that always blame vendors for their issues when a lot of times can be mostly their fault for not adopting certain solutions.
3. Do you work from home or in an office?
I work from home. I have the option to go to the office though. I am on a team of 7 Account Directors. Half are in the same city as me, the others are in other states.
4. What do you do on a daily basis.
I lead discovery calls and proposals to learn more about a client's needs, manage my own sales forecast, work across solution experts internally, price out solutions etc.
5. Would you recommend someone to go into sales?
Absolutely. If you are a self-starter/driven/highly motivated/problem-solver I would definitely recommend a sales role. It is a fun challenge to align a customer's goals/priorities to different solutions.
1. What is your favorite part about the job?
Getting to help my customers solve complex needs with our solutions and the compensation potential :)
2. What is your least favorite part about the job?
Working with people who are hard to motivate/get the job needed done. Working with unhappy customers that always blame vendors for their issues when a lot of times can be mostly their fault for not adopting certain solutions.
3. Do you work from home or in an office?
I work from home. I have the option to go to the office though. I am on a team of 7 Account Directors. Half are in the same city as me, the others are in other states.
4. What do you do on a daily basis.
I lead discovery calls and proposals to learn more about a client's needs, manage my own sales forecast, work across solution experts internally, price out solutions etc.
5. Would you recommend someone to go into sales?
Absolutely. If you are a self-starter/driven/highly motivated/problem-solver I would definitely recommend a sales role. It is a fun challenge to align a customer's goals/priorities to different solutions.
Anita Nejat
Director, Sales Development
4
Answers
Bethesda, Maryland
Updated
Anita’s Answer
1. What is your favorite part about the job? - To give you context, I'm a Director of Sales Development at a tech organization. I consider my team (Sales Development Representatives) as the engine of the sales organization. They are responsible for managing all outreach to new prospects and leads through cold calling, emailing, LinkedIn messaging, etc. They work directly with the broader sales team (Account Executives) to determine which companies to target in their territory and craft a gameplan to break into those companies. I'd say my favorite part of the job is 1) seeing my reps not only hit but exceed their monthly/quarterly quotas 2) seeing my reps get promoted. My #1 personal goal in this job is anchored around those two things and what brings me the most satisfaction as a leader!
2. What is your least favorite part about the job? - Sometimes you're going to need to make tough decisions that people are not happy with (that's inevitable in any management position).
3. Do you work from home or in an office? - 100% from home since the pandemic started.
4. What do you do on a daily basis. - Training, coaching and building short-term and long-term strategies to enable the team to be more efficient, productive and successful. Depending on the day of the week, this can range from cold call pitch practice sessions, working with the team on building their outbound skills, collaborating with the marketing team on the campaigns/programs they're running to help the sales team get more leads, onboarding new hires (we're growing significantly this year, so there are many new hires), having 1:1s with the team to check in on their progress and pacing on the month/quarter, and brainstorming strategies with the team on how to progress prospects through their pipeline).
5. Would you recommend someone to go into sales? - Yes, but it's not for everyone. Sales requires a high level of grit and grind. If that's something that comes naturally to you, sales might be a good fit. You should also be personally interested and invested in the product/solution/service you're selling, so you can feel more connected to the job. No matter what your journey, sales can be a great place to start your career given the number of transferrable skills you learn and develop (executive presence, problem solving, empathy, relationship building, writing, organization, time management and so much more!).
2. What is your least favorite part about the job? - Sometimes you're going to need to make tough decisions that people are not happy with (that's inevitable in any management position).
3. Do you work from home or in an office? - 100% from home since the pandemic started.
4. What do you do on a daily basis. - Training, coaching and building short-term and long-term strategies to enable the team to be more efficient, productive and successful. Depending on the day of the week, this can range from cold call pitch practice sessions, working with the team on building their outbound skills, collaborating with the marketing team on the campaigns/programs they're running to help the sales team get more leads, onboarding new hires (we're growing significantly this year, so there are many new hires), having 1:1s with the team to check in on their progress and pacing on the month/quarter, and brainstorming strategies with the team on how to progress prospects through their pipeline).
5. Would you recommend someone to go into sales? - Yes, but it's not for everyone. Sales requires a high level of grit and grind. If that's something that comes naturally to you, sales might be a good fit. You should also be personally interested and invested in the product/solution/service you're selling, so you can feel more connected to the job. No matter what your journey, sales can be a great place to start your career given the number of transferrable skills you learn and develop (executive presence, problem solving, empathy, relationship building, writing, organization, time management and so much more!).
Thank you for the advice, Anita.
Luke
Jesse Idun
Sales
7
Answers
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Updated
Jesse’s Answer
Hi Luke, great questions!
1. What is your favorite part about the job?
I'm a sales team lead, meaning that I both sell for my personal quota and manage a small team of two representatives. I love that I get to still sell and help clients solve their business problems. I would say my favorite part of my job is working with a truly passionate client and experiencing the end result of them implementing our solutions. That puts a smile on my face and is a key reason I do what I do. And now that I'm in management, helping my team meet their goals brings me a lot of enjoyment as well.
2. What is your least favorite part about the job?
Personally, my least favorite part is either analyzing forecasts/numbers or cold calling. My personality is centered a lot around building relationships and connecting with people, so tasks related to numbers and analysis are not my favorite part, even though I understand the importance. Regarding cold calling, I don't love it (even if I'm good at it) so I end up training my SDR (Sales Development Representative) to be a rockstar at this task so I don't have to do it as much.
3. Do you work from home or in an office?
I've worked out of my home for my past three sales jobs, one of which involved meeting clients at their place of business. I enjoyed that job but traveled a good bit and wasn't home as much. Now, I've worked solely from home for about 2 years and love it (and so does our dog!).
4. What do you do on a daily basis.
Typically, I spend my days on client meetings helping to identify problems they have in their business and presenting various solutions to mitigate risks that they have. This takes up about 30-50% of my day and includes my meetings as well as those of my team. Another 10-20% of my time is spent coaching and mentoring others either during team meetings or in 1:1 sessions. And the rest of my time is administrative or follow-up work (such as emails, forecasting, planning for meetings, internal syncs, etc.).
5. Would you recommend someone to go into sales?
Absolutely! Sales can be a career or the opportunity for people to build great soft skills or EQ (Emotional Intelligence). These skills can help you in any career you get into. My first start in sales was Cutco Cutlery/Vector Marketing, where I was blessed to have a great manager who taught me how to prospect/cold call, run a sales demonstration and learn more financial and self development skills. A lot of what I learned, I use everyday when it comes to rental properties, how I work with others and so much more. Even if you don't stay in sales, I think it's an opportunity to learn a lot, develop your skills and use those skills for other areas.
Best of luck
1. What is your favorite part about the job?
I'm a sales team lead, meaning that I both sell for my personal quota and manage a small team of two representatives. I love that I get to still sell and help clients solve their business problems. I would say my favorite part of my job is working with a truly passionate client and experiencing the end result of them implementing our solutions. That puts a smile on my face and is a key reason I do what I do. And now that I'm in management, helping my team meet their goals brings me a lot of enjoyment as well.
2. What is your least favorite part about the job?
Personally, my least favorite part is either analyzing forecasts/numbers or cold calling. My personality is centered a lot around building relationships and connecting with people, so tasks related to numbers and analysis are not my favorite part, even though I understand the importance. Regarding cold calling, I don't love it (even if I'm good at it) so I end up training my SDR (Sales Development Representative) to be a rockstar at this task so I don't have to do it as much.
3. Do you work from home or in an office?
I've worked out of my home for my past three sales jobs, one of which involved meeting clients at their place of business. I enjoyed that job but traveled a good bit and wasn't home as much. Now, I've worked solely from home for about 2 years and love it (and so does our dog!).
4. What do you do on a daily basis.
Typically, I spend my days on client meetings helping to identify problems they have in their business and presenting various solutions to mitigate risks that they have. This takes up about 30-50% of my day and includes my meetings as well as those of my team. Another 10-20% of my time is spent coaching and mentoring others either during team meetings or in 1:1 sessions. And the rest of my time is administrative or follow-up work (such as emails, forecasting, planning for meetings, internal syncs, etc.).
5. Would you recommend someone to go into sales?
Absolutely! Sales can be a career or the opportunity for people to build great soft skills or EQ (Emotional Intelligence). These skills can help you in any career you get into. My first start in sales was Cutco Cutlery/Vector Marketing, where I was blessed to have a great manager who taught me how to prospect/cold call, run a sales demonstration and learn more financial and self development skills. A lot of what I learned, I use everyday when it comes to rental properties, how I work with others and so much more. Even if you don't stay in sales, I think it's an opportunity to learn a lot, develop your skills and use those skills for other areas.
Best of luck
I'm excited to put your great advice to good use!
Luke
Alexis Walker
Customer Advocate
1
Answer
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Updated
Alexis’s Answer
Hi!! These are great questions! If your interest is with a sales manager career, I would say it would not be a bad idea to pick up a summer job to add to your work experience, it is a great way to build your resume and gain confidence in your field of choice.
1. What is your favorite part about the job?
When I was in a position that was sales driven, I did love it and I the reasoning is I found value in what I was offering to my customers, I believed I was offering a solution not a product so my favorite part of the job was helping my customers.
2. What is your least favorite part about the job?
A sales job can be demanding, depending on what you are doing in can be back to back calls, just stay focused and climb the ladder and the reward will be you taking control of your work hours and how you navigate your day.
3. Do you work from home or in an office?
I have converted to WFH due to covid in 3/2020 and we are returning 1 day a week in June. I believe now that I have experienced both - Find a job that cares about your work/life balance they are out there! A healthy work place that has the ability to be WFH will allow both.
4. What do you do on a daily basis.
I handle complaints from consumers for a financial institution for the Chairman's Office.
5. Would you recommend someone to go into sales?
I think sales is a great place to start, there is a lot of bonus potential and earnings and again if you find value in what you are offering the job can absolutely feel rewarding but it can be overwhelming at times and its always good to expand into other roles and use that sales knowledge for other things as well maybe even training a sales team.
Good Luck!
1. What is your favorite part about the job?
When I was in a position that was sales driven, I did love it and I the reasoning is I found value in what I was offering to my customers, I believed I was offering a solution not a product so my favorite part of the job was helping my customers.
2. What is your least favorite part about the job?
A sales job can be demanding, depending on what you are doing in can be back to back calls, just stay focused and climb the ladder and the reward will be you taking control of your work hours and how you navigate your day.
3. Do you work from home or in an office?
I have converted to WFH due to covid in 3/2020 and we are returning 1 day a week in June. I believe now that I have experienced both - Find a job that cares about your work/life balance they are out there! A healthy work place that has the ability to be WFH will allow both.
4. What do you do on a daily basis.
I handle complaints from consumers for a financial institution for the Chairman's Office.
5. Would you recommend someone to go into sales?
I think sales is a great place to start, there is a lot of bonus potential and earnings and again if you find value in what you are offering the job can absolutely feel rewarding but it can be overwhelming at times and its always good to expand into other roles and use that sales knowledge for other things as well maybe even training a sales team.
Good Luck!
Alexis, thank you!
Luke
Kara Malawy
Sales
4
Answers
Chicago, Illinois
Updated
Kara’s Answer
Sales Management is a very fulfilling career. Managing a sales team has many facets. It can be a very rewarding job and at times be a very difficult. You have to be a people personal to truly get the most from this role. On a daily basis you have many tasks to juggle. You will have multiple people requesting multiple things from you at any given moment. You have to prioritize and manage your time effectively. You will need to prepare yourself for opposition, confrontation, and discussing uncomfortable topics. You will need to learn how to work well with various types of people and personality types. Not only are you responsible for the success of the team but you are responsible for motivating them, coaching them, and managing their activities. Upper management will require you to produce forecasts, spreadsheets, and attend management meetings. Depending on the company most sales managers spend equal time out in the field as they do in the office. The most rewarding part is when your team achieves success. When you are a part of a winning team the comradery you feel very fulfilling. The lows can be low. When you aren't performing well you will have to deal with increasing the team morale, uplifting others, supporting them, all the while making sure they are doing what is asked. You will have to discipline poor performers and in some cases terminate employees. I would recommend going into sales first, mastering your craft, then deciding if management is a good fit for you!
Thank you for taking the time to write this response! It really helped me.
Luke
Jorge Pacheco
Sales
1
Answer
Plano, Texas
Updated
Jorge’s Answer
1.Favorite Part? Digging in and understanding what each person wants to do next and helping them accomplish that goal. Helping them get to that next step and that's why I love this role. I love being able to see their growth and career journey and knowing I had a part of that.
2. Least Favorite? Meetings without a clear purpose or that don't move work forward
3. Home or Office? Both...we're fortunate to have the flexibility to work from home or in the office
4. What do you do on a daily basis? Put together goals for our teams to aspire to, conducting meetings to make sure we have the right processes and technology in place to help the team become more efficient, coach team members, develop a strategy for the future of where we're going as a business
5. Would you recommend sales? Yes...if you're competitive, self-motivated and love solving customer problems
2. Least Favorite? Meetings without a clear purpose or that don't move work forward
3. Home or Office? Both...we're fortunate to have the flexibility to work from home or in the office
4. What do you do on a daily basis? Put together goals for our teams to aspire to, conducting meetings to make sure we have the right processes and technology in place to help the team become more efficient, coach team members, develop a strategy for the future of where we're going as a business
5. Would you recommend sales? Yes...if you're competitive, self-motivated and love solving customer problems
Thank you for taking the time to write this response! It really helped me.
Luke
Joon Yeong Lee
Sales
1
Answer
Seoul, South Korea
Updated
Joon Yeong’s Answer
Hi Luke, great question
Just to give you a bit of context, I have been in sales for 8 years starting with international trading and currently selling products and solutions to financial institutions.
1. What is your favorite part about the job?
1) Number driven. I receive my scorecard every month, quarter, year (depends on the industry you are in. Some may be in weeks as well). From there, I plan and execute to make sure I hit my target
2) Interaction with people : I have to build relationships, pursuade, solve operational problems everyday. To be quite honest, no time to be bored
2. What is your least favorite part about the job? Saying No in a way that wouldn't hurt my relationship with my clients
3. Do you work from home or in an office? : 100% office since April 2022. I meet client almost everyday.
4. What do you do on a daily basis. : External / Internal meetings of all sorts, Solve operational requests from my client, Internal paperwork (Plans to meet the target in the quarter and etc.), Studying about new solutions from the company and etc.
5. Would you recommend someone to go into sales? : Really depends on what kind of person you are. My advice is to really know yourself and experience (either by people who work in sales, internship etc.). Also sales is a big word. The practice of sales work differs so much based on what industry, company, product you are selling
Just to give you a bit of context, I have been in sales for 8 years starting with international trading and currently selling products and solutions to financial institutions.
1. What is your favorite part about the job?
1) Number driven. I receive my scorecard every month, quarter, year (depends on the industry you are in. Some may be in weeks as well). From there, I plan and execute to make sure I hit my target
2) Interaction with people : I have to build relationships, pursuade, solve operational problems everyday. To be quite honest, no time to be bored
2. What is your least favorite part about the job? Saying No in a way that wouldn't hurt my relationship with my clients
3. Do you work from home or in an office? : 100% office since April 2022. I meet client almost everyday.
4. What do you do on a daily basis. : External / Internal meetings of all sorts, Solve operational requests from my client, Internal paperwork (Plans to meet the target in the quarter and etc.), Studying about new solutions from the company and etc.
5. Would you recommend someone to go into sales? : Really depends on what kind of person you are. My advice is to really know yourself and experience (either by people who work in sales, internship etc.). Also sales is a big word. The practice of sales work differs so much based on what industry, company, product you are selling
Keith Rodgers
Sales Director
108
Answers
Phoenix, Arizona
Updated
Keith’s Answer
Good questions. I have been a leader in Financial Services (Banking and Insurance) for over 20 years.
1. What is your favorite part about the job? My favorite part of the job is the people. Getting to know folks and helping them to find their "why". Why do they do the job? Connect to that purpose, foster that relationship and you get the chance to meet some extraordinary people.
2. What is your least favorite part about the job? People that are not engaged, apathetic about the work and their quality of work. Sales, depending on the culture/company and compensation structure, can be a very aggressive, solitary career. Dog eat dog.
3. Do you work from home or in an office? Both. I find the flexilibility to work in both suits my work/life balance needs (so as long as I continue to deliver on my commitments in a manner that allows such flexibility). Meritocritous enablement of work flexibility.
4. What do you do on a daily basis. So much...hard to put into words, but as a leader in a sales environment, my job is to ensure I can get performance through people. How that is accomplished it unique to the person, place and objective.
5. Would you recommend someone to go into sales? Absolutely, if you are competitive, communicative and willing to learn (and not afraid to fail, hear no or be unwilling to be coached). It has always been and will always be about how much and how often you can deliver. Incremental and perpetual growth over time is the winning formula.
1. What is your favorite part about the job? My favorite part of the job is the people. Getting to know folks and helping them to find their "why". Why do they do the job? Connect to that purpose, foster that relationship and you get the chance to meet some extraordinary people.
2. What is your least favorite part about the job? People that are not engaged, apathetic about the work and their quality of work. Sales, depending on the culture/company and compensation structure, can be a very aggressive, solitary career. Dog eat dog.
3. Do you work from home or in an office? Both. I find the flexilibility to work in both suits my work/life balance needs (so as long as I continue to deliver on my commitments in a manner that allows such flexibility). Meritocritous enablement of work flexibility.
4. What do you do on a daily basis. So much...hard to put into words, but as a leader in a sales environment, my job is to ensure I can get performance through people. How that is accomplished it unique to the person, place and objective.
5. Would you recommend someone to go into sales? Absolutely, if you are competitive, communicative and willing to learn (and not afraid to fail, hear no or be unwilling to be coached). It has always been and will always be about how much and how often you can deliver. Incremental and perpetual growth over time is the winning formula.
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