Many business owners mistakenly believe that in order for sales to be high, they only need to equip an office, create a plan, recruit a sales department and place a chief at the head of this unit for its implementation. However, practice shows that the work of any specialist must be directed in the right direction, and not only by the total control of the leadership, but also by assigning him direct duties and rights. All these provisions must be approved in the relevant documentation. This means that you should not formally approach the creation of job descriptions. The instruction should be a regulation, clearly define the actions of each employee and his authority.
Range of duties
The head of the sales department is a professional with a wide range of responsibilities, with the presence of employees in direct subordination. On how well the head of the sales department fulfills his duties, at what level his professionalism is developed, the size of the company's profit and the absence of claims to the brand of the company depend.
The main goals that a person faces in this position:
- team management, training new staff;
- strategic search for new consumers of products and services, work with them;
- receivables management;
- formation of a sales plan, monitoring its implementation;
- implementation together with the marketing department of the company's development strategy.
The breadth of responsibilities of the head of sales depends on the specifics of a particular company and the number of employees. In principle, the position has great prospects, you can “grow” to a commercial director or even become the chief manager of a company or office.
HR management, training new staff
The functional duties of the head of the sales department are, first of all, the management of the personnel entrusted to him. A good specialist should be well versed in the specifics of his industry and understand the principles by which modern distribution channels work, that is, he needs to be able to attract a client, establish cooperation with him and not let go of the old one. He must teach this to his subordinates.
Setting goals
The boss should clearly set tasks for the staff and adjust the priorities in their work. The specialist needs to be able to correctly distribute responsibilities between all employees. Sales representatives and sales managers must clearly understand who is responsible for what. At the same time, the tasks assigned must be feasible.
Execution control
Before monitoring the execution of tasks, it is necessary to explain to subordinates by what criteria the effectiveness of their work will be determined. Depending on the results of the interim control, the task of correcting current plans may be faced by the head of the sales department. The duties of the head of the sales department also include resolving conflicts between employees.
Motivation
Justice should be in the first place for every leader. It is impossible to achieve successful work in a team where only those who are close to the bosses are rewarded, and “strangers” are scolded, even if they have the highest sales figures.
Choosing incentives for their subordinates, it is necessary to take into account their individual characteristics, not forgetting the common interests of the entire department.
Strategic search for consumers of products and services, work with them
This paragraph of the instruction should be drawn up depending on the specifics of the enterprise. In any case, knowledge of modern sales technologies through key sales channels is a fundamental factor in choosing a candidate for the position of chief. In addition, the duties of the head of the sales department imply the ability to negotiate at a high level. The specialist must have skills in conducting presentations. Ideally, the candidate should have an MBA degree.
The head of the department must cope with the settlement of all disputes that may arise between the manager and the client. He will also have to analyze incoming complaints in order to identify existing shortcomings in the work of both his department and the entire enterprise.
Account receivable management
The main responsibilities of the head of sales include receivables management. The set of actions in relation to this paragraph consists of the following provisions:
- selection of optimal sales conditions that will ensure a uniform and guaranteed cash flow;
- determination of the level of allowances and discounts, depending on the consumer category of consumers;
- restriction of the allowable level of debt;
- reduction in debt.
Practicing marketers know for sure that this task is much more problematic and even more priority than expanding the market. Timely repayment of debt is a guarantee of the successful functioning of the enterprise in the future.
Formation of a sales plan, monitoring its implementation
Perhaps no one will argue that planning is one of the main tools to achieve any goal. Can a sales team exist without a plan? It can, but you should not wait for efficiency from the work of staff.
Responsibilities of the head of retail sales - drawing up a plan. When doing this work, you should not rely solely on the results of past periods. In this case, managers will not strive for anything. The analysis will determine the seasonality of sales, but no more. The plan is regulated by strictly limited terms, and employees, proceeding from it, should receive real and achievable goals from the manager.
Implementation, together with the marketing department, of the company's development strategy
The main function of the marketing department is to support sales, but this does not mean that marketers report to the head of the sales department. These two units should be on an equal footing, and no one is obliged to obey anyone.
In this case, the duties of the head of the sales department should include interaction with the marketing department in the field of combating competitors and working together to find new products that potential consumers will like. The leader must do everything possible so that the two departments work together, and not compete in the question of who is more important and more necessary for the development of the company.
Deputy Head
If the company is large enough, then it is possible that the structure of the sales department assumes the presence of a deputy chief. The duties of the deputy head of the sales department should be formed depending on its structure. If a division has several directions, then there may be several deputies.
The deputy chief can control the timeliness of product shipments and analyze the advertising strategy. If the department works in several areas, then the deputy, engaged in a specific task, can make plans and distribute clients among employees, search for new customers and control the receipt of payments, be responsible for information support of other structural units of the enterprise. The deputy also manages the register of shipments and expected payments, prepares contracts.
Basic requirements for the chief
In addition to the job responsibilities of the head of the sales department in the instructions, a specialist of this level must periodically "go down to the ground," that is, work "in the fields." This approach will allow you to keep abreast and timely adjust the behavior of employees, instantly respond to changes in market conditions in order to increase the profitability of the enterprise.