Career Tracks

Administration

Sales Associate Manager

The Sales Associate Manager (SAM) reports to the Senior Director of Market Development and works in partnership with the senior sales management team. The SAM will be responsible for managing the Sales Associates (SAs) within two to three research programs.

Day-to-day responsibilities will include the following:

Sales Associate Performance (50%)  

  • Day-to-day management of inside sales staff against performance-based goals  
  • Deliver informal performance feedback and formal reviews for each SA

Training and Staff Development (Shared with the Manager of Training) (20%)  

  • Provide inside sales skill training for new staff  
  • Responsible for on-going coaching of staff  
  • Serve as a resource for scripting and objection handling related to the sales process  
  • Serve as a career steward for all staff, making them aware of opportunities for advancement

Strategic Initiatives (15%)  

  • Partner with other SAMs to develop resources for SAs to use during the sales process   
  • Track inside sales goals within respective programs and analyze data to enhance sales process    and penetration of key accounts

Recruiting and Retention (15%)  

  • Develop resources to enhance SA position  
  • Forecast attrition and take necessary steps to remain fully staffed

The Ideal Candidate Will Possess:  

  • Familiarity with sales, territory management, and lead generation  
  • Minimum one year of previous management experience   Strong goal attachment   Exceptional time management skills  
  • Ability to motivate and lead a team  
  • Proactive approach to problem solving  
  • Ability to interact with staff members at all levels within the company  
  • Positive attitude and interpersonal skills  
  • Ability to handle sensitive staff issues both confidentially and professionally  
  • Flexibility

A Day in the Life of a Sales Associate Manager

A “typical day” of a Sales Associate Manager (SAM) involves quite a bit of internal communication with several groups within and outside of the sales department. The SAM plays a crucial role in ensuring the performance of our Sales Associates (SAs) and aiding in their development. In addition to time spent managing, SAMs will work together with upper level management to determine sales strategy for the department and help create new tools for their teams. Learn more about a day in the life of a SAM below…

For the next 30 minutes, I respond to any urgent e-mails that may have come in since I left last night. I make sure my calendar is set for the day and that any premeeting prep work is taken care of. If any additional meetings need to get scheduled, I send out the appropriate meeting planners. I then spend some time setting the goal for the day for my SAs.

Right around 8:30, all of my SAs get settled in for the morning and it’s time to make sure they are getting on the phones first thing in order to catch those busy executives that they are trying to get in touch with. I spend some time shadowing some of the calls to make sure my SAs have all necessary resources available to them to ensure a successful sales call. They are eager for my feedback and more than happy to let me pitch in and make a call myself.

From 9:00 to 10:00, I conduct a one-on-one meeting with one of the new SAs on my team that has been having a little bit of trouble. We spend the next hour reviewing all the training materials that he was given in training, and I make sure that he understands the process. We take some time to look over his territory and I help him understand the best way to organize his prospects. Afterward, we spend some time walking through the latest research that we’ve come out with so that he feels more comfortable explaining the content on the phone. After our session, he is ready to get back on the phones, and we schedule another meeting a week from today to make sure he’s tracking well.

I spend the next hour of my morning in a meeting with some of the Group Leaders and Franchise Leaders on the marketing team. As a representative of the SAs, I provide them with an update on the morning and on the week so far. From there, we discuss our strategic plan for the week and determine how the SA team can help. If there are any other leadership projects going on, I volunteer to help out.

For the remainder of the morning, I head back to my desk and make myself available to my SAs. I also spend some time answering some e-mails and phone messages that came in while I was away from my desk. The Account Director of Member Services left me a message about a potential cross-selling opportunity, as well as an incoming membership inquiry from one of her current members. After speaking with her, I then answer a few e-mails from my supervisor, the Senior Director of Marketing. I give her a quick status update on the morning and report our goal for the afternoon.

I head into a lunch meeting with the other SAMs in the department. Together we try and work though any issues that we are all experiencing right now and try to put our heads together to come up with solutions. We also review how we’re all tracking against our goals. We discuss the latest incentive campaign and all commit to getting to our goals by the end of the week.

For the next hour, I have my team focus on any follow up that their Associate Directors (ADs) need help with. I also have them spend this time prospecting for new contacts. Again during this time, if any of my SAs have any questions or need assistance, I take some time out to work with them individually. Toward the end of the hour, I kick off the rest of the day with an update on how we’re tracking against our visit goal today.

At 2:00, I have another one-on-one meeting with one of the more tenured SAs on my team. Most of our discussion is around her career development. We take some time to walk through some of her development areas from her last review and start to work together to create a more tangible development plan for her to track against.

Right around 3:00, I take some time to walk the floor and check in with all of the ADs on the team. I like to make sure they are feeling adequately supported by their SAs and I also try to help them understand what their relationship with their SAs should look like.

At 3:30 I head to my franchise’s table meeting. Table is a bimonthly meeting where leaders from all of the different departments come together to discuss what is going on in our franchise.

From 4:30-5:30 I’m back at my desk. I check in with each SA to see if there is anything I can do to help out, but before I know it, my SAs have pulled through and hit their goal! I send out an e-mail highlighting the exceptional performers on the day.

At the end of this very busy day, I take another hour or so to wrap up. It is very important that I ensure that all of my SAs have updated our tracking database. This is crucial for accurate reporting. I also take a look back at the day and report our daily numbers to my boss, the Senior Director of Marketing, as well as the Franchise and Group Leaders on the team. Once I finish that, I make a "to do" list for the morning since today’s performance is still fresh in my head, and I’m done.

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