Ready to take your sales career forward and to lead your own sales team? A sales management role is a challenging and exciting career choice for the sales professional. Sales manager positions are consistently listed as one of the highest growing and highest paid jobs. The tough part is to break into sales management. Usually, to get a sales manager position, you need experience. Gaining experience is the toughest part, but not impossible. Just like when you initially pursued your first sales position requiring “experience”, there are ways for you to gain sales management experience to help you land your first sales manager role. This article shows 3 different ways to help you get promoted to a sales manager role.
INTERIM SALES MANAGER
A perfect way to gain sales management experience is to position yourself with the sales director to fill in an available sales management role when a sales manager leaves, gets promoted or is unavailable during vacations or projects. You gain the valuable sales management role by taking the leadership role temporarily, but you are involved in the day to day operations of the sales manager. Look for sales management openings with your own company and ask to fill in while the sales director is looking to fill the role. In time, you can use the sales management experience to help you during your interview for a sales management role.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
In many companies, there is a formal sales leadership development program to fill the leadership pipeline of an organization. Talk with your current manager for you to be involved in the program, which usually develops and teaches current employees sales leadership and management skills. These programs usually develop the future sales managers for companies and most new sales managers get their first sales management job through this avenue.
SALES MANAGEMENT EDUCATION
There are numerous sales management degrees and certificate programs available. To see a search result of such programs, click here >>> SALES MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS. Gaining the educational background about sales management could help in your pursuit of a sales management role.
ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
In your current sales position, take on additional leadership responsibilities to demonstrate your leadership abilities. Talk with your current sales manager about your career aspirations and develop a plan that positions you as a viable candidate for a sales manager position. Lead from where you are can truly help in your pursuit for a sales management role. Don’t give up because it is a competitive position to acquire, but well worth the wait if that is your career goal.
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