To hire a sales manager, define what the team must achieve, decide whether you need a player-coach or a full-time manager, look for people who have already built and kept a team that hits quota, and test how they coach and forecast, not only how they sell. The most common mistake is promoting or hiring the best individual rep without checking that they can lead.
When do you need a sales manager?
Most companies add a manager when the founder or sales leader can no longer coach every rep, review every deal and still sell or run the business. A common sign is a team of five to eight reps with uneven results and no regular pipeline reviews. Another is a new region or product line that needs its own leadership.
Player-coach or full-time manager?
- Player-coach. Carries a personal quota and manages a small team. Works for teams of two to four reps, or early in a new market.
- Full-time manager. Manages the team’s number, not a personal one. Better once the team is large enough that coaching, hiring and forecasting take most of the week.
Be clear which one you’re hiring. Asking someone to carry a full quota and coach eight reps usually means neither gets done well.
What should you look for in a sales manager?
- A team record, not only a personal one. How many reps did they manage, how many hit quota, and how did that change under their lead?
- Hiring and retention. Who did they hire, and are those people still there?
- Coaching. Can they describe a rep they improved, and exactly what they did?
- Forecasting. How close were their forecasts to the final result?
- Process. How do they run pipeline reviews and one-to-ones?
How do you interview a sales manager?
Use the leadership questions from our list of sales interview questions, then add a working session:
- Give them a real (anonymized) pipeline report and ask what they’d focus on in their first pipeline review.
- Ask them to coach a mock rep through a stalled deal.
- Ask for a 90-day plan: what they’d learn, change and measure.
You’ll learn more from an hour of this than from three more interviews.
Should you promote from within?
Sometimes. An internal promotion knows the product and customers, and it signals a career path to the team. The risk is promoting your best seller into a role they don’t want or aren’t suited to, and losing their numbers. If you promote, give them training and support, and agree how you’ll judge success in the first six months.
How long does it take to hire a sales manager?
Usually longer than a rep, because the best candidates are running successful teams and aren’t in a hurry to leave. A specialist recruiter shortens this by approaching them directly. We fill sales manager roles within 45 days, and our average across all roles is 29 days.
How Sales Talent Group hires sales managers
We recruit sales managers, sales directors and national sales managers across Canada and the United States. We find people who have already built and kept a team that hits its number, check their team’s results and their own, and present detailed profiles within five days. Every placement is guaranteed to reach the first-year quota, with a 12-month replacement.
See sales manager recruiters, our executive search service for VP and C-level roles, or tell us about the role.
Questions about hiring a sales manager
What is the difference between a sales manager and a sales director?
A sales manager usually leads a single team of reps and coaches them day to day. A sales director typically leads several managers or a whole region and owns strategy and the larger number.
How many reps should one sales manager lead?
Most managers coach effectively with about six to ten reps. Fewer makes sense for complex enterprise sales; more is possible for transactional inside sales with strong systems.
Should a sales manager carry a quota?
A player-coach carries a personal quota alongside the team’s; a full-time manager is measured on the team’s number. Choose one model and set expectations before you hire.
