Sales Management Jobs

Sales management jobs combine commercial performance with leadership. Whether you’re stepping up from a field sales role into your first team leader position or looking for your next regional or national opportunity, sales management gives you the chance to turn your experience into stronger team performance.

Citrus Connect recruits sales management professionals across the UK, from Sales Team Leaders and Area Sales Managers to Regional Sales Managers and National Sales Directors.

We work with employers looking for people who can do more than hit a target. If you’re ready to coach, develop and lead a successful sales team, explore your next opportunity.

What Does a Sales Manager Do?

A sales manager is responsible for helping a team achieve its commercial targets while developing the people within it.

Depending on the level and organisation, your responsibilities may include:

• Setting individual and team sales targets
• Coaching and developing sales professionals
• Monitoring performance, conversion rates and other KPIs
• Managing territories, pipelines and sales activity
• Recruiting and onboarding new team members
• Identifying performance gaps and providing additional support
• Reporting results and forecasts to senior leadership
• Developing strategies to improve team performance

As you progress into more senior sales management roles, the focus typically shifts from day-to-day coaching towards wider commercial strategy, recruitment, territory planning and business performance.

Types of Sales Management Roles

There’s no single route through sales management. The right position will depend on your experience, leadership ability and the level of responsibility you’re ready to take on.

Sales Team Leader

Often the first step into management, with responsibility for a small team of sales professionals. You’ll typically focus on coaching, day-to-day activity and helping individuals achieve their targets.

Area Sales Manager

Area Sales Managers usually oversee a team or multiple salespeople within a defined geographic territory. Responsibilities can include regional targets, conversion rates, recruitment and team performance.

Regional Sales Manager

Regional Sales Managers take responsibility for a larger geographic area and may have Area Sales Managers or Team Leaders reporting to them. The role typically involves more strategic territory planning, recruitment and performance management.

National Sales Director

At senior level, a National Sales Director can take responsibility for the performance and direction of an entire sales function. This may include sales strategy, budgets, senior leadership, recruitment and board-level reporting.

If you’re considering which direction to take next, you can also explore different sales roles and career paths to see how opportunities compare.

How Much Can You Earn in Sales Management?

Sales management salaries vary considerably depending on seniority, company size, industry, location and the performance-related element of the package.

Typical earning potential can include:

• Sales Team Leader: £30,000–£45,000 OTE
• Area Sales Manager: £40,000–£60,000 OTE
• Regional Sales Manager: £55,000–£80,000 OTE
• National Sales Director: £80,000–£130,000+ OTE

Management packages may also include a company car or car allowance, pension, performance bonuses and other benefits.

When comparing opportunities, consider the complete package rather than basic salary alone. Our UK Sales Salary Guide provides further insight into earnings across different sales roles.

What Skills Do You Need to Become a Sales Manager?

Being a high-performing salesperson doesn’t automatically make someone a strong sales manager. The skills required to deliver your own target and those required to help an entire team perform are different.

Strong sales managers typically need:

• Leadership: Setting clear expectations and giving the team direction
• Coaching: Helping individual salespeople identify weaknesses and improve
• Communication: Providing clear feedback and handling difficult conversations constructively
• Commercial awareness: Understanding how individual and team performance contributes to wider business goals
• Data and forecasting: Using sales data to identify trends, problems and opportunities
• Accountability: Holding people to agreed standards while providing the support they need
• Recruitment and development: Identifying the right people and helping them progress once they join

Your mindset matters too. Taking responsibility for the performance of others requires a different approach from focusing solely on your own results. Our guide to the mindset and skills behind long-term sales career growth explores this in more detail.

Is Sales Management the Right Move for You?

Moving into management shouldn’t simply be viewed as the next promotion available to a successful salesperson.

You’ll spend less time focusing solely on your own deals and more time helping other people perform. That means coaching someone through a difficult month, addressing underperformance, recruiting new team members and making decisions that affect the wider team.

A sales management career could suit you if you:

• Have a strong sales background and want to apply that experience to developing others
• Enjoy coaching and improving other people’s performance
• Can give clear, constructive feedback
• Are comfortable holding people accountable
• Can balance individual needs with wider commercial targets
• Want greater responsibility for recruitment, training, reporting and strategy

If you’re preparing to take that next step, our candidate advice and sales career resources can help with applications, interviews and career development.

Find Sales Management Job

Whether you’re moving into leadership for the first time or looking for your next senior sales position, the right role should give you the opportunity to develop both people and commercial performance.

Citrus Connect works with employers recruiting sales leaders across the UK, from first-line management through to regional and national positions.