If you’re wanting to enhance your sales career, you might be stumped as to what type of sales position you should pursue next.
If you’re in charge of expanding your company’s sales efforts, on the other hand, you’re seeking various types of sales jobs, and the people who can assist you do so.
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We discuss the 13 best types of sales jobs to advertise for—both if you’re searching for a sales role and if you’re hiring salespeople—including what they do, the skills and experience required, pay, and how they contribute to the business—in this guide.
1. A representative for a sales development (SDR)
A sales development representative (SDR) is responsible for generating prospects and pushing them through the sales funnel.
SDRs spend a significant amount of time identifying new leads, cold contacting and emailing them and qualifying them to ensure that the product they’re selling is appropriate for the prospect’s budget, needs, and timeliness.
Sales development personnel must have a thorough understanding of the product in order to comprehend how it may assist clients in resolving their problems. With this information, they may boost their chances of closing the most valuable deals and gaining long-term customers.
When a company has an ideal client profile, a compelling value proposition, and some paying customers with specific pain issues that their solution solves, it will profit from recruiting SDRs. SDRs can therefore assist the company in reaching a larger share of the target market and scaling up.
The ideal candidate for a position as a sales development representative will possess the following characteristics:
- The desire to find solutions
- Superior communication skills
- When undertaking strategic research, lead generation, and outreach, you may be certain.
- Excellent time management and planning
- Independent working ability
2. Sales representative (Inside)
An inside sales representative is a salesperson who offers items and services over the phone instead of in person. Because inside sales agents use emails, phone calls, video chats, and other methods to drive a lead closer to a transaction and beyond, inside sales is also known as virtual sales or remote sales.
An inside salesperson’s schedule is usually predictable. They can divide their weekly or monthly sales target into the number of calls they need to make every day and eliminate distractions that will prevent them from meeting this goal.
Inside salespeople benefit companies because they may generate money with just a dependable internet connection and a mechanism to make phone conversations with clear audio. They have the ability to market to everyone, anywhere.
A great inside sales rep candidate will have the following qualities:
- In sales conversations, the ability to detect verbal and audio clues
- Communication and relationship-building skills are essential.
- The desire to keep improving product knowledge
- Excellent time management and job prioritization.
3. Sales representative (outside)
A sales representative who sells items and services in person is known as an outside sales representative. Outside sales reps, also known as field sales reps, meet with prospects at trade exhibitions, industry events, the prospect’s office, a restaurant, or even door-to-door.
In comparison to inside sales, an outside sales rep’s schedule is less organized. Their workplace serves as their headquarters, although they spend most of their time outside of it. They create their own schedule and tailor it to the preferences of their prospects.
Companies that want to close bigger deals should hire outside sales reps. This usually entails a lengthier sales cycle, which corresponds to the outside sales approach of building deeper ties.
The following individuals are strong candidates for outside sales positions:
- Excellent at reading body language
- They are at ease with creating their own timetable and working independently.
Very well-organized - Willing to work with fewer leads (as opposed to scalable remote sales)
- Sales frequently use inside and outside sales approaches to reach their objectives, but corporations do occasionally require a specialist.
4. Account executive (AE)
From lead generation through sealing the contract and beyond, an account executive (AE) is in control of the whole sales cycle. They give after-sales assistance to ensure that the customer’s needs are met and that they are satisfied.
Account executives work with salespeople, account managers, and their customer service team to achieve this. The main purpose of AEs is to develop long-term connections with clients in order to maximize customer retention and repeat purchases, expand their customer base, and reduce churn.
Account executives are critical for companies that want to go all-in on client loyalty and create long-term relationships with customers. Account executives are heavily involved in all stages of the sales funnel, which means they have a deeper understanding of their clients and can apply that information in the long run.
A strong candidate for the position of the account executive is:
- Expert in every aspect of the sales process
- Excellent in forming and maintaining bonds.
- In-depth understanding of market needs and trends
- They are meticulous in taking notes and recording facts regarding the accounts they supervise.
- Ability to leverage sales intelligence and reporting tools
5. Account manager
An account manager is responsible for establishing and sustaining long-term relationships with a company’s clients. They must manage a number of allocated customers, establish relationships with key players within these companies, and seek out fresh sales prospects.
Account managers are the primary point of contact between their firm and their clients. They become customers’ valued advisors, assisting them in getting the most out of the solution they purchased.
When a company’s customer base grows, hiring account managers can be extremely beneficial. By adding this job, firms can more effectively cross-sell and upsell, boost client lifetime value, and reduce churn.
An excellent candidate for account manager will be:
- Excellent in listening, selling, and negotiating.
- Having experience juggling numerous accounts at once
- Sales forecasting and reporting expertise
- Ready to work with the sales team to discover and pursue new business opportunities
6. Sales manager
A sales manager is responsible for ensuring that their team meets their sales targets. Sales managers develop sales goals based on the company’s objectives and ambitions. To achieve these objectives, they hire and train sales representatives, develop a strategic sales plan, and review their team’s performance in order to improve.
A sales manager’s responsibilities go beyond creating strategic goals and hiring top performers. When they see a decline in performance, a lengthier sales cycle, or a change in the team’s mood, they keep their sales agents engaged and raise their morale. To move the entire team ahead, they must develop a trusting relationship with their reps.
Hiring a sales manager is beneficial for any firm with several sales representatives. This will assist in keeping everyone on the same page and focused on the same goal. Sales managers assist companies in getting the most out of their salespeople by coaching and inspiring them to achieve their objectives.
These qualities are found in successful sales managers:
- The capacity to recruit, mentor, motivate and influence a group of driven sales.
- Setting effective goals and making good plans to achieve them
Sales forecasting and reporting - Excellent communication and presenting skills with employees at all levels and departments.
7. Manager of Customer Success (CSM)
A customer success manager (CSM) serves as a link between the business and its clients. A CSM welcomes customers after they make a purchase, assures a positive experience, and builds direct, long-term relationships.
CSMs are critical in assisting sales, marketing, and product development teams in better understanding customers’ requirements and behaviors so that they may maximize their efforts and earnings. The purpose of a customer success manager is to increase recurrent purchases, track account health, train customers, and transform them into customer advocates.
Hiring a CMS has several advantages, including increasing revenue, preventing cancellations and churn, and growing through client recommendations who become brand ambassadors.
A superb CSM candidate’s sales resume will include the following skills and experience:
- Experience with providing excellent customer service and troubleshooting a variety of problems
- The ability to manage, train, and lead a group
- Excellent cross-departmental communication and collaboration skills
- technical ability
8. Sales engineer
A sales engineer is someone who sells technical products to companies. They have specialized in difficult, innovative solutions and have unique technological knowledge. They provide technical presentations and product demonstrations to demonstrate how the product works and why it is the best option for their prospects’ requirements.
Sales engineers are also experts in explaining complex items and concepts in simple terms. They assist sales professionals in understanding the technical components of the solution they are selling in order to close the sale.
A sales engineer will assist a company that sells technical items that require setup and onboarding, have a learning curve, or simply operate better when partnered with technical knowledge.
A strong sales engineer candidate will have the following skills and experience:
- An appropriate technical degree, such as one in engineering, computer science, mathematics, information technology, or applied science is required.
- Excellent problem-solving skills
- Excellent presentation skills and the ability to communicate complicated issues and solutions in a clear, understandable manner
- Collaboration that works
- Deep understanding of the sales process, including potential bottlenecks and essential activities that progress prospects
9. Manager of sales operations
A sales operations manager is in control of the sales team’s methods, tools, and technologies. They assist salespeople to stay efficient and productive by reducing friction in day-to-day sales tasks. As a result, salespeople will have an easier time meeting their sales targets.
With a CRM, sales operations managers may simplify and streamline complex activities. They assist reps in quickly determining the number of opportunities in their pipeline, the average deal size and value, the number of sales won, and the time it takes to close a contract.
In a nutshell, a sales operations manager assists the sales team in tracking their sales funnel as well as all of the data that reflect their progress.
Hiring a sales operations manager is the best approach to boost a company’s existing reps’ impact and productivity by implementing a solid sales process and a superior tool stack.
A good sales operations manager candidate will have the following qualities:
- Experience with your CRM platform of choice, from process optimization to dashboard creation and report generation
- Your sales team’s ability to turn a sales strategy into processes, automation, and systems.
- Excellent leadership and communication skills
- The capacity to coach, motivate, and reward sales.
10. Manager of regional sales
A regional sales manager is in charge of a specific geographic region’s sales activities, operations, and results. Retail and non-retail sales are both possible. Regional sales managers help and cooperate with sales managers and teams in their territory to achieve sales targets.
They are also quite knowledgeable about their area. They know how changing seasons affect demand and sales numbers, so they can react to patterns and trends—and, if necessary, hire new sales agents. They supervise and train teams, as well as report on regional sales outcomes.
When a firm’s global reach gets large enough to separate into territories that are vastly diverse depending on the company type, regional sales managers are required. A real estate company, for example, can divide a single country into regions, but a software company might divide its sales operations into EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) and the United States.
Here are some characteristics of a good candidate for regional sales manager:
- Knowledge of the target market and their territory’s competitors
- Ability to inspire, lead, and coach sales managers and representatives
- Ability to easily run sales reporting and forecasting and provide information in a way that assists sales managers and teams in taking action
- Experience developing a clear sales plan and achieving sales goals
11. Sales Director
A director of sales is a senior executive who leads and directs sales teams across the organization or within a specific region. A director of sales supervises sales managers, sets annual sales goals, and develops important sales strategies to achieve those goals.
Directors of sales have a bird’s-eye view of the company’s current sales and revenue situation, as well as its future prospects. They collaborate with marketing, sales operations managers, financial managers, and recruiters to connect their efforts and needs with those of the sales teams.
When a firm is rapidly growing and there is a chance to sell more effectively and to better prospects by hiring ambitious, high-performing sales agents, it is the appropriate moment to hire a director of sales. A director of sales will ensure that the company’s overall goals are met as sales capacity grows.
People with certain skills and experience are ideal candidates for the position of director of sales:
- Outstanding sales track record
- Proven track record of successfully adopting changes and initiatives that have benefited a company’s growth.
- The capacity to create streamlined sales processes in order to improve overall sales efficiency.
- Skills in sales forecasting and reporting that aid in the development of sales strategies
12. Sales vice president (VP)
Another top managerial position is vice president of sales. Vice presidents report to the company’s CEO or president. This is one of the most prominent sales jobs. The vice VP of sales establishes sales goals and objectives and collaborates with the directors of sales to develop strategies to assist them to achieve them.
The VP of sales is in charge of a huge team, and their responsibilities vary greatly depending on the size and structure of the firm. Reporting to the board of directors, reviewing current revenue numbers to determine the company’s trend (and acting accordingly), and planning the company’s strategic direction are all common responsibilities.
Because recruiting a good VP of sales can take a long time and is a major investment, the best time to hire one is when the firm is seeing great lead, sales, and revenue growth. This is when a VP of sales can keep the sales team focused on the market, the company’s objectives, and the company’s vision.
A good VP of sales candidate will have the following qualities:
- Several years of sales management experience (C-level leadership a bonus)
- Extensive experience in defining and achieving sales targets for businesses.
- Excellent mentoring, communication, and relationship-building skills
- Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving skills
13. Chief commercial officer (CSO)
A chief sales officer (CSO) is an organization’s highest sales position. A company’s entire sales operation is led and managed by a CSO. They supervise all sales efforts and manage the company’s vice president of sales.
Leadership, strategy, and evaluation are the major priorities of a CSO. They evaluate the efficiency of sales, operations, and customer service in order to make the required adjustments to guarantee that the company meets its sales targets and overall business objectives. This includes looking at the company’s sales channels, rivals, market, and sales strategies.
Some of the skills to look for on a candidate’s CV for the position of chief sales officer are:
- Performance and competition analysis are examples of deep analytical skills.
- Exceptional communication and leadership skills, with the ability to unite a varied group of people with varying skill sets.
- As the organization expands and scales, great change management is required.
- Business savvy and a thorough awareness of market complexity are required.
Last thoughts
Whether you’re searching for a career change or a new sales position, this list of the greatest types of sales jobs to look for, while not exhaustive, can assist you in making the best decision.
If you’re looking for work, use this list to find open positions, compose your sales cover letter, and negotiate your compensation. This list will help you set your budget, write job descriptions, and discover the ideal candidate if you’re a company hiring for various types of sales jobs.
Both the firm and the candidate benefit.
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