The Vital Role Of A Director of Sales Support

John Follett

The Director of Sales Support acts as the manager of the sales support team and reports directly to the VP of Marketing in most organizations. The sales support team is crucial to the success of the sales representatives because the support team takes care of all of the office duties such as answering the phone, scheduling, processing sales leads, managing correspondence, and keeping track of sales targets.

Director Of Sales Support

As Director of Sales Support, it is your job to ensure that both the sales and marketing teams have all of the systems, resources, and tools necessary to stay on target with those sales goals. The responsibilities of the Director of Sales Support will vary depending on the size and structure of the organization, but there are a number of key responsibilities that are universal. These include:

  • Providing office support and managing the support staff.
  • Directing and managing application managers and sales operations so they can better support the marketing and sales departments.
  • Implementing and managing the CRM (customer relationship management) system to provide further support for marketing, sales, and customer service.
  • Working with a variety of departments and people, including sales directors, marketing directors, and technical support to develop and implement strategies.
  • Collaborating with senior managers.
  • Analyzing and streamlining business processes.
  • Developing sales support metrics to keep performance and productivity on track.
  • Completing employee performance reviews and professional development plans for members of the support team.

Since the Director of Sales Support is a major position that carries hefty responsibilities, it’s important to hire someone that meets stringent job requirements. These can include but are not limited to:

  • A college degree in business or a related field.
  • Minimum number of years managing a support team.
  • Minimum number of years’ experience in sales support or operations.
  • Exceptional written and oral English skills.
  • Knowledge of advanced computer applications such as Word, Excel, PowePoint, etc.
  • Experience developing tactics, performance metrics, and sales strategies.
  • Experience implementing a CRM system.
  • Entrepreneurial attitude.
  • Presentation and training skills.
  • Ability to travel when needed.

Outlining the job responsibilities down to the last detail will help weed out inexperienced or unqualified candidates so you can focus on hiring the right Director of Sales Support who can get the job done. A good education coupled with impressive experience could prove that you’ve found the right candidate for the sales support position.

 

Get FREE Marketing tools, templates, how-to guides and webinars with our FREE membership.