Head of Sales/Sales Director

The Head of Sales/Sales Director defines, articulates and implements the organization's strategy for selling of products and/or services. He/ She develops forecasts and strategies to achieve the right volume of sales at price levels that ensure profitability. He actively seeks out major customers and forms relationships with key influencers and buyers. He should also keep abreast of the industry trends, market and competitors activities and serves as a business representative at major industry events, conferences, trade shows or expositions. He is a team leader with the primary task of managing a group of sales managers to be as effective as possible. The work involves investing effort in building key relationships to grow the business. He spends significant time in leading presentations for business development and in meetings with key business stakeholders. He has to maintain relationships with partners, customers, stakeholders and other affiliated companies. He should display a strong sense of resilience, fairness and has the ability to motivate and inspire his sales teams. He ought to be able to build relationships and display strong influencing, problem solving and negotiation skills. He should have a strong understanding of market demand and buying behavior.

Skills and Competencies

Technical Skills & Competencies

Account Management
Proficiency Level
Establish organisational direction in managing customer accounts, and develop an account management framework and customer service strategy to engage, retain and grow customers.
5
Business Development
Proficiency Level
Establish an organizational business development strategy, direct expansion into new markets and lead the creation of new and significant business opportunities and relationships.
6
Business Insights
Proficiency Level
"Define business objectives and metrics to drive generation of business insights from analytics, to inform business for strategic decision making. "
5
Business Negotiation
Proficiency Level
"Direct negotiation policies and develop negotiation limits."
6
Content Distribution
Proficiency Level
Formulate new content distribution strategies in line with new technologies and new distribution channels to maximize return on investment of content.
5
Re-define thinking and inspire the conceptualization of new and innovative products that create significant industry impact.
6

Generic Skills & Competencies

Leadership
Proficiency Level
Lead by example at organisational level. Inspire, motivate and guide others to adopt a point of view, make changes or take action. Cultivate an open, cooperative and collaborative learning culture for the organization.
Advanced
Communication
Proficiency Level
"Negotiate with others to address issues and achieve mutual consensus."
Advanced
Decision Making
Proficiency Level
Make decision in a volatile and ambiguous setting using a structured process and limited sources of available information to achieve intended goals.
Advanced
Interpersonal Skills
Proficiency Level
Influence, guide and handle others’ emotions to build instrumental relationships and manage conflicts and disagreements.
Advanced

Critical Work Functions and Key Tasks

Research industry trends

• Monitor changes in the industry and determine how they can be converted into useful opportunities
• Participate in forums and discussions to keep abreast of new changes in the industry and practices
• Leverage on innovations within media to maximize the monetization of traditional and digital assets and products
• Provide inputs to the content development teams based on customer and industry feedback
• Develop a comprehensive organizational sales and distribution strategy that maximize scales opportunities
• Develop sales and distribution policies and programs that reflect the organization's goals and objectives
• Outline objectives in key target areas such as sales volume, market share, segments, distribution channels and profit margins to guide the 
development of advertising sales, promotions, campaigns, sponsorships and other offerings based on the customer insights
• Provide inputs on sales incentive structure and key performance indicators to help monitor the execution of these targets

Execute business development and sales operations

• Define the approach for the overall sale of new business, new business to existing accounts and account retention
• Grow penetration into key markets by collaborating with the marketing team
• Recommend changes in pricing structures and packaging, additions, specification changes and deletions in product lines or products
• Set the direction for the sales team in generating proposals that define a clear path to client satisfaction and revenue growth
• Provide advice in the preparation of bid documents and integrated proposals for key accounts and new focus areas 

Manage customer relationships and accounts

• Establish customer relationship management (CRM) systems and guidelines for management of customer relationships and leads
• Establish internal guidelines for personal data protection based on applicable legislations, to manage customer data
• Promote positive relations with major customers and prospects to develop a thorough understanding of their needs
• Influence senior stakeholders within customers' organizations and premier buyers in the industry
• Foster relationships with new partners to achieve desired revenue and profitability objectives

Manage sales performance

• Review sales performance by analysing performance reports
• Investigate internal and external factors impacting sales performance
• Drive solutions to improve sales performance

Manage teams and/or departments

• Define common goals, direction and accountability among staff
• Define staff development strategies by coaching, mentoring and engaging in career discussions
• Define effective performance management practices within department in accordance with organizational policies and procedures
• Oversee budgets, forecasting, work allocations and staffing of the various departments

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