Sales Operations Manager: What is the cost of hiring?

What is a Sales Operations Manager?

Sales Operations Managers may optimize your company’s sales processes by increasing efficiency and incorporating technologies into existing workflows. They generally analyze data to evaluate performance throughout the sales funnel, often working collaboratively with Sales Managers and company leaders to ensure each sales workflow supports departmental and organizational objectives.

Sales Operations Managers may also monitor the company’s sales technology to ensure employees use it effectively.

Why hire a Sales Operations Manager?

Sales Operations Managers can help you build a more efficient and profitable sales operation by streamlining complex sales processes and strategies to support company growth.

Contributions of a great Sales Operations Manager: 

• Improved and standardized sales processes and workflows
• Development of data-analysis practices to monitor sales performance
• Reduction of workflow inefficiencies and delays

Defining your hiring needs for a Sales Operations Manager

Defining your company’s needs is the first step in deciding how to hire a Sales Operations Manager. You might work with the Sales Manager to identify the role’s responsibilities and whether the job scope requires a full- or part-time position. 

As you review the planned duties, evaluate whether a Sales Operations Manager is the most effective role, compared to a Sales Director, Sales Assistant or Sales Consultant position. 

What are the types of Sales Operations Managers?

Within the sales operations industry, some companies may hire specialized Sales Operations Managers to lead specific aspects of sales optimization. Types of Sales Operations Managers might include:

• Sales Planning Manager: This role is generally future-oriented, aiming to improve the company’s forecasting methods and collect data from various departments regarding upcoming product launches and marketing campaigns. They may also monitor industry trends.
• Sales Process Manager: This Manager is responsible for sales processes. They may collaborate with other Sales Operations Managers to establish objectives, refining processes to achieve those goals and potentially increase revenue.

As you draft a job description for your Sales Operations Manager position, consider how to increase visibility in search results. According to Indeed data, Sales Operation Managers often get clicks when they include the following keywords: 

• Operations Manager
• Sales Manager
• Sales
• Manager
• Operations
• Sales Operations Manager
• Coordinator
• Sales operations
• Management

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Where to find Sales Operations Managers

Sales Operations Managers can be found through sales and operations job boards, professional associations, business schools and RevOps communities. Attending industry conferences, engaging with CRM platform user groups or partnering with schools that offer programs in sales strategy or analytics can help expand your reach. 

To find the right Sales Operations Manager for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Post on social media: Sales professionals often use social media to build relationships and nurture leads. 
• Hiring from within: Invite your current sales employees to apply for the Sales Operations Manager position.
• Connect with your network: Once your job posting is published, share it with your contacts who work in sales or related industries. 
• Ask employees for referrals: Your sales team likely understands the skills that make a successful Sales Operations Manager, so they might provide quality referrals.
• Post your job online: Consider posting your Sales Operations Manager job on Indeed to find and connect with candidates.

Skills to look for in a Sales Operations Manager

A successful Sales Operations Manager candidate will typically have the following skills and competencies, which may be gained through a variety of experiences, training or education:

• Experience with customer relationship management (CRM) software systems and sales software, such as HubSpot, Pipedrive and Salesforce
• Proficiency in analyzing sales data using analytics within CRM and business intelligence platforms
• Ability to communicate process changes to sales team members
• Understanding of process optimization and best practices in sales
• Strong organizational and project management skills
• Experience with sales forecasting methods, such as time series analysis, regression analysis or opportunity stage forecasting
• Leadership team management skills for guiding the sales team and implementing new processes

Writing a Sales Operations Manager job description

Now that you know the key skills, salary expectations, popular job seeker search terms and hiring insights for a Sales Operations Manager, you’re ready to write a job description.

A Sales Operations Manager job description typically includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position. You may also want to include information about your company culture, benefits and perks to attract candidates to your open role.

Ready to get started? See our full guide for writing Sales Operations Manager job descriptions.

Interviewing Sales Operations Manager candidates

Strong candidates for Sales Operations Manager positions will be confident answering questions about:

• Assessing and analyzing sales processes and the sales funnel
• Experience using CRM and sales automation platforms
• Optimizing sales processes and monitoring progress
• Communicating with sales teams and company leaders
• Documenting processes and developing standard operating procedures

Need help coming up with interview questions? Our Operations Manager interview questions are a helpful starting point for hiring a Sales Operation Manager.