Sales Operations Team – Role and Responsibilities.
Sales Operations Team – Role and Responsibilities. If you think your product is getting market traction but your sales team is still underperforming, you may want to consider creating a Sales Operations team.
The Sales Operations team is a highly strategic group that can assume many of the tactical responsibilities from your sales teams, freeing them up to focus on driving new business.
Every successful sales organization that has reached scale has created some version of a Sales operations team. In general, the Sales Operations teams handle the sales administration tasks, including the close monitoring the sales analytics and the effectiveness of the various elements of the sales process. Many businesses consider their Sales Operation strategy to be strategic and mandatory to stay alive in a competitive environment.
Below is a partial list of benefits to having a Sales Operations team
- Increased effectiveness in the total sales process
- Increase the speed of the Revenue Recognition and the Cash cycle
- Enable the Sales team to Scale and focus on new business opportunities
- Help decrease the length of the sales cycle by normalizing the end-to-end sales process
- Increase the accuracy of sales forecasting
- Illuminate sales process gaps and shortcomings
- Enable cross-functional communication and coordination
Based on the type of the company, the Sales Operations department offers a broad range of job titles for your team. Sales Operatives, Manager – Sales Operation, Manager – Business Development, and Head of Sales Operations are few to mention.
Responsibilities associated with the Sales Operations Team
Managing Data and CRM Systems
The Sales Operation team can have the responsibility of managing the data that is collected by the sales and marketing groups throughout the pipeline stages and within the Customer Relationship Management tool (CRM).
Contract Proposals
The Sales Operations team can take an active role in creating and coordinating customer contracts, Service Level Agreements, and customer expectations.
Managing Applications
In conjunction with the CRM tool, the Sales Operations team can also take a lead role in organizing and maintaining the other software tools that the sales team uses, including the collaboration and document management platforms.
Creating Sales Forecasts
As your company scales, you will need to increase the sophistication of sales forecasting. Forecasting can be an excellent job for the Sales Operations Team as they will have access to the CRM tool as well as the control over many stages in the onboarding process.
Territory Definition
Territory Management is a massive responsibility of the Sales leader in an organization, and as your company grows, it can consume a lot of their time. A Sales Operations Team is well positioned to continually evaluate the underlying sales performance and offer real-time analysis and feedback to the leaders.
Training of new employees
Onboarding new sales team members is both time-consuming and expensive to an organization. The Sales Operations team members are usually the people that train the new hires and provide the on-going support throughout the sales and account management departments. Sometimes the difference in a new salesperson’s effectiveness is the training and hands-on support that you provide.
Creating Sales Strategies
Along with Territory planning the Sales Operation Team can be a valuable strategic asset for the Sales team. By having their finger placed squarely on the pulse of the sales data, the team can spot trends and make suggestions related to verticals, promotions, pricing, and even packaging.
Organizing and Coordinating the Sales Team
These days most enterprise sales efforts require Cross-Functional coordination between the Sales, Delivery, and Development teams. To get it right, all of the teams need to be on the same page. This work can be tedious and time-consuming and not something you want your External sales team members to focus on. All perfect tasks for a Sales Operation Specialist.
The skillset of the Sales Operations team member
Ability to negotiate
Sales Operation team member need to be able to negotiate. Negotiating is vital when handle customers and partner companies if you want to deliver better performance, meet client expectations, and maximize sales.
Communication skills
Without having the ability to communicate professionally, a Sales Operative cannot succeed. It is a vital skill to share information clearly and precisely.
Analytical skills
Sales Operating staff should deal with significant amounts of valuable data so they should know how to analyze it all professionally.
They must be dedicated
Of course, sales-related jobs can consume a considerable amount of time. So, the employees are required to be dedicated and focused on the work. Sales Operations is not just a 9 to 5 job. This position needs to be willing to go the extra mile in crunch time when the sales team is trying to meet deadlines.
Educational qualifications
In most of the cases, the candidate is required to possess at least a bachelor’s degree. Look at the role as a hybrid of both Sales and Operational so five years’ experience in one or both of these disciplines should be required as well.
Ability to spot Trends
The Sales Operations employees should be able to observe and recognize trends in data.
Leadership qualities
Sales Operations employees are required to work across teams as well as on their own. So, this position requires leadership qualities.
Planning abilities
Sales Operations team members must have the ability to plan cross-functional tasks and set timelines and drive the sales agenda.
Sales Operations team members must be motivated
Unlike many of the employees in your organization, the Sales Operation employee could speed up the revenue recognition and cash cycle. Revenue and cash are the lifeblood of the organization. These people need to be self-starters.
Multitasking
To succeed as a Sales Operations individual, the candidate must be a multitasker.
Other Things to Consider:
The work environment
Companies generally hire Sales Operation team members for full-time positions. The employees are expected to be compatible with a fast-paced environment, work long hours, and help the sales team meet their quotas at quarter close. While they work within a team, they need to have some cross-function flexibility and be ready to communicate clearly between each staff member.
Salary scale
Of course, the salary of a Sales Operations employee will differ based on aspects like the amount of experience they possess, their designation, and the size of the employer. However, to give you an idea, a suggested average salary from Glassdoor of a Sales Operations manager is over $75,000. Remember the Sales Operation team helps you increase your speed to recognize revenue. Pay these people well and hold on to them tight.
Sales Operations jobs are becoming more valuable day by day thanks to the immense competition due to the competitive financial times. Also, there is a massive potential for the growth of their career. So, if you do not promote your top talent, someone else will.
