An area sales manager typically manages the sales force within his defined regional territory. He/ she is responsible for overseeing sales operations, meeting targets and managing the sales team in the region.
The Job Role and Responsibilities
Primary job responsibilities of an area sales manager would include:
- Managing, training and motivating the existing sales team to drive revenue growth
- Develop and manage efficient distribution networks for sales
- Develop efficient and creative sales and marketing strategies for the assigned territory and target setting for the sales team
- Collecting customer and market feedback and reporting the same to the organization
- Monitoring sales team performance, analyzing sales data, periodical forecasting and reporting to zonal heads
Competencies and Skills Required
Since team management and sales target achievement are the most important responsibilities of an area sales manager, recruiters look for the following competencies in a candidate:
- Good communication skills
- Ability to manage teams
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Ability to meet targets
- Problem-solving skills
Assessment for the ‘Right’ Sales Manager
| Communication Skills | English – Mid |
| Ability to Manage Teams | Team Management (SJT*)- High |
| Interpersonal Skills | Agreeableness (Personality**) – Mid Extraversion (Personality) – Mid |
| Ability to meet targets | Planning & Organizing (SJT) – Mid Emotional Stability (Personality) – Mid to High Conscientiousness (Personality) – High |
| Problem solving skills | Problem Solving (SJT) – Mid Logical Ability – Mid |
*SJT -Situation Judgment Test for Mid Management
**AMPI is a Personality Inventory assessment
Assessments Correlation to Performance
Standardized assessments in cognitive skills and personality have traditionally been used for hiring sales managers. In recent years companies are adopting simulation or situational judgment tests for hiring for roles like area sales managers. Situation Judgment Tests (SJT) when combined with personality assessment have proven to be a valid tool for predicting the job performance of an individual, especially for managerial roles.
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A large scale benchmarking study done on ASMs at a large FMCG company showed that there was a strong correlation between candidates’ actual job performance and scores on AMCAT SJT and personality traits of Extraversion, Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability. Standardized benchmarks on these modules when used at the time of hiring can increase organizational efficiency by as much as 26%.
