Sales managers are responsible for influencing the distribution of their organization’s products to customers. This process involves establishing sales territories and setting quotas and sales goals. Operating as the sales team director, sales managers create and outline the staff’s training programs, develop unique strategies for the sales team to manage effectively, and encourage team members to meet and surpass short and long-term sales goals.
Sales managers will also work closely with a firm’s marketing department to identify potential customers that the sales team can strategically target. In addition to maintaining the sales teams, sales managers may also have responsibilities of actively recruiting and hiring new employees. Here are some of the best degrees to become a sales manager.
Bachelor’s in Business Administration
A Bachelor’s of Business Administration is an academic program designed to provide bachelor students with a strong educational foundation in business fundamentals. Students understand these principles and learn to apply them to real-world professional work scenarios. A BBA degree will help future sales managers prepare for real-world business administration roles through a business-centric curriculum. They discover how to make effective business decisions through problem-solving and creative thinking.
Specific themes covered within this program could include planning how a firm manages its operations daily to adjust priorities amongst ongoing changes, issues, and uncertainty. A BBA program will typically consist of basic general education classes emphasizing the specific business area of the bachelor student’s choice. Concentrations within a BBA may include topics like finance, healthcare, accounting, real estate, operations management, sales management, and more.
Bachelor’s in Marketing
Bachelor’s degree programs in marketing will include a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing. These undergraduate degrees lead to exciting careers that require both business knowledge and a fair amount of creativity. Students also have the chance to learn a second language or study public speaking within this program’s curriculum. These degrees generally offer training in the related areas of business law and ethics, financial accounting, consumer behavior, and marketing principles.
A BS or BA in Marketing is one of the best degrees to pursue if you are interested in becoming a sales manager, as much of this degree’s content equips this profession. Graduates of a bachelor’s program in marketing can also pursue graduate studies or other careers as market analysts and more. Students with strong quantitative backgrounds will have no problem finding gainful employment as market research analysts. Obtaining an undergraduate degree can also prepare students for advanced programs like an MBA.
Bachelor’s in Sales Management
Every business that exists today sells something. Sometimes that means business-to-business sales or business-to-general customer sales. Sales management is the profession that involves overseeing the sales operations and employees for an organization. This can include supervising sales personnel teams, designing and implementing sales campaigns, and managing other tasks that result in an organization’s profitability.
A Bachelor’s in Sales Management is one of the best degrees to become a sales manager. This undergraduate sales management degree is an academic program awarded to bachelor’s students who have completed all the requirements that a college, university, or business school has put into place, emphasizing sales and sales management. A bachelor’s degree with a sales management specialization also fuses general education courses with specific training in sales management. The average bachelor’s program consists of 120 credit hours and takes four years to complete. Some business schools today offer accelerated programs that can be completed at a faster rate. There may be no more excellent way to initiate a career as a sales manager than to pursue this degree.
MBA
While sales managers don’t need an advanced degree, an MBA can be one of the best degrees to become a sales manager. An MBA is a globally recognized graduate program in business created to develop the skills and knowledge professionals need for business and management careers. The value of an MBA, however, is not strictly designated to the business realm. MBA degrees are profoundly useful to graduate students pursuing managerial careers in the public and private sectors, government, and other management areas like sales management.
Most of the nation’s well accredited MBA programs include a core curriculum of general business topics like economics, finance, marketing, operations, and accounting, with elective and specialization courses that allow students to meet their professional and personal career goals. Some business schools require that enrolled students find an internship position at an organization or business to put classroom concepts in the classroom immediately. Internships have a way of leading to permanent job offers after the program’s completion. An MBA focusing on sales management is one of the best programs a future sales manager can acquire.
Master’s in Management
A Master’s in Management is a post-graduate master’s program awarded to graduate students. It may be a one or two-year program of graduate-level courses in business management. Accredited academic institutions offer this degree that is designed for business students wanting to enter leadership roles. The program attracts applicants from many academic disciplines. The program structure mimics that of a Master’s of Business Administration in many ways. A MM degree for young professionals with limited professional experience is an excellent option for students lacking the years of work experience that some MBA programs require.
A Master’s in Management’s curriculum typically prepares business students to handle management issues and dilemmas in all areas of business with an option to specialize in one particular area of business leadership. Most programs begin with a set of core courses and then offer more concentrated courses after a year into the program. Potential sales managers will want to consider a Master’s in Management, as many of the program topics will prove helpful throughout their career.
Next Steps
These are some of the best degrees to consider when planning to become a sales manager. Business degrees for sales management include the presumption that students will develop a vast working knowledge of business operations and hone their skills in specific business fields like marketing, customer service, finance, human resources, communications, and operations. One advantageous next step to consider is exploring these fields with an international perspective. It is a good idea for graduate students interested in global sales management to focus on an application within a specific country. With so many factors to weigh and so many things to consider, it is clear that now is a great time to pursue a degree in sales management.
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