What Is an Inside Sales Manger? How to Become One, Salary, Skills.

Inside sales managers develop and implement strategies to set the inside sales team up for success. This position focuses on providing training, tracking metrics and identifying leads to support inside sales representatives in meeting their goals. Here’s what to know about an inside sales manager’s needed skills, salary and how to become one.

What Is an Inside Sales Manager?

An inside sales manager oversees the work of inside sales representatives who employ techniques by phone and email to market products and services to prospective customers. The inside sales manager uses their sales background to guide team members in winning over customers and hitting their quotas.

What Do Inside Sales Managers Do?

Leading an inside sales team, which sells to prospects over phone and email, an inside sales manager is responsible for recruiting potential employees, onboarding and training new sales representatives, monitoring sales metrics and setting benchmarks for individual and team success.

Inside Sales Manager Responsibilities

• Manage inside sales representatives’ daily activities.
• Track metrics to make data-informed decisions about inside sales strategy.
• Recruit, hire and onboard new inside sales representatives.
• Devise and implement training programs.
• Set individual and team goals.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities of Inside Sales Managers

• Conduct research.
• Collaborate with the marketing team.
• Interview job applicants.
• Identify sales leads.
• Conduct performance reviews.

Inside Sales Managers Within a Company

The inside sales manager is in charge of a team of sales reps within the larger sales department. They are often supervised by a sales director.

Importance of Inside Sales Managers

Inside sales managers provide their direct reports with tools, training and other resources to help them build profitable customer relationships. Inside sales teams are becoming increasingly important to companies because they are cost efficient and easy to scale up.

What Skills Are Needed to Be an Inside Sales Manager?

Qualifications to Be an Inside Sales Manager

• Sales and marketing experience.
• Understanding of effective sales strategies and how to teach them to others.
• Ability to track key sales metrics.
• Understanding of how to set individual and team quotas.
• Experience using data to inform decisions and team strategy.
• Ability to identify ideal sales leads.
• Familiarity with sales tools and software.

Inside Sales Manager Prerequisites

• A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
• Sales training and certifications.

Inside Sales Manager Hard Skills

• Conducting research and analyzing data.
• Training sales reps.
• Lead prospecting.
• Using tools and software.

Inside Sales Manager Soft Skills

• Strong leadership skills.
• Communicating with customers.
• Strategic and analytical thinking.
• Collaborating within a team and across departments.

Tools and Programs Inside Sales Managers Use

• CRM software such as HubSpot and Salesforce.
• Sales prospecting tools such as Leadfeeder and LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
• Platforms like Gong and Clari for analytics insight.
• Communication and collaboration platforms like Zoom, Slack and Google Workspace.

How to Become an Inside Sales Manager

Inside Sales Manager Education and Experience

Earning a bachelor’s degree in a field like marketing or business administration is typically part of the path to becoming an inside sales manager. This position also requires around five years of experience working in inside sales or another relevant area. That experience should include one to two years handling some management-level responsibilities.

Inside Sales Manager Certificates and Courses

• 20 Top Sales Training Programs and Courses to Know
• Certified Inside Sales Professional
• Certificate in Virtual Sales
• Accredited Inside Sales Manager
• HubSpot Academy Online Sales Training

Inside Sales Manager Career Path

An inside sales manager typically begins their career working as an entry-level inside sales representative. They can go on to become a sales director or could shift into a marketing position.

Inside Sales Manager Salary and Job Outlook

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects more than 41,000 yearly openings for sales managers from 2021 through 2031.

The full compensation package for an inside sales manager depends on a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s experience and geographic location. See below for detailed information on the average inside sales manager salary.