Sales Manager
Department: Sales
Level: Management
Primary objective: Team performance, forecast accuracy, revenue growth
What this role does
The Sales Manager leads the sales team — monitors the pipeline, forecasts revenue, manages commissions, calibrates pricing, and identifies blockers stopping deals. They don't sell directly, but actively intervene on complex or stuck deals.
Modules used daily
| Module | Where to find it | What you use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Sales Overview | Sales → Overview | Team central dashboard |
| Opportunities | CRM → Opportunities | Pipeline review — all team deals |
| Sales Pipelines | CRM → Pipelines | Kanban view of the team |
| Lead Scoring | CRM → Scoring | Calibrate prioritisation rules |
| Sales Commission | Sales → Commission | Monitor accrual per agent |
| Commission Policy | Sales → Commission Policy | Configure calculation rules |
| Commission Payment | Sales → Commission Payment | Approve and export for payroll |
| Price Lists | Sales → Prices | Manage prices and promotions |
| Client Groups | CRM → Groups | Segmentation for reporting |
| Discount Groups | CRM → Discounts | Discount policies per segment |
| Invoices | Sales → Invoices | Monitor overdue receivables |
Weekly routine
Monday — pipeline review (30 min)
- Sales Overview → review the team dashboard:
- Revenue achieved this month vs. target
- Weighted pipeline for next month/quarter
- Deals with no activity > 7 days → intervene
- Opportunities → filter by Estimated close date = current month → which have probability < 50%? → schedule 1:1 with the responsible agent
Wednesday — individual review (1:1 with each agent)
- Open the agent's opportunities → discuss each stuck deal
- Identify where you can intervene (executive-level presentation, special price, delivery acceleration)
- Update close estimates based on real information
Friday — reporting and commissions
- Sales → Commission → check week's accrual for each agent
- If the month is closing → Commission Payment → approve and export for payroll
Key workflows
Workflow 1 — Configure commission policy
Sales → Commission Policy → New Policy
→ Define: calculation type (% of invoiced / % of collected / tiered)
→ Set base: total invoice value or net margin
→ Add accelerators (e.g. > 100% quota = double commission)
→ Assign policy to each agent in their record
→ Platform calculates accrual automatically
Workflow 2 — Manage prices and promotions
Sales → Price Lists → New List
→ Name the list (e.g. "Summer Promotion 2026")
→ Add products with promotional prices
→ Set date range: begin_date / end_date
→ List activates automatically during that period
→ On expiry → reverts to standard list
Workflow 3 — Intervene on a stuck deal
Identify opportunity stuck in "Negotiation" > 14 days
→ Discuss with agent → understand the blocker (price, internal decision, competitor)
→ Options: grant an exceptional discount (adjust price in Proposal)
→ Or: request a higher-level meeting (you + client's director)
→ Update opportunity with actions and next deadline
Workflow 4 — Scoring recalibration at quarter-end
Analyse won and lost opportunities from last quarter
→ CRM → Scoring → check if rules correctly predict lead quality
→ Adjust weights: sources with high conversion → higher score
→ Industries/sizes with poor win rates → lower score
→ Result: SDRs prioritise leads that actually convert
Metrics to monitor
| Metric | Where to find it | Review frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Invoiced revenue this month | Sales Overview | Daily |
| Weighted pipeline (next month/quarter) | Opportunities → sum(value × probability) | Weekly |
| At-risk deals (no activity > 7 days) | Opportunities → filter last activity date | Weekly |
| Win rate per agent | Opportunities → grouped by owner | Monthly |
| DSO — average collection days | Reports → Invoices | Monthly |
| Total team monthly commission | Sales Commission | Monthly |
| Contracts expiring in 60 days | Contracts → expiry filter | Weekly |
Configurations you manage
Commission policies — calculation rules for each agent. Any change applies to the current or next month (determined by company policy).
Price lists — create and activate new lists for promotions or new segments. Agents cannot modify prices in documents if the list is locked — they contact you.
Pipelines — define stages and associated probabilities. Stages directly influence the weighted forecast calculation.
Client groups and discounts — segment the portfolio and define discount policies per segment. The agent applies the group — they don't set ad-hoc discounts.
Practical tips
Monday pipeline review is not optional. Without a weekly pipeline read, the forecast becomes fiction. 30 minutes on Monday morning saves hours of explanations at month-end.
Calibrate scoring quarterly. Rules set at launch reflect assumptions, not reality. Analysis of won/lost deals tells you what score actually predicts conversion.
Don't approve exceptional discounts without updating the opportunity. A discount granted without a system trace distorts win rates and reported margins.
Commissions are approved on fixed dates — communicated to the team in advance. Uncertainty in commission payment demotivates more than anything else.
Run the weekly pipeline review every Monday morning without exception — without a consistent pipeline read, the forecast becomes fiction and you lose the ability to intervene on stalled deals before the end of the month.
Never approve an exceptional discount without updating the linked opportunity record. A discount granted without a system trace distorts win rates, reported margins, and commission calculations for the rep simultaneously.