Regional sales managers are often the backbone of any company's product or service, since they direct the distribution of that service or product to customers. Most often, regional sales managers are responsible for particular sales territory, such that they set sales goals, establish training programs for sales representatives, and oversee the vagaries of that particular sector.

Because these types of sales manager jobs occur in every sector, the management of the product or service (as well as the requisite sales staff) will differ, but any kind of these types of sales manager jobs require a strong attention to detail, the ability to work with people, and enjoyment of people in general, and, often, the ability to travel a lot. Regional sales managers also monitor customer preferences, such that they may facilitate change for a particular product line for that particular region of the country to increase sales.

A large part of these types of manager jobs also involves dealing with sales representatives especially. They must manage sales representative such that they help those representatives make the most of sales, and increase their sales whenever possible. They also oversee inventory for their particular region, so that they make sure that there's enough inventory to meet particular need, but not so much that they have "inventory overload." This is important for a company's bottom line and for customer satisfaction as well.

Education and Training

Oftentimes, regional sales managers began on the job as sales representatives and work their way up in a company. In some cases, depending on the product line in question, no further formal education beyond high school diploma is necessary, although increasingly, companies want to see regional sales managers (and sales staff as well) with a four year college degree of some sort.

Regardless, Regional Sales Managers Must Have the Following Abilities:

They must have a very strong attention to detail, good computer skills, and have the ability to multitask, such that they will be performing a variety of job duties. Of course, one on one interpersonal interaction is important, because one of a regional sales manager's jobs is to make sure customers have what they need. However, regional sales managers must also be able to manage sales staff, such that they motivate them to succeed, while taking to task those sales managers who are not performing up to par.

In addition, regional sales managers must be able to analyze demographics and trends, such that they determine what particular parts of their product lines may or may not sell well in a particular area of the country, based upon research and results of previous sales, so that they adjust product lines as necessary. Further, they must be able to forecast what will sell well so that they can keep proper inventory in stock, enough to meet customer needs but not so much that a company's cash flow is tied up in stagnant inventory stock.

Job Outlook and Salary

The job outlook for regional sales managers is somewhat slim, most specifically because most promotions to regional sales manager happen within companies; these jobs are very competitive and only experienced staff already within the company usually gets them. If sales representatives are working for a particularly large firm, they may be promoted quite quickly, while small firms may have limited opportunities for advancement.

On average, these types of sales manager jobs made about $97,000 a year as of 2008.

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