Sales Operations Manager - Guardian of Sales Productivity

For many companies using CRM and Sales Automation Systems, the sales operations team has become the guardians of the sales process. When implementing any new sales automation solution, the sales operations team plays a critical role in ensuring the integration and adoption of the new process.

Since ConnectLeader offers out-of-the-box CRM integration with many of the top CRM systems including Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics, and NetSuite CRM, the sales operations team plays an essential role in overseeing the implementation and integration of the ConnectLeader Dialing Platform. In fact, our customer support team tells us having the sales operations team onboard is the single most important ingredient in optimizing the Live Conversation Automation process. So what is special about the Sales Ops position? What factors defined an optimal implementation?

The sales ops manager decides which activities can be handled by technology and which cannot which means he or she must understand the functions done at each level, how to track the transactions, and how each decision affects the cost of sales."

Barry Trailer, Managing Partner CSO Insights

Source: The Evolution of Sales Operations, by Kim Wright Wiley, Selliingpower.com

The Sales Operations Manager is the expert...

in implementing sales automation solutions. They are able to merge the acronym-laden world of IT with the high-velocity sales world. Of course the prime driver of the sales operations role is the nearly universal acceptance of Customer Relationship Management solutions for businesses of all sizes. The CRM has become the hub of the high-technology and business services world where ERP/MRP systems are the hub to the manufacturing organization.

B2B Sales Lead Generation has become process-focused

Today's sales ops teams have to be concerned with sales processes that include automatic lead nurturing, bi-directional data synchronization, and real-time sales analytics. Marketing automation is also playing an important role in automating and accelerating the sales process. Sales operations managers need to the one person in the organization who actually understands the selling process from top-of-funnel to close. Even small improvements in the sales process can result in significant improvement in revenue growth.

Guardian of the Sales Automation Process

The Sales Operations Manager really earns their pay when it comes to evaluating new sales productivity tools. One wrong choice can bring a well-run process to a grinding halt. Today, there are so many new sales and marketing productivity tools coming onto the market, that assessing the capabilities and effects these tools have on the overall process is a critical responsibility.

Takeaway: Sales executives need to pay just as much attention to hiring the right sales operations manager as they do to hiring their sales and business development managers.