Should You Hire a Full-Time or Part-Time Sales Manager?

Ten years ago, searching for a part-time sales manager was not as straightforward or desirable as it is today. Additionally, the term conjured up images of people who could not find full-time work, in other words, the leftovers. Times have changed! You’re reading this now because you are considering hiring a part-time or full-time sales manager to help you and your business grow. 

 A strong sales department is essential for any business to thrive. Without a steady stream of new customers and ongoing purchases, growth stalls, and the company risks shrinking or closing. While an owner’s passion and commitment can drive the business forward to a certain extent, sustainable growth requires a dedicated sales team that consistently generates revenue to fund development and increase profit. 

Developing a committed and driven sales team is not always easy for many CEOs. Lack of time or know-how makes it difficult. After trying new tools, new salespeople, and incentives and promoting your top salesperson does not work, hiring a sales manager is considered.

This post is designed to help business owners and leadership teams determine whether a part-time or full-time sales manager fits their organization. The goal is to help you understand what a sales manager is accountable and responsible for and the criteria to consider when deciding if your company needs a full or part-time sales manager.  The article will cover: 

• What a Sales Manager is Accountable For
• Case Studies of Part-Time Sales Managers Replacing Full-Time Managers
• What Are A Sales Managers Responsibilities
• Company Culture, Process, and Pace Factors
• Financial Considerations and Decisions

We will also introduce Sales Manager Now as a resource for businesses where a part-time sales manager is the best solution. In almost twenty years, we have worked with over seventy small businesses. This experience has given us a unique perspective on why some companies succeed with a part-time sales manager while others are better suited with a full-time sales manager. 

What A Sales Manager Is Accountable For

A sales manager is accountable for building and developing a sales team that will consistently perform to meet the company’s sales goals, objectives, and budget. A part-time or full-time sales manager can and has accomplished this quite well, so which is best for you?

It’s easy to believe a full-time sales manager can meet this objective, and it’s harder to believe in a part-time sales manager. It also seems to make sense that full-time has to be better since more time should equate to more results. This is not true. For a salesperson, yes, this is true. More time should equate to more calls with customers and prospects, but a sales manager does not make calls. They should be getting the most out of their salespeople, which does not always take more time.  

Part-time sales managers are not best for all companies, but for many, they are. To help open your mind to this, here are two cases where a part-time sales manager successfully replaced a full-time manager at less than half the cost.

Case Studies: Replacing a Full-Time Sales Manager With a Part-Time Sales Manager

A manufacturer distribution company was losing its full-time sales manager, and a consultant recommended that the CEO consider Sales Manager Now as a part-time sales manager (also known as a fractional sales manager). She moved forward with us. This is how things played out.

The B2B inside team had plenty of industry and company experience. They were expected to add new accounts and manage existing customers. They did have a couple of newer salespeople still proving themselves. We were the team’s sales manager for two years, then handed the team off to a new COO, who was hired to oversee all 15 employees. 

What made the change from full-time to part-time, then to COO work, was the size and capabilities of the team. The sales manager we replaced had done well in hiring a good team, but she enabled the team rather than empowering them. The team was using her to make decisions, close deals, and solve problems they could have made on their own. The CEO did not mind who made the decisions as long as she did not have to be overly involved and the decisions did not cost her money and reputation.  That was an easy fix by setting clear expectations and guidelines and creating an accountable sales environment. When we handed the team back to the new COO, they were used to making decisions that fit well with the COO’s schedule. The results were that the salespeople grew, sales targets were hit, and the CEO could confidently lead the sales team’s performance. Our cost was less than half of their full-time sales manager. 

We also replaced a full-time sales manager in the insurance industry and remained their part-time sales manager for nine years. The team had turnover, but the cream did rise. When we hired our full-time replacement, there was a core of five salespeople, each producing a million dollars plus, who were counted on. In addition, the CEO, who was ready to retire, could confidently hand his accounts over and created an ESOP to buy him out and allow the employees to carry the business on. 

To improve, this team required more focus, clear expectations, and accountability to add new accounts needed to grow revenue from 4.5 million to over 10 million in nine years. They also needed an objective perspective from their leader to help them be honest with themselves about their effort and results.  They were independent all day. They did not need a manager overseeing them during the week. The weekly sales meetings and one-on-one coaching established time for accountability and goal focus. 

Transitioned a seller/manager back to selling only. In 2013, we were asked to become the part-time sales manager for a client and move the current seller/manager back to full-time selling. He was competitive and assertive. Great selling qualities for their industry but not great for leading a small team. He always won the contests he created and tended to receive the best leads. They were a team of two salespeople and needed a third when we started.  Twelve years later, it’s a solid team of four,  the manager we replaced has loved simply selling, and we are still the part-time fractional sales manager. They have also grown from 2.4 million to 8 million during our tenure.

In each of these cases, it was proven and appreciated that a lower-cost part-time sales manager could not only fill the shoes of a past full-time manager but also improve the department and the individual salespeople. 

Effective leadership and management in sales is about getting the most from your sales team, not doing the most work.  

What Are A  Sales Manager’s Responsibilities?

A sales manager’s responsibilities should all support what they are accountable for. They are accountable for building and developing a sales team that will consistently perform to meet the company’s sales goals, objectives, and budget. 

While accountability and responsibility require the sales manager to take ownership, they focus on two areas. Accountability is related to outcomes and results where responsibilities are focused on the work a sales manager might perform to achieve the desired results. While most owners want results that accountable sales managers deliver, success in a small business is often measured by “the work” or responsibilities performed. 

Below is a list of sales manager responsibilities when determining whether to hire a full or part-time sales manager. 

A sales manager’s primary responsibilities

Aligning Sales Team Goals with Company Plans: Once the company assigns the sales team goal, the sales manager will work with the sales team to assign individual goals to meet the team’s responsibility. 

Define the Right Seats Required to Meet Company Sales Goals – With an eye on the company sales goals, process, market, and competition, the sales manager will define the sales role and compensation that will succeed. 

Hire and Develop The Right People for The Right Seats – Your sales manager should know how to attract, evaluate, and develop people to succeed at your business and fit into the seat. The right people fit into your company culture and are capable of succeeding.

Sales Department Expectations are Defined, Documented, and Agreed on – Clear expectations are needed to empower salespeople and create an accountable environment. These include job descriptions, compensation, sales process, CRM requirements, and messaging.

Reporting Produced to Measure Key Expectations – Once expectations are set, reporting should be established to monitor performance against expectations. 

Disqualify Leads – Salespeople will want to fill a pipeline; the sales manager’s role is to ensure the pipeline is only filled with qualified leads. 

Conduct Sales Team Meetings (Team and One-on-one) – The sales manager will lead meetings to foster engagement, learning, improvement, and recognition. 

Provide Individual Coaching – In scheduled meetings or impromptu, the sales manager should provide coaching to help each team member grow and improve performance. 

Observation Coaching – This used to be a ride-along, and for some industries, it still is, but more conversations are managed via email, phone, or Zoom today. When a manager can observe a seller in real time, some of the most effective coaching can occur. 

Create and Maintain an Accountable Sales Environment – In addition to clear expectations and reporting, the sales manager will lead the department in a manner that fosters accountability by always having clear, agreed-upon outcomes. This is vital to develop a more solution-oriented group than complainers!

Make Time and Have Conversations With The Sales Team Members as Needed  – The sales manager’s sales team members are always his priority. When they need attention, they need to make the time. Essentially, the sales team members are the sales managers’ internal customers. 

Keep People in Their Lanes – Lead the department in a manner that trusts other departments to do their jobs and has sales focused solely on doing theirs. Good communication skills are required to work with other departments as needed. 

Manage Performance on Time – If it’s recognizing preferred performance or addressing poor performance, a sales manager should manage this promptly. This includes improvement plans and letting staff go if necessary. 

Lead with Actions and Attitude – This does not mean leading by selling in front of people; it means the manager’s actions and attitude should exemplify the type of culture you are asking of the team. 

Collaborate with Other Company Department Leads – Work with other leaders to solve issues and foster teamwork. 

Assure Sales People Are Trained – Training can be accomplished directly by the sales manager or coordinated by a sales manager to leverage others in the company or through third parties to onboard new staff comprehensively. 

Define  Go-To-Market Strategies – This could include start-ups, new products, geographic territories, or new sales channels. This is the one responsibility that might require an industry specialist or consultant to realize the best result. Once a strategy is established, all the other responsibilities are used to implement the GTM strategies. 

Selling is not a management responsibiity

Selling is selling, and managing is managing. That said, a manager is often expected to sell in a small business, which is fine. When a part-time sales manager was not an option, it made sense to leverage your investment in your high-priced manager to sell. With fractional managers now in the market, more business owners are seeing the value in hiring an “A” salesperson who is just selling and an “A” manager who is solely focused on all the responsibilities listed. The cost is the same or less, but the focus and results are better. 

When selling, micro-managing, or being the designated big deal closer is removed from the sales manager’s responsibilities, their time can be focused on developing the team to perform as expected and win more significant deals. There is a reason coaches and managers on a professional sports team do not play. If they are on the field playing, they will lose the perspective they have to provide the best leadership and coaching possible. 

You can find a more detailed description of the sales manager’s responsibilities in the article Eleven Winning Sales Manager Responsibilities in Small Business.

Once you understand which responsibilities are essential for you and your company, the following factors should be considered. 

Company Culture, Process, and Pace Factors

It’s easy to overlook what makes your company, your company. I’ve seen leaders search for someone with the experience to  “do” what you ask and overlook how well they will fit into your culture, process, and pace. As a small business owner, you are who you are, your customers need what they need, and your goals and timelines are real. Being honest about the following will pay off in your decision.  

1. Pace of Growth Needed or Desired – Sales require energy, so the pace necessary to grow should be a factor in deciding on a full or part-time sales manager. Startups usually work against the ROI of investors and need a faster growth curve, whereas an established family-run business often has more control over the growth pace. A full-time manager is better for rapid growth, and a part-time sales manager can fit the bill for moderate or steady growth. 
2. Company Culture / Trust Factor – In our experience, this is the number one factor that impacts success or not with a part-time sales manager. A culture that trusts and is used to empowering people will often trust the part-time manager who is not present full-time like other employees and allow results to be realized. Cultures that tend to have a lot of impromptu conversations, changes in strategies, or “micro-management” practices will find more comfort with a full-time manager who is available for more unscheduled conversations. 
3. The Level of Activity and Conversations a Sales Team Has Daily – Inside teams who answer questions and issues all day when selling can lose energy and motivation if they are having a tough day, if customers are rude, or if deals are not closing. With teams who need to answer or keep making the next call, motivation is critical, and a full-time present manager will be best to monitor and maintain the team working at peak performance. On the other hand, the B2B outside sales team manages their schedules and can call their Part-Time manager between meetings if they need a boost. 
4. Customer-Facing Decisions and Communication – A full-time manager would be best if your sales team can not be developed and trained to make escalated decisions with customers. This, of course, will require a full-time manager or sales lead. If sales leads are used, a part-time manager can work as they coach the leads to be more competent. 
5. Sales Process is Proven or Not – If your company is young and you are still searching for a proven sales approach and process that consistently produces, a full-time manager might be best to lead and make adjustments until you find your best practice. On the other hand, if your company has a proven process that can add customers and grow revenue consistently, a part-time sales manager can jump in and fine-tune the process and develop the sales team to produce more within the process.  Your process does not have to be perfect. Just proven to add customers and grow revenue.

Financial Considerations and Decisions

One of the primary reasons most companies explore part-time sales management is the apparent cost savings. It is a good reason to start this evaluation, but the right fit is the reason to choose full-time or part-time, not cost. 

If full-time is best, spend the money, and if part-time is best, some owners reinvest the savings in another salesperson to drive more sales and realize a more significant ROI from their part-time sales management investment.

Full-time Sales Manager vs. Full-time Sales Manager Cost Comparison

The diagram below outlines where your cost savings with a fractional part-time sales manager reside compared to a full-time sales manager. Between base salaries, bonuses, taxes, health benefits, technology, and expense accounts, finding a 60-70% annual cost savings over a full-time sales manager is common. This might sound too good to be true, and it is for everyone. The business has a dedicated sales manager, the owner has an experienced leader to collaborate with, and the part-time sales manager who wants to stay busy will manage between 3 and 6 clients simultaneously. This keeps them challenged and earning what they are accustomed to. 

Source: Salary.com

The Risk of a Full-Time Sales Manager Selling

When investing more in a full-time sales manager, it’s only prudent to realize your most significant return on your investment. Growing the size of the sales team and total sales volume is your best return, but this will take time. Often, an owner will hedge their investment, asking the sales manager to take on management and sales responsibility. This sounds great at the time, but you often hire an overpriced salesperson or sales manager as most focus on what is most comfortable. 

If you do not need a full-time sales manager to be a “full-time manager”, consider hiring a part-time sales manager and a salesperson as a “bundle”. This way, you have clear accountability for management and sales, and your cost is similar to a full-time sales management professional. 

Your Next Step

Ready to Hire a Full-Time Sales Manager

If it’s clear you are ready for a full-time Sales Manager, it’s time to post and start interviewing. If you need to up your game in attracting and hiring your sales manager, consider following our detailed approach. A Six-Stage Hiring Process For Hiring a Sales Manager and Salespeople

Ready to Hire a Part-Time Fractional Sales Manager

Review our fees, services, and how we work pages, and if you are interested, schedule a meeting with Rene Zamora, our founder, to learn more and see if one of our managers would be a good choice for you. Book a meeting with Rene.

Still Need a Bit of Help Deciding?
Book a time to meet with Rene. You’ll find him very safe to talk to; he’ll help you make the best decision for your company. Book a meeting with Rene.