Running Head: TERM PROJECT PAPER 1

Term Project Paper

Christopher Vance

Salt Lake Community College

BUS 1010

November 19, 2019

Tyson Riskas
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Term Project Paper

Sales Representative and Department Manager in a Small Business

Job Description

Sales managers have an absolutely vital role in the survival and success of a company.

“Within the framework of organizational goals, the sales manager’s job is to plan, lead and control

all personal selling activities of the company. At the same time, they must continuously monitor

and adapt to changes in the macro environment.” (Hase, Busch)

As illustrated from Hase and Busch, there are many responsibilities of a sales manager. To

be successful they must have the ability to manage their time. Not one of these duties mentioned

can go unnoticed. In my interview with my coworker, who is part of the sales team at Cannonball

Musical Instruments, he also mentions the many different responsibilities he has in sales and as a

department manager. “Working for a smaller company means we all get to wear many hats, and I

enjoy the freedom of being able to change up what I do throughout the day. I’ll spend time emailing

international customers, making invoices, repairing musical instruments, helping other

technicians, making sales calls and many other things throughout the day” (Lillywhite).

The many different responsibilities will be magnified working at a small business, but I

believe the skills of time management and prioritization are universal when being a manager at a

business.

General Career Path

In my interview with a sales / parts manager, he concluded, “Most employees here begin

as a saxophone technician, with responsibilities gradually added” (Lillywhite). In a small business,

you gradually gain additional knowledge, which then comes additional responsibility. This has
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been my path so far with the company. I started out as a saxophone technician and have gradually

gained more responsibilities and knowledge with the parts department and sales. My sales/parts

manager also has a degree in business management. So, if I desired to achieve a position at the

managerial level in the company, I would need education as well.

In addition to small business and sales managers, there are other paths you can take to be

a sales manager. One crucial skill is selling. You need to be an example to the other employees in

the art of sales. You need to show that you can teach others how to sell. “Set the tone for your

entire team. Be the person that everyone on your team looks up to and can count on for sound

advice” (Burke).

General Education Experience

As mentioned earlier, the manager I interviewed received a business management degree.

Continuing in education with a master’s degree would also be very helpful. Along with the formal

education, there are some skills that are essential for a sales manager, which may get overlooked.

Analytical skills are very valuable or a sales manager. They are used to determine pricing, and to

“find weaknesses in the system, cost saving opportunities and redundancies” (snagajob.com).

Having experience in sales as well as leading others is equally as important as the formal

education. To be a leader of other employees, need to show that you are Knowledgeable and are

capable of leadership. Good leaders are the foundation of a successful team, while poor leaders

could mean the failure of a team.

Average Salary

According to Glassdoor.com, one of the largest jobs and recruiting sites, the average salary

for a sales manager in the United States is $78,000. Another source estimates the average salary
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for a sales manager to be $81,000. To be just a department manager the salary is only about

$40,000.

Being in a small business would affect these numbers, because of the other responsibilities

you may need to take on. It was surprising to find out the significant difference in salary between

a department and sales manager.

Career Outlook

“Employment of sales managers is projected to grow 5 percent from 2018 to 2028, about

as fast as the average for all occupations” (Bureau of Labor statistics). With online shopping

continuing to grow, career outlook looks very steady. As new businesses continue to develop,

having a sales manager is definitely important. A good sales manager is critical to a profitable

business.

Bio of Someone in the Profession

I had the opportunity to interview Ryan Lillywhite, a manager at Cannonball Musical

instruments. Along with international sales, Ryan also manages the parts department and is the

head technician at Cannonball. He received a bachelor’s degree in business management from

Brigham Young University. Ryan lives in Sandy Utah with his wife and 2 children.

Pros and Cons

There are many pros of working as a sales manager. One pro is the salary. Living off of

$78,000 a year seems very comfortable to me. A pro to this job is getting to know account

representatives and developing relationships with them, while making a profit for the company. I

think I would like developing relationships with account representatives because I would get to

develop a friendship while also getting business done. Another pro for me, is specific to the career

of Ryan Lillywhite, the person I interviewed. I love the small business atmosphere. I like bunch of
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different responsibilities to contribute, as opposed to doing the same thing all day. I would enjoy

staying in the small business world.

A con for me would be overseeing other employees. I think I would enjoy teaching or

training others, but I don’t like bossing people around. I also don’t like confrontation. I do

understand however, that supervising and occasionally correcting other employees would be

necessary. Another con for this career would be dealing with unhappy or unsatisfied customers.

This is something I would need to improve on for this career. I tend to dwell on negative situations

and take things personally. Being able to quickly move on emotionally from those negative

situations would be important.

My “Fit” with this Career

I conclude with how I believe I would “fit” with this career. There are aspects of this career

that I believe would be a good fit for me. The first would be the customer service aspect. I believe

I would be able to communicate and perform good customer service. I believe I would be able to

develop relationships and trust with those customers. I think this would be a really fun part of the

job. I also think I could be good at the planning aspect of this position. I would be able be honest

in my dealings. However, pushing sales and having to fulfill quotas would be difficult for me.

However, I understand the job involves producing sales and being an example to your fellow sales

people. This would be something I will need to learn if I want to pursue this career.

If I were to pursue this career, I would have to be committed to learning to be a quality

salesman. I would need to be committed and available to the business. The hours could be long. I

would possibly be taking time away from my family, which would be hard for me. I see some of

the sales people at my current job occasionally work long hours get stressed out. This is completely

understandable though! The future of the company depends on sales. I’m not completely sure if
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this is the right fit for me. I believe I would be a better fit in a small business where I could have

several different responsibilities, to get a break from sales. This is a career I would have to further

research and explore before I pursue it.

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References Page

Job Description:

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2018&q=sales+managers+job+description&hl

=en&as_sdt=0,48#d=gs_qabs&u=%23p%3DGBiEhDWY1M8J

Career path: https://www.insightsquared.com/blog/sales-manager-career-paths/

Education: https://m.snagajob.com/job-descriptions/sales-manager/

Salary: https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark/inside-sales-manager-salary/ut;

https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/sales-manager-salary-SRCH_KO0,13.htm

Career outlook: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/mobile/sales-managers.htm

Bio, how to: https://business.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-write-a-short-bio--cms-30643

My “Fit”: https://www.builderonline.com/builder-100/marketing-sales/10-qualities-of-a-great-

sales-manager_o

Ryan Lillywhite Interview

1. What is your Job Description? What are details about the day-to-day duties, the “big”

responsibilities people in this career have?

 I am an account manager, parts department manager, and head technician at Cannonball

Musical Instruments. Working for a smaller company means we all get to wear many

hats, and I enjoy the freedom of being able to change up what I do throughout the day.

I’ll spend time emailing international customers, making invoices, repairing musical

instruments, helping other technicians, making sales calls, and many other things

throughout the day.

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2. General Career Path How do you get there from an entry-level position. What would the

entry level position be?

 Most employees here begin as a saxophone technician, with responsibilities gradually

added.

3. General Education Experience – How much education does this kind of career require? what

kind of degree? any additional certifications.

 My position and responsibilities require a degree and special training in playing and

working on musical instruments. Prior to joining the company, I had a bachelor’s degree

in business management with a minor in music, and also a year’s experience as a project

manager for an architectural firm. Specialty training was done on the job after I was

hired.

4. Why is this a good career for you?

 My unique skill set matches perfectly with my job position at Cannonball, which both

gives me great fulfillment and makes me valuable to the company.

5. Career Outlook – Discuss how optimistic a future for this career is.

 Our company and my job position are both very unique, and if someone else wanted to

find a very similar employment opportunity I don’t know if another one exists.

6. What is 1 pro and 1 con of your career?

 Working in a small, family-centered business with shared values provides a great

foundation for happiness at the workplace. A downside is that I sometimes have to deal

with unreasonable customers.