WHAT DOES AN INTERNATIONAL SALES MANAGER DO?
Published: Oct 07, 2025 - The International Sales Manager oversees global key accounts and distributors while developing and executing strategies to drive revenue growth and strengthen market presence. This role leads and mentors a sales team to achieve performance targets, enhance customer partnerships, and deliver on international P&L objectives. The manager also identifies new market opportunities, aligns trade and marketing initiatives, and ensures consistent brand execution across all regions.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for International Sales Manager
1. International Sales Manager Duties
- Client Acquisition: Prospect and extend the client portfolio in the region
- Market Leadership: Build up a leading position in the performance-based mobile marketing market
- Project Management: Follow-up projects to help clients develop their mobile user acquisition strategy
- Global Expansion: Contribute to growth worldwide
- Team Recruitment: Recruit and staff the team
- Brand Awareness: Develop the Addict Mobile brand awareness
- Business Planning: Create detailed business plans designed to attain predetermined goals and quotas
- Sales Cycle: Manage the entire sales cycle from finding a client to securing a deal and acquire new customers by winning them over from competitors and discovering new opportunities
- Networking Skills: Unearth new sales opportunities through networking and turn them into long-term partnerships
- Product Presentation: Present products to prospective clients
- Customer Support: Support professional after-sales to maximize customer loyalty
- Client Relations: Remain in regular contact with clients to understand and meet their needs
- Issue Resolution: Respond to complaints and resolve issues to the customer's satisfaction and to maintain the company's reputation
- Contract Negotiation: Negotiate agreements and keep records of sales and data
2. International Sales Manager Details
- Sales Leadership: Take the lead and manage Sales, Marketing and Export functions and drive international sales and market share, profitably
- Team Direction: Provide direction and support to the company, sales team and management team
- Customer Engagement: Be actively involved with "key" customers and conduct regular visits, cementing solid business relationships
- Business Growth: Maintain and grow existing business levels and nurture/grow existing customers' spend
- Opportunity Management: Monitor, manage and capitalise on new business opportunities, ensuring sufficient procedures and processes are implemented to quantify all new business leads
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work in tandem with other company divisions from purchasing, operations and ensure connectivity for the sales and marketing division through other departments across the business
- Product Launch: Lead the launch of new products from a sales and introduction capacity to all customers
- Performance Tracking: Constantly track achievement versus plan, maintain, and revise the sales business plan to react to results achievement to hit annual targets
- Productivity Improvement: Propose ways to increase the productivity and effectiveness of the sales in the Area
- Market Expansion: Drive profitable and sustainable market share growth by developing processes, tools and metrics, service-oriented initiatives, performance management and territory/account/visit planning
- Account Planning: Guide the development of individual Account Plans for the key distributors
- Skill Development: Identify key development needs (agronomy, product knowledge, sales skills, and competencies) to focus on coaching and broader training efforts for all members of the sales team
- Training Support: Support with knowledge testing, assessment, tracking, and reporting and prepare and implement development plans
- Data Analysis: Ensure collection, compliance, and evaluation of data and information gathered from multiple sources (market, customer, competition)
3. International Sales Manager Responsibilities
- Sales Operations: Conducts all sales activities and processes within the parameters of the Herman Miller Sales process, utilizing corporate tools/resources provided
- Account Strategy: Develops, implements, and maintains account strategies and business plans for assigned accounts, providing forecasts of account potential
- Relationship Management: Develops and maintains A and D relationships with appropriate A and D Reps based on specific account requirements
- Revenue Growth: Guides and influences strategy for assigned International accounts to increase sales revenue and profitability
- CRM Management: Maintains Salesforce information so the Regional Lead can accurately complete monthly forecasts of expected sales volume by account and product line
- Market Research: Manages up-to-date information on international markets, the Education market sector, products, services, and distribution capabilities and facilitates learning for multinational lead development
- Budget Control: Manages within the assigned expense budget
- Business Support: Provides consultation to GAMs and the distribution channel on multinational accounts, projects, and required support
- Account Research: Provides and maintains account research to support all account inquiries and regional focus markets
- Client Representation: Represents International markets on client visits
- Issue Resolution: Resolves operational and other issues for assigned accounts and participates in the global pricing and contract development with appropriate Herman Miller resources and clients
4. International Sales Manager Job Summary
- Sales Strategy: Develops and implements strategic sales plans to accommodate corporate goals
- Forecast Management: Directs sales forecasting activities and sets performance goals accordingly
- Demand Coordination: Coordinates production forecasting with sales demands
- Market Analysis: Reviews market analysis to determine customer needs, price schedules, and discount rates
- Client Advising: Advises clients internationally concerning sales and advertising techniques
- Relationship Management: Meets with key clients, assisting sales representatives with maintaining relationships and negotiating and closing sales
- Sales Reporting: Prepares periodic sales reports showing countries status for opportunities and programs
- Competitor Evaluation: Monitors and evaluates the activities and products of the competition
- Trade Representation: Attends major trade shows and represents the Company at important Demo events
- Market Expansion: Prospects new markets, ensuring sales growth
- Bid Management: Prepares quotations and responds to international bids
- Team Collaboration: Works in cross-functional teams to respond to bids
- Proposal Development: Prepare technical proposals and define a strategy to win international tenders and bids
- Country Strategy: Creates individual country strategies to increase presence
5. International Sales Manager Accountabilities
- Sales Management: Manage and oversee the sales effort for KiwiTech's technology solutions in the regions
- Partnership Development: Leverage existing relationships with key partners to onboard clients directly onto KiwiTech's platform
- Data Analysis: Analyze and interpret key sales metrics to create marketing strategies that produce the best results for partners
- Performance Monitoring: Maintain awareness about performance related to monthly, quarterly, and annual goals, and conduct sales forecasts regularly
- Team Leadership: Hold team members accountable for revenue goal achievements, KPIs, and engagement in all sales initiatives
- Employee Coaching: Coach, develop, and support all team members while leading by example
- Market Assessment: Strategically assess current market trends for new sales opportunities and make recommendations for changing service offerings
- Alliance Building: Develop strategic alliances with Entrepreneurs, Incubators, and Accelerators in multiple cities in the target region
- Pipeline Development: Participate in finding opportunities and creating the pipeline
- Needs Analysis: Uncover primary technical and business needs, and communicate how KiwiTech can meet those needs and solve the prospect's problems
- Proposal Coordination: Follow up with the proposal team for timely delivery to the client
6. International Sales Manager Functions
- Strategic Planning: Refinement, implementation and drive of the strategic 5-year growth plan
- Global Management: Create and implement plans by continent, country and distributor across the globe, setting targets and objectives to meet business requirements and address external opportunities or threats
- Revenue Growth: Achieve targets for revenue and sales growth for the department
- Event Coordination: Manage the attendance and costs of international medical conferences that support international and business strategies, whilst representing the brand
- Team Leadership: Management and development of the International Sales Team
- Distributor Relations: Dedicated visits to key distributors to increase product awareness, train on products, build meaningful relationships, and increase their ability to demonstrate and sell products
- Product Presentation: Deliver effective demonstrations and sales presentations to distributors and their clients, promoting the company and explaining the concept and ethos underpinning the product range
- Partnership Development: As part of the overall strategy review, distributor performance, identify new distributor partnership opportunities, sales and business potential that will drive new revenue to meet company objectives
- Customer Support: Assist customers with clinical, technical and commercial enquiries
- Market Awareness: Keep up to date with market conditions and competition
- Performance Reporting: Regular reporting to the Commercial Director on the performance of the business, both past and future
7. International Sales Manager Job Description
- Sales Strategy: Planning, developing and executing a winning sales strategy
- Partnership Building: Building new commercial partnerships
- Product Sales: Sell company products and services to new customers
- Opportunity Management: Identify opportunities and manage the sales pipeline
- Independent Work: Work independently and with limited supervision and guidance
- Stakeholder Relations: Develop strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders
- Event Representation: Representing the company at industry or other networking/promotional events
- Customer Engagement: Maintaining regular contact with customers, introducing new products to customers, and identifying new revenue streams
- Proposal Preparation: Preparing and submitting customer proposals
- Market Knowledge: Develop a comprehensive knowledge of the product portfolio and the global mobility market as a whole
8. International Sales Manager Overview
- Contact Identification: Finding Key Contacts from the Targeted Accounts or Region
- Executive Networking: Networking and Initiating Dialogues with Senior Executives in Universities
- Lead Generation: Recognize the decision makers and generate interest among them via phone calls and emails
- Proposal Development: Develop presentations and proposals for key accounts in line with client requirements
- Deal Negotiation: Managing end-to-end negotiation with the prospects and closing the deals
- Relationship Building: Engage with prospects on an ongoing basis for requirement gathering and relationship building throughout the sales cycle
- Strategic Insight: Provide strategic inputs for the business based on interactions with prospective customers
- Target Achievement: Ambitious, tenacious and determined in meeting agreed sales targets and resilient in handling any buyer objections
- Presentation Skills: Articulate, confident and persuasive with the meeting presence and presentation skills necessary to sell effectively to individuals, small groups and larger groups for whom English may be a second language
- Data Analysis: Analyse customer and market data and identify and anticipate new opportunities
9. International Sales Manager Details and Accountabilities
- Business Strategy: Develop and implement long-term business strategies and marketing plans for the international market
- Sales Management: Business development and sales management for international sales to grow sales and improve profitability
- Market Intelligence: Ensure consistent market intelligence for related products
- Market Anticipation: Anticipate changes in the market environment
- Pricing Execution: Execute pricing strategy with the team
- Project Implementation: Implement key project initiative
- Sales Strategy: Develop and implement effective sales strategies to deliver company growth
- Competitive Analysis: Analyze and understand the competitive landscape in each market
- Business Negotiation: Generate new business and negotiate business terms
- Distributor Network: Build a network of distributors and agents
- Customer Relations: Building and maintaining strong, long-lasting customer relationships
- Product Innovation: Lead product development and innovation for markets
- Sales Forecasting: Forecast and track sales metrics
- Sales Reporting: Prepare reports and analytics on sales status
10. International Sales Manager Tasks
- Account Management: Oversee all Major and National accounts and Distributors internationally
- Sales Strategy: Develop a sales strategy that drives enhanced revenue generation and implement internationally
- Team Leadership: Coach, lead, and develop a sales team of 10+ to maximize potential with retail partners and develop strong JBPs
- Customer Focus: Drive the focus of customers in each market whilst ensuring all metrics and targets are achieved
- Investment Strategy: Serve as a key contributor towards the delivery of global P&L ambitions by leading the customer investment strategy internationally
- Market Expansion: Identify new markets and channels to maximize commercial opportunities
- Client Negotiation: Manage the largest customers directly and negotiate terms
- Forecast Management: Liaise with the team and head office to support the monthly S&OP meeting, overseeing the top-line forecasting requirements for the channel
- Omnichannel Development: Partner with the Head of eCommerce to maximize presence and execution in Omnichannel retailers
- Sales Collaboration: Collaborate with Heads of Sales for key markets on country plans and customer JBPs to double the business in focus territories
- Model Optimization: Review and rejuvenate the current RTM model by market
- Strategic Alignment: Coordinate with the Specialty Sales Lead to align on country strategies and top-line tactical plans
- Trade Marketing: Develop and implement Trade Marketing initiatives to build brand awareness across markets
- Program Support: Partner with Marketing to support programs
- Inspirational Leadership: Lead by example and inspire the team and organization through a passion for brand and mission