What Does a Sales Operations Specialist Do? (And How to Become One)

Key Takeaways

Sales teams include professionals, from those responsible for direct sales to customer service reps, sales managers, and others. One key member of a sales team is the sales operations, or sales op, specialist.

• Sales operations specialists help direct sales professionals to streamline their processes and meet business objectives and goals.

• The specific tasks you might expect in a sales operations specialist role vary based on the needs and goals of your employer.

• If you have a passion for analytics, collaboration, and the sales environment, a sales operations specialist role can be a great way to enter the field.

Discover what a sales operations specialist does, the average salary, and different career options for sales operations professionals.

What does a sales operations specialist do?

Sales operations specialists support the sales team by designing, implementing, and improving the processes involved with daily sales operations. As a sales operations specialist, you are responsible for ensuring the sales team has the resources and tools to complete their tasks and meet a business’s goals. This typically involves analyzing data and metrics from sales activities and then translating that information into more streamlined and effective processes and databases for the sales team to utilize. Sales operations specialists are also responsible for automating repetitive tasks for the direct sales team, freeing up their time for increased client engagement.

Sales operations specialists tend to work within four different areas:

• Strategy: Optimizing sales processes, data analysis, forecasting, goal setting, territory planning

• Technology: Adapting and implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) platform, communication management, app and database management, automating tasks

• Operations: Product training, contracts, hiring, onboarding, managing knowledge databases

• Performance: Lead management, creating compensation plans, identifying KPIs

Depending on your interests, you may find a sales operations specialist role that works within all four of these categories or one that specializes in a particular skill set. Sharpen your sales operations skills and learn the fundamentals needed for a sales operations specialist role on Coursera. You’ll find options like the Salesforce Sales Operations Professional Certificate.

Typical tasks

The specific tasks you might expect in a sales operations specialist role vary based on the needs and goals of your employer, but some typical responsibilities include:

• Auditing and executing contracts

• Managing CRM like Salesforce and PeopleSoft

• Analyzing performance data

• Tracking the sales pipeline

• Identifying areas of improvement

• Automating repetitive tasks

• Monitoring data integrity

• Helping align sales and marketing goals

• Training and supporting the sales team on processes

Importance of sales operations

Sales operations help transform a sales team’s efforts from reactive to proactive, saving time and money while increasing output. Sales operations create effective workflows and processes that enable direct sales professionals to focus on engaging with clients and closing deals. Sales operations analyze and organize data, then utilize that data to implement more efficient business operations.

Sales vs. sales operations

Sales teams interact directly with clients and potential customers, engaging them at various points of the sales funnel and moving them from initial interest to closed deals. Sales operations personnel do not interact with direct sales but support the sales team through analytics, coordinating resources and workflows, and optimizing processes to help the sales team close more deals faster and more efficiently. These two facets of sales work together to create a more productive and effective team overall.

Salary and job outlook

According to Glassdoor, the average annual salary for sales operations specialists in the US is $64,901 [1]. Keep in mind your salary may be influenced by factors like location, industry, years of experience, and education level.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects approximately 1.8 million job opportunities for sales professionals from 2022 to 2032 [2]. 

Common career paths for sales operations specialists

If you have a passion for analytics, collaboration, and the sales environment, a sales operations specialist role can be a great way to enter the field. This role is often labeled as entry-level and offers the opportunity to advance further once you’ve gained experience within the industry.

Education and experience

To become a sales operations specialist, you’ll need to have a strong technology and analytics background. Many people gain these foundational skills through a four-year degree. In fact, according to Zippia, 65 percent of all sales operations specialists have a bachelor’s degree [3]. Common majors include business or marketing to learn about the key skills for this role. 

In addition, many businesses prefer several years of experience. While gaining this experience typically occurs when studying for a degree, you can also look for opportunities to learn in your current profession, such as asking to shadow a sales professional. Some companies consider experience gained in adjacent sales roles, as well.

Core skills

Some skills to help you find success in a sales operations specialist role include:

Technical

• Knowledge of SQL

• Experience with CRM software like Salesforce

• Familiarity with marketing databases

• Data entry

Workplace

• Communication skills

• Analytical thinking

• Problem-solving skills

• Collaboration and teamwork

Certifications

Certifications in sales, specific skill sets, or software are great ways to demonstrate skill and expertise and set yourself apart in a competitive field. They may help advance your career because they show employers you are knowledgeable and an asset to your team.

A popular sales certification that may benefit you as a sales op specialist is the Salesforce Certified Administrator certification, offered by Trailhead, which helps you better understand how to use Salesforce and its features.

Related roles

A sales operations specialist role is a great first step that helps you grow into related roles, such as:

1. Sales operations analyst

Average annual US salary (Glassdoor): $79,116 [4]

As a sales operations analyst, you will focus on collecting, analyzing, and interpreting a business’s sales data to help improve sales processes. You will perform market research to create positive customer experiences and streamline workflows. In this role, you may also write reports that track marketing campaign performance and use that to recommend new strategies.

2. Sales operations manager

Average annual US salary (Glassdoor): $91,639 [5]

As a sales operations manager, you will be a leader responsible for overseeing and managing a sales team. In this role, you will develop new strategies, set targets and goals, and ensure that customers are satisfied with their employees' performance. You may also manage inventory and sales processes to ensure productivity.

3. Sales operations director

Average annual US salary (Glassdoor): $115,456 [6]

As a sales operations director, you will be a professional responsible for overseeing the entire sales operations department. In this role, your primary focus is on increasing sales, which often involves creating high-level strategies, identifying areas that require improvement, and implementing changes through informed business decisions. You may need to have a master’s degree for the role.

Learn more with our free resources.

Exploring a career in sales? Stay updated on the latest career trends with our LinkedIn newsletter, ! Or, browse our other free resources:

• Take a career quiz: Career Test: What Career is Right for Me Quiz?

• Work through a guided project: Automating Sales Tasks with Zapier

• Watch on YouTube: Is Sales the Perfect Career for YOU? Career Deep Dive or Sales Rep Discovers Her Biggest Problem: BAD DATA

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