Job description for commercial director of a trading company. Job responsibilities of the commercial director

There comes a time in every growing company when it is simply necessary to expand staff and redistribute responsibilities. It is then that deputy directors of the company appear on various issues. These are the people responsible for procurement, production, advertising and promotion, and finance. The commercial director is practically the second person in the company after the general director. He has his own responsibilities, tasks and rights. The commercial director must have specific and operational skills. What kind of person is this, what exactly does he do and how to write a resume for a good company?

Who is a commercial director?

The field of finance is quite broad, so each applicant must clearly understand the essence of the chosen profession, the range of duties and responsibilities.

So, a commercial director is a specialist who is directly involved in various trade operations and their support. Moreover, the full list of responsibilities depends solely on the specifics of the enterprise and its size. But we can definitely say that it is thanks to the commercial director that the company makes a profit and determines the course and pace of development.

Such an employee manages not only the purchasing and sales of products, but also the marketing and logistics departments. Also, the commercial director forms and maintains relationships with large and key clients of the company and is responsible for concluding particularly profitable deals.

In general, we can say that this is a key figure in the structure of any company. That is why the requirements for the applicant are quite high and stringent.

The place of the commercial director in the organizational structure of the company

Very often confused with the head of the sales department. But the commercial director has a clearly defined place in the management hierarchy. It is thanks to this distribution of responsibilities that the company runs like clockwork.

The position of commercial director belongs to the second level of management. This is the next step after the director. In this case, a financial deputy is appointed, and is also removed from office exclusively by the general manager of the company.

On all operational issues, the commercial director reports and reports directly to the director. These are issues of operational management, trade and money turnover and financial planning. At the same time, he is personally responsible for the safety of various material assets and signs the corresponding agreement with management.

If the chief financier is absent from the workplace due to illness, business trip or vacation, then another company employee is appointed in his place by a separate order from the manager. The Deputy Commercial Director has the same rights and responsibilities that he receives for a certain time. He also bears financial responsibility.

What does a commercial director do?

To choose the right place in the company, you need to clearly understand what tasks and goals are facing you. This will allow you to more effectively and efficiently distribute your time and energy. In addition, this fact is valuable for both the applicant and the employer. After all, having outlined the range of responsibilities and tasks, you can safely demand specific results from the employee. You can also constantly monitor the effectiveness of its activities.

The only thing that pays special attention to is the company’s revenue. The commercial director of the company must constantly monitor the situation and take prompt measures if this indicator decreases. To do this, he can request any commercial documents from other departments, as well as coordinate actions with other department heads.

This irreplaceable employee can represent the financial interests of the enterprise in relations with various institutions and government bodies. In this case, he is the face of the company and has all the authority to resolve problems that arise.

Main responsibilities

A commercial director is a person who is entrusted with enormous powers and responsibility. Accordingly, he must fully comply with all instructions of the director of the company, develop and expand commercial relations, and also adhere to the existing business plan.

In this regard, he is entrusted with the following responsibilities:

• Control and coordination of the development of quality standards and storage of products or services, as well as their quantity. It is the commercial director who determines the final cost of goods, their range and production volumes.
• Coordination of the development and implementation of the enterprise's marketing strategy. directly affects the future financial well-being of the company.
• Responsible for training and monitoring the work of employees.
• Monitor the timely preparation of reporting documents and submit them to management on time. In addition, the tasks of the commercial director include the approval of all financial papers.
• Monitor the implementation of the overall business plan, as well as the enterprise budget. Ensure timely and complete payment of wages.

In addition to these requirements, each company has the right to introduce its own terms of reference for the commercial director. It all depends on the size, specifics of the enterprise and management structure. In Russian companies, the specific wishes of the founders may also influence the completeness of job responsibilities.

The main qualities that a professional should have

Commercial director is a very complex position, requiring from the employee not only relevant work skills, but also certain personal qualities. And this is determined not only by personal sympathies and preferences, but rather by the peculiarity of the chosen post.

So, let's start with professional qualities and skills. Most companies impose the following criteria on the applicant, which the commercial director must indicate in his resume:

• Ability to work and knowledge of the specific market in which the company operates.
• Ability to shape and control existing and proposed distribution channels.
• Navigate the marketing system in order to effectively implement various advertising projects.
• Ability to communicate with VIP clients, sign contracts to conclude large transactions.
• Proficiency in English for communication and working with documents.

If we talk about the personal qualities of the candidate, then the employer’s requirements are quite standard. As in many other positions, the future commercial director must be goal-oriented and stress-resistant, sociable and charismatic. He must be a leader and interact effectively with staff and any audience. Efficiency and non-conflict are also especially valued.

Which companies use this position?

Now on the labor market you can find quite a large number of vacancies for the position of commercial director. Their peculiarity is that such advertisements can hang for quite a long time. There are several objective reasons for this: firstly, the employer conducts a rather strict and careful selection of candidates, and, secondly, newly hired employees cannot withstand the full scope of job responsibilities and the rhythm of work.

The approach to finding a financier and the requirements for his knowledge and skills differ significantly between Western and domestic companies. Here you should take into account the mentality and history of business development in Russia and abroad.

In domestic companies, the position of commercial director appears as a result of the expansion of the enterprise or the restructuring of the management structure due to its ineffective activities. Therefore, the requirements for candidates are very vague. Here, the commercial director is a universal, trained and experienced specialist who can quickly cope with problems that have accumulated over the years.

In Western companies, the functionality and requirements for applicants have long been clearly defined. Therefore, it is much easier for the applicant to figure out what exactly he is responsible for, what his main tasks and responsibilities are. In addition, attention is paid here to professionalism, and not to subjective sympathies.

Salary level and basic requirements for the candidate

What can a future commercial director count on as compensation for his difficult work? After all, the job description of a commercial director provides for a fairly wide range of responsibilities and enormous responsibility.

It is worth noting here that the salary will directly depend on the size of the company and even on its location. For example, the highest salary for a commercial director is observed in Moscow or St. Petersburg. Here an employee can count on a monthly income of 80,000 rubles. The farther from the capital, the lower the reward will be.

In addition, there are also increased requirements for an increased salary: at least 3 years of experience in a relevant position, completion of various courses and sales training, experience in financial planning and conducting effective negotiations. An MBA degree and knowledge of English are also desirable.

Moreover, the average age of a future commercial director is about 40 years. Most often these are men with higher specialized education. In addition, each candidate must have good recommendations from a previous job.

The employer may also present specific requirements to the applicant. For example, this is ownership of a vehicle, consent to perform duties during non-working hours, possession of certain diplomas, etc.

Registration of a commercial director for work

This issue is resolved in each company in accordance with existing legislation. The candidacy is first agreed upon with the owners of the company. If it is not possible to find a professional employee on the side, most often the chief accountant of the enterprise is appointed to this position. This person has all the necessary knowledge and skills for this position. In this case, a corresponding entry about the transfer is made in the work book.

The order for the appointment of a commercial director is signed personally by the general director or head of the enterprise. In the same way, an employee is fired from this position.

Due to the fact that a newly hired person has a huge responsibility, it is advisable to conclude an employment contract with him. It, like the job description, specifies all the rights and responsibilities of the future commercial director. A clause on confidentiality and non-disclosure, financial liability and conditions for early termination of the existing contract is also written down here.

However, in any case, the HR department makes a corresponding entry in the work book about the time of acceptance and the order number.

Job description for commercial director

In the structure of the enterprise, a special manual is drawn up for each employee, which indicates all aspects of the activity and the nuances of the position held.

The job description of the commercial director contains the following points:

1. General provisions. Here, as a rule, the basic definitions and terms, requirements for professional and personal qualities and the basic rules of work at the enterprise are deciphered.
2. Responsibilities of the employee. This paragraph clearly states all the points for which the commercial director is responsible.
3. Rights. This section indicates the capabilities and powers of the employee.
4. Responsibility. This point is especially important because contains information about the obligations of the commercial director to the company and the law.

This document may also indicate working conditions, requirements for the employee and other points at the discretion of the enterprise management. An employee may be fired for failure to comply with job descriptions.

How and by what indicators is the work of a commercial director assessed?

Now in any company, one of the main indicators of an employee’s performance is his performance, i.e., what useful things he brought and what benefits this turned out to be. Or it may be the amount of final profit received by the company during the period of the person's work. This is a very important indicator, since it can subsequently directly affect the salary and recommendations.

The activities of most commercial directors are assessed according to the following criteria:

1. Strict implementation of own job description. Here compliance with each clause of the contract is assessed.
2. High level of discipline and subordination. The commercial director must be a highly organized and responsible person, since he is responsible for the present and future well-being of the company.
3. Implementation of the company's existing business plan. The company's work, along with financial indicators, is carefully and accurately calculated. If any item is not completed on time, it can have a rather negative impact on her future.

We create a correct and meaningful resume

The employer cannot know about the unique personal qualities, skills, experience and other nuances of the personality of the future employee. Therefore, any applicant needs to be able to correctly compose his resume. After all, it depends on whether he will be accepted into the team.

So, in the resume, the commercial director must indicate:

1. Personal data (date of birth, place of registration or residence, etc.).
2. Education (higher education institutions and all courses).
3. Work experience (name of enterprises, position and responsibilities).
4. and skills (the item should represent a competitive advantage).
5. Additional information (knowledge of programs and languages).

In addition, there are some tips for filling out a resume:

1. More specific information and numbers in the description of professional achievements.
2. It is better to indicate the scope of activity of the companies you worked for previously.
3. Look at your resume through the eyes of an employer.

Without delving into the essence of the work, one might think that sales department completely follows the line-staff principle. The commercial department is not a single whole: its functions and sales are divided into autonomous components, but at the same time they have the same value and are equivalent for the work of the entire department. Their only common goal is to force the buyer to purchase a particular product. The fact that each component works independently in the commercial department should not negatively affect the work; each side of the activity makes its own small contribution to the activities of the entire enterprise.

What does the commercial department do in a company?

The distinctive features of any activity are the presence of its direction and the organization of tasks to achieve the desired peaks. The purpose of the commercial department is the acquisition by individuals or legal entities of goods and services offered on the market, or their exchange for other goods for mutual benefit. Interestingly, the elements operated by marketing are also operated by the commercial department. The organization of the commercial department is complex, but at the same time allows it to perform many tasks.

The main goal of the commercial department is to create a specific system of measures aimed at regulating the processes of purchase and sale, meeting demand and making a profit.

All processes regulated by the commercial department of the enterprise are divided into two types: technological and commercial.

Technological processes are related to logistics. This concept means all operations performed during the transportation of cargo (transportation, unloading, storage, packaging, packing). These operations are a continuation of the production process and the direct movement of transport.

Commercial transactions represent all processes related in one way or another to buying and selling. This list also includes organizational and economic processes. It cannot be said that they are directly related to buying and selling, but these processes definitely affect the systematization of trade flow.

Commercial operations are also functions of the commercial department:

• study of demand for a product, its forecast. Research of consumer demand for certain groups of goods;
• search and identification of suppliers;
• all actions related to the formation of a product range;
• assortment management;
• economic justification for choosing a particular supplier;
• organizing relationships with suppliers;
• organization of service;
• conclusion and termination of contracts, all work with documentation;
• selection of marketing techniques for selling goods;
• the use of marketing in social networks, advertising on the Internet, etc.
• assessment and study of one's own activities.

Examples of standards for the commercial department

The basis for the use of any techniques and actions in commercial activities should be the conditions currently prevailing in the market.

Correct and productive work of the commercial department of an enterprise will only develop if all personnel fully understand what the tasks of the commercial department are:

• implementation;
• sales forecast;
• implementation policy – ​​sales and service;
• studying the market situation;
• advertising, marketing, trade development;
• setting prices for the entire range of goods;
• packaging and distribution;
• commercial staff.

Responsibilities of the commercial department

Many firms still outsource advertising responsibilities to specialized agencies. The management of the enterprise determines only the policy for conducting advertising campaigns. But it’s time to understand that advertising largely determines the policy of the company itself; the perception of the company by clients directly depends on it. The best solution in this case would be to introduce the position of commercial department administrator.

This person is needed to ensure that advertising reinforces company policy, but does not establish it. Good advertising is one of the important conditions for selling and purchasing goods. The company needs to time its efforts according to sales, production and distribution capabilities.

Market research

It does not matter where the information about the current state of the market was obtained from (application to advertising agencies, personal observations, use of general information as a source), it is the most important component for carrying out marketing campaigns. Responsibility for information retrieval placed on top management will render any knowledge acquired useless and unnecessary. It would be much better to assign it to the “working layer”, then any information received will become a powerful planning tool for you. This market research technique helps organize the activities of all layers of employees in the commercial department, and also forecasts sales. Market research is not yet so widely used in the work of enterprises.

Planning the product range and setting prices

Setting prices in commercial departments by administrators has not yet taken root in domestic companies. The fact that prices should be set in the commercial departments is considered heresy. But the fact that employees of the commercial department should have influence on the range of goods is clear to everyone. The compromise to get out of this situation will be the creation of a new price setting headquarters, which will be supervised by commercial administrators.

Forecasting and planning of income and salaries

The planning of future sales volumes and income depends on the planned profit. This responsibility is usually assigned to all levels of management. However, in order to calculate the planned profit, you need to create a sales forecast. This is what the commercial department does, where the current market situation and past sales are studied. This is the only way to get the most accurate forecast.

Sales organization in general commercial activities

One of the advantages of this concept is the ability to coordinate the work of personnel services in the commercial department. Another undoubted advantage is that the use of this concept implies the coordination of commercial operations with other components of the work (production, administrative work and finance). But the most significant contribution made by this concept is that sales becomes closely linked with other types of business activities. Thus, the department head receives greater freedom of action and a lot of new means of managing the commercial department. The department head establishes relationships with management in advertising, research, planning, and operations development. Through joint efforts, guided by the general policy of the company, they achieve their goals.

What does the structure of the commercial department of an enterprise look like?

When a new organization emerges, the commercial department appears by itself, it develops spontaneously, its work is not coordinated. The commercial department in such companies does not have clearly defined boundaries of responsibility, and levels of subordination are established using the organizational structure. However, this does not prevent the department from continuing its work.

Typically, the blame for unproductive department performance is placed on salespeople. But the responsibility also lies with the entire commercial department. Every mistake of the subject affects the entire sales system as a whole.

Many different types of structures have been created, each of which is designed to perform certain tasks and achieve set goals. It is extremely important that the commercial structure and distribution policy of the company match, only in this way will it be possible to effectively implement strategic objectives for business development.

Among the many sales departments, the following principles for organizing the work of the commercial department are most often used.

Geographical. To use this type of organization, it is necessary to locate a sales unit in each region in the form of an official representative or branch.

Grocery. It implies competition between teams, each of which is responsible for selling a specific product, in the same markets.

Client. This type of organization divides departments into categories that specialize in a specific customer level. Typically, departments are divided into a corporate customer service department and a retail sales department. But there are commercial service departments with a large number of divisions.

Functional. The case when the sales process consists of the sequential implementation of the following stages:

• search and selection of a client base;
• discussion of working conditions and trial sales;
• follow-up cooperation and service;

This type of specialization considers the division of departments into sales stages. A division is often used into commercial department specialists working with the customer base and direct sales, and back specialists involved in subsequent sales and service provision.

Matrix. It is most advantageously used by organizations that sell complex goods, both intellectual and technical. Sales of such companies are formed in the form of projects. Typically, such enterprises recruit leading specialists in each of the areas used in production, and all of them take turns working with the client. A good example of companies using this structure would be consulting agencies, IT companies, etc.

Principles of organization	Advantages	Flaws
Geographical	Simple structure and proximity to customers. Low cost of sales and relatively low administrative costs.	The benefits of specialization are lost. Limited managerial control over the allocation of sales force. It is difficult to work with a wide interchangeable assortment. The performance of a region greatly depends on the representative.
By product	It is easier to transfer specialized knowledge across product types. Easier to plan deliveries to customers. In the case of competing departments, high territory coverage.	Duplication of efforts: one client - several sellers. Large administrative costs. A high degree of work coordination is required.
By clients	Allows you to better take into account the interests and needs of clients. High degree of control over the distribution of sales efforts.	There is a danger of “missing out” on a potentially interesting client niche.
Functional	Low dependence of customers on a specific seller. Specializing in sales allows salespeople to focus on what they do best. Strong salespeople can be "offloaded" with less expensive staff.	A high degree of work coordination is required (especially for departments with different functions). It is necessary to motivate several independent departments for a common result in working with the client.
Matrix (design)	Rapid concentration of heterogeneous resources for different periods. High degree of control over the work of salespeople and the project team.	High sales and administration costs. Difficulties with motivation and cost accounting. Conflicts of interest of participants.

Key principles of productive work of the organizational structure of the commercial department:

1. Full compliance of the structure with the goals and priorities of the enterprise.
2. Building a structure around certain functions.
3. Fixing rights, responsibilities, and powers in the structure.
4. Establish the degree of control depending on sales volumes and the independence of sellers during transactions.
5. Develop structure flexibility. It must adapt to market conditions, the availability of certain products, and price fluctuations.
6. The structure must be balanced and take into account the interests of other departments: supply department, financial department, marketing department.

A well-developed structure is one of the most necessary aspects of a company’s development, but not all enterprises can boast of having a commercial department. Most consider it a formality, but the absence of these components leads to widespread disorder. While more experienced employees fully understand the “hierarchy” of the enterprise, this may be a problem for newcomers. Creating a certain structure will help them adapt faster. Systems without structure are beneficial for middle managers, in such situations they try to gain undeserved authority.

Each company remains unique, so it cannot be said that the processes in them are the same. The structure created for a large company may be very different from the structure created for a small office. In order to draw up the correct structure, it is necessary to draw up a diagram of possible departments of commercial activity.

Characteristics of the key structural elements of the commercial department

Composition of the commercial department

In some commercial companies, a Board of Directors meets to solve important problems. This is the name given to a meeting of leading specialists from the commercial department. Open discussions help them jointly achieve their goals, find the best options for solving production and commercial problems, and avoid fragmentation of departmental interests.

The following option for constructing an organizational structure is also possible. The Marketing Director becomes the direct supervisor of the Commercial Director or indirectly manages him.

Another option for developing the organizational structure is to introduce the position of executive (commercial) director of departments. This scheme will be useful to those enterprises that need to reduce the number of responsibilities of the general director and give him the opportunity to deal with more urgent and important tasks. For example, he may spend his time establishing business relationships with companies or suppliers. The executive director may also take over the security or commercial department.

Sales department

Not only the sales department, but also other components of production are responsible for commercial success. However, this department brings the main profit to the enterprise. The sales department system must be clearly debugged, and the employees must be motivated, only then the enterprise’s income will be as high as possible.

For convenience, the heads of each division are called senior managers of the commercial department. In simple words, each department has its own head, who completely controls its work. Various variations of the names of these positions are possible, but the essence does not change.

The statement that the sales department is the heart of the company is confirmed by the numerous flows of finance and information connecting it and other departments.

Name	From whom/to (department, service)
INCOME STREAM
Sales policy - sales concept, assortment, prices, etc.	Commercial Director. Marketing
Methodological support for organizing and managing sales	Head of Sales Department. Commercial Director
Product: availability for current sales, planned stock, scheduled deliveries	Product distribution (warehouse)
Delivery of goods to customers: exactly to the address, on time, without compromising consumer qualities	Product distribution (distribution)
Information on the availability and movement of goods	Product distribution (warehouse). Procurement. Logistics. DB
Cash	Accounting, financial department
Material support (workplace equipment - telephones, computers, etc.)	Office Manager
Information support, results of analytical calculations	Database, marketing analytics
	Marketing
Analytics based on sales results	Marketing
Results of claims work	Marketing
Results of marketing research: counter sales plan by clients, segments and regions, new forms of working with clients, etc.	Marketing
Data on economic efficiency of sales by product	Financial department. DB
Customer accounts receivable data	Accounting. DB
Personnel that decides everything	Personnel service
Resolving disputes with clients	Legal service. Security Service
OUTGOING STREAM
Money in the bank/cash, concluded transactions, contracts, orders	Accounting, financial department
Sales budget (sales plan)	Financial department. Marketing
Assortment plan-order for goods	Production. Procurement. Product distribution. Logistics. Marketing
Cost budget	Financial department
Information on customer feedback about the quality of the company’s goods and services	Marketing
Information about the state of the target market, collected on behalf of the marketing service	Marketing
Proposals for the company's sales policy	Commercial Director. Marketing
Databases of current and potential clients. Operational reporting of sales managers. Final reporting of the sales department on the results of work for the period	Commercial Director. Financial department. Marketing

Operational commercial groups

Operational groups are divided according to certain criteria and their number depends on market segmentation, but there are other factors that influence this. If the range and volume of goods supplied is small, commercial groups are divided according to region. Otherwise, commercial groups are divided into groups of goods supplied to the regions concerned. It is more profitable for organizations that sell or receive goods from a wholesale company to form groups in relation to these counterparties. The same scheme is used for sales organizations to other enterprises.

Such a group consists of 2-4 people, there is no specific leader, and all decisions are made collectively. Accordingly, the entire team bears responsibility for the mistake of one participant. This method of organization leads to faster work processes, full dedication of each employee, increased efficiency and quality of work in general, simplified training of new employees and creates a certain competition between groups. The group also carries out some analysis of the commercial department.

Work in the commercial department is productive if these immutable rules are observed:

1. It is forbidden to miss phone calls during the working day.
2. Each employee must be “savvy” in the area where his group works and cannot afford to have knowledge gaps.
3. If the group is not competent in the client's issue, he is redirected for service to a group that has the necessary knowledge.
4. Group members must choose their own lunch hours, and also replace each other while one of the employees is on vacation. If the issue cannot be resolved peacefully, it is referred to senior management for consideration.

The ideal placement of commercial groups looks like this: all groups are in one room, separated by screens. Each employee has his own telephone and personal monitor connected to a common network.

Coordination and Procurement Department

The organization of commercial activities depends almost entirely on the work of this department. He works closely with both other specialized departments and commercial groups.

The tasks of the Coordination and Procurement Department are as follows:

• distribution and control of incoming goods;
• control over the implementation of tasks by departments;
• tracking the efficiency of deliveries and providing guarantees to customers;
• maintaining a reserve of in-demand goods in warehouses;
• control of the unity of the enterprise policy;
• creating proposals to change the range of goods in relation to their demand;
• creation of commercial groups to work with suppliers.

Department of Transport and Customs Operations

The department is headed by a commercial director. The main tasks of the transport and customs services department are as follows:

1. Search for the most profitable methods of transportation.
2. Control of customs documents, registration of transaction passports.
3. Organization of product support at the customer's request.
4. Creation of new warehouses or transshipment areas for justifiable reasons.
5. Providing transport means, including shipping ones.
6. Monitoring the timeliness of deliveries and the receipt by the customer of the necessary documents.
7. Providing cargo with insurance documents.

The Marketing Director manages many departments. Let's take a closer look at the functions and tasks of some of them.

Marketing and Pricing Department

This department is responsible for the continuous study of the buyer market and the enterprise market. The information received gives them the opportunity to offer the marketing director many options for promoting a particular product, among which you can find:

1. Changes in the range of goods relative to the forecast and the current market situation.
2. Proposals to replace suppliers with more competitive ones (offering goods cheaper or of better quality than those available).
3. Improving the sales market.
4. Entry of the company to more developed levels of the market.

This department keeps records of all materials purchased and sold by competitors, collects all existing information about pricing policies in the market, competing sellers and current indices. At the same time, the department collects data on those companies with which they have ever had contact.

The department's pricing team advises the commercial teams on current prices in the market, reviews the reports they complete and sends them to the head of the commercial department for review. The price group also issues new proposals to change the range of goods.

Before large-scale meetings, the department justifies the reason for discussing new pricing policies, changes in the market and other important issues within their competence.

Required to perform the following tasks:

1. Monitoring the effectiveness of advertising for a particular product, as well as the company as a whole, compiling characteristics of the commercial department.
2. Organization of advertising campaigns and calculation of costs for their implementation, justification of the reasons for their decisions.
3. Implementation of the approved event plan by concluding deals with advertising companies.
4. Sending trial or promotional versions of products.
5. Sending the company's products to participate in various exhibitions and fairs.

Small companies can afford to combine the two above-mentioned departments.

Intermediary department

Engaged in the development of sales schemes. For high-quality work, the department needs the support of other components of the company: the marketing and pricing department, the customs (transport) department, the maintenance organization department, the procurement and sales coordination department. All commercial groups interested in promoting the product being sold are also involved.

Having developed a proposal, the intermediary department submits it for consideration by the board of directors. And after its approval, the proposal turns into a target plan.

Now the department just has to find promising commercial intermediaries, prepare all documents for signature and begin cooperation with them. After signing the contract, the department monitors compliance with the conditions specified in the document, as well as the work of the departments. Negotiations on the conclusion of the contract are conducted by the marketing director.

General Director speaks

Sergey Miroshnichenko, General Director of Srednevolzhskaya Gas Company LLC, Samara

We are among the natural monopolies, we are a service company, so we do not have divisions involved in sales and purchasing in the standard sense. Deputies, heads of branches and structural departments report to the General Director of the company. Each department is a fairly independent structural unit, with financial isolation, a work plan, a procedure for carrying out work and payments. Each purchase is aimed at providing funds for the construction and transformation of networks. The purchase of the main part of the necessary goods is carried out by the Department of Production and Technological Equipment (UPTK), which is part of the parent company; it reports to the Deputy General Director of the commercial department of the enterprise. Over the course of several years of operation, the company has acquired a list of trusted partners, the work structure has been streamlined, and therefore, I consider it inappropriate to form a purchasing department and provide a position for the head of this department.

UPTK employees and employees responsible for tendering (carrying out activities under the leadership of the First Deputy General Director) select a supplier. After which, the bidding department analyzes the correctness of the purchase procedure, the selection of a supplier, either through a request for quotations or through a competition. The final selection takes place in the bidding department, and a protocol is drawn up. As a rule, this process is carried out when signing serious and large contracts. A unique product is usually purchased from a specific supplier, since here attention is primarily paid to quality. The department supplies products to the main warehouse at the request of other departments.

How to organize competent management of a commercial department

The financial component of a company’s activities does not happen on its own; it needs to be managed competently.

The commercial department management system is a complex of components, the relationships between them, as well as the manipulations of the enterprise carrying out commercial activities.

To systematize the management of the commercial department it is necessary:

1. Prepare goals for implementing commercial activities.
2. Disperse production and business management functions.
3. Distribute tasks among sales department employees.
4. Streamline the interactions of commercial department employees and the sequence of functions they perform.
5. Acquire a new product manufacturing technology or reconstruct it.
6. Optimize the incentive system, supply and sales.
7. Carry out the manufacturing of products and the trade and technological process.

The management structure is based on several subsystems: methodology, process, structure and management technique.

The process of managing a company's commercial department is a component of the management sphere, which includes the development of a communications structure, the creation and implementation of management regulations, and the creation of a management information support structure.

The organization of management of the commercial department is based on the following elements:

1. Development.
2. Formation.
3. Establishing the properties of isolated parts based on tasks.
4. Creation of a coordination scheme that guarantees the ability to adapt to changing commercial circumstances.
5. Separation of responsibilities for commercial activities.
6. Formation of a data provision scheme that will help in decision making.

The goals of the company’s commercial activities are divided into specific tasks united by the scope of activity:

• purchase of goods;
• its storage system;
• sales routes, etc.

The following principles are considered the basis for creating the organizational structure of the commercial department and its management:

1. Defining a clear and precise goal for organizing a commercial department.
2. Formation of an attitude for the commercial department to achieve the overall goals of the organization.
3. Formation of mutual work among departments.
4. Formation of a clear apparatus and management system with unified subordination and correct hierarchy in the enterprise. Precise division of responsibilities among different management participants.
5. Building a versatile approach for management work.
6. Striving for a minimum number of links in the management chain.
7. Formation of orientation of the leadership system.
8. Providing executive information.
9. Flexibility and adaptability to the fluid environment of market conditions.

Business management is inextricably linked with the management of the entire enterprise. Thus, when creating the structure of a commercial department and when choosing a method for managing it and its activities, you need to remember the relationship of each element that is part of the management system.

Management methods are a means of influencing management and processes associated with the business department. They consist of administrative, organizational, economic and legal. The above leadership methods imply a fruitful combination. Their interaction depends on any operating conditions of the trading organization and the market environment.

• Sales department: 4 steps to organizing effective work of managers

Key positions in the commercial department for the effective functioning of the company

To competently manage a commercial service department, you need the participation of people and systematization of work. It is necessary to select specialists from the commercial department and their high-quality training, systematize and manage the activities of commercial departments, and establish fruitful cooperation between departments involved in customer service. We have already found out, referring to the functional communication of the sales department, that most departments are involved in these processes. In this regard, the main task of the organization and sales management is the availability of professional personnel, on whom everything depends.

Head of commercial department

At the very first stage of organizing a commercial department, it is necessary to find the responsible head of the commercial department, assign him a position and determine his powers, then orient him to the goals of the work.

The job title is not a formality. Do not take the job title without the necessary responsibility. Behind the position of an employee who works in the commercial department, the essence should be visible: the duties of the employee, his responsibility to the enterprise, capabilities and powers, as well as requirements for him.

The commercial department is, in most cases, headed by a commercial director. Departments related to the circulation of money in the company must carry out manipulations, turning specifically to him. Sometimes, depending on the size of the production, a workplace similar in activity has a different name: sales director, sales and marketing director, or head of the sales department.

Primary tasks of the commercial department and its director. Firstly, he must stimulate and in every possible way monitor the process of sales of goods and its increase. Secondly, improve distribution connections and master the regional network. The head of the enterprise must clearly formulate job responsibilities that the commercial director can understand and perform.

Another form of interaction is possible - the director himself analyzes the organization of the commercial department, finds new ways for their development and the progress of the entire enterprise. At the end of the formation of ideas, an employee of the commercial department puts them forward to the general director or presents them to the board of directors. Only after such events are the main goals set and further prospects formed.

The job description or regulation of the commercial department provides an example of behavior for such cases. It addresses the above-mentioned issues related to determining the goals and objectives of the work of a commercial director, building a production hierarchy, a system of employee interaction, methods of assessing work activities and a list of main tasks.

Business Specialists

Specialists of the commercial department participate in the organization and implementation of processes of logistics and sales of products, sales of services, conduct marketing research and advise on these issues.

Their responsibilities include:

1. Participation in the planning and organization of logistics, monitoring the fulfillment of contractual obligations, receipt and sale of funds for raw materials, materials, fuel, energy and equipment.
2. Determining requirements for material resources and finished products and compliance of their quality with standards, technical specifications, contracts and other regulatory documents, drawing up claims for supplied low-quality inventory items and preparing responses to customer complaints.
3. Conducting a comprehensive study and analysis of markets for goods and services in order to actively influence consumer demand to expand product sales.
4. Preparation of proposals for planning the production of specific goods (services) and prices for them in accordance with changes in market conditions.
5. Participation in planning and organizing sales of products (transportation, storage, delivery to consumers).
6. Participation in planning and organizing services.
7. Development and participation in promotional events.
8. Consulting on marketing issues and other aspects of organizing commercial activities.
9. Perform related duties.
10. Supervising other employees.

Examples of professions included in this basic group:

1. Commercial department manager is a specialist directly involved in trade operations: purchasing and sales. The responsibilities of a commercial department manager depend on the specifics and size of a particular enterprise, the niche it occupies in the market, etc.
2. Marketing specialist (market research and analysis).
3. Advertising specialist.
4. Commodity expert.
5. Economist for contractual and claims work.

General Director speaks

Ilya Mazin, General Director of Office Premier CJSC, Erich Krause group of companies, Moscow

The head of the commercial department is needed to organize the work of the commercial department. If it is necessary to connect two components: obtaining favorable commercial conditions at the input, that is, delivery conditions (either components or finished products), and achieving favorable sales conditions. If one of these functions is absent, there is no need for a head of the commercial department.

Very small and very large companies do not need to manage a commercial department. Small because, most often, it is difficult for them to pay for a large management team. Usually in such situations, the functions of the head of the commercial department are performed by the owner; if there are several of them, then usually the areas of management are divided between them: someone can deal with administrative and economic issues, someone controls financial turnover and profit (and is essentially a commercial director). In large businesses, on the contrary, the responsibilities of a commercial director are often distributed among line directors.

But for medium-sized businesses this is a key figure. The head of the commercial department is a top manager who ensures the most important thing in the company - the creation of a profitable part.

How to analyze the performance of the commercial and sales departments

It doesn’t matter what your position is in the hierarchy of the enterprise, if your responsibility is to work in the commercial department and strategic planning of its activities, or, let’s say, market and marketing strategy, then you are responsible for the implementation of a certain number of sales and the economic growth of the company.

Often the expected sales turnover is not achieved due to inflated sales prices, high prices for raw materials, insufficient funding for advertising or low employee motivation. If at least one of the listed or similar problems is well known to you, then when organizing the work of the commercial department of the enterprise, you miscalculated in planning. This means that you have not conducted an in-depth study of the previous stages and have not discovered the real factors that influence the increase and decrease in sales.

If it was not possible to make the area of ​​your responsibilities of the commercial department accessible and understandable; If you do not have ways to timely determine the state of the enterprise’s commercial activities, then you should wait for real financial results. But this does not apply to companies that have a competent CEO.

A good CEO will usually be interested not only in how much you aim to sell next year and how many hot clients you have, but he will also be interested in the facts on which your confidence is based. He will not be satisfied with the information that the company has doubled its sales level for several years, and now there is a need to hire more highly paid specialists from the commercial sales department, which requires an 80% increase in income. He will also analyze market growth in the industry, which can be as high as 50%. The conclusion suggests itself, doesn’t it? The answer is obvious: the company has stopped in its development, but exists because of previous successes.
Let's say you're a manufacturing company or a professional services firm, for example. With any chosen method of effective promotion, there must be employees among the organization’s employees whose main responsibilities will be interaction with clients. These methods include active sales, advertising, marketing programs, client recommendations, etc. How deeply did you analyze the commercial department? Have you given an accurate description of the commercial department? Does your analysis system answer the questions: why is our turnover the way it is, what should we do to sell more, and how much sales do we need? The proposed analysis system that we will consider can solve similar problems of the commercial department.

What needs to be analyzed in the activities of your managers?

1. Result of work:

• turnover;
• the established number of active clients and the percentage of clients recently introduced into the process;
• average number of customer purchases;
• further prospects in working with the client and our capabilities in working with him;
• the number of lost clients among those with whom interactions have already been carried out and those who were only potential clients;
• number of clients lost in the past.

By entering this information into an Excel worksheet and calculating the necessary indicators, you can obtain data on the results of the work of each specific manager who works in the commercial department:

• turnover will notify you of all the financial profit brought by the manager for the company;
• the number of active clients and the number of new active clients will indicate to you how purposeful the employee is in terms of attracting;
• the average number of sales per client will indicate the quality of clients with whom the commercial department manager works;
• the client’s ability to purchase your product will inform you about how deeply the employee has analyzed the client, in addition, you will receive data for further monitoring of sales;
• the remaining data will indicate the development of the manager’s abilities in the field of working with clients.
  All individual indicators of managers, individually and in total, are compared with each other; it will be a plus to take into account the average indicator for the entire department, this will help you objectively look at and evaluate the results of the annual financial turnover.

A start. It is worth noting that when you evaluate results, you will not find the reason why managers' performance is so different from each other. And if you don’t know the reasons, then you cannot properly manage them and correct errors and inaccuracies. In this connection, it is necessary to continue the analysis of the commercial department, going deeper into it.

2. Activity and effort expended.

If you want to find out the complete data of the employees of the commercial department for working with clients and the efforts they expended to achieve success, then you need to first describe the totality of all actions, that is, carry out a description of the indicators of processes in the field of sales.

There are different indicators, it all depends on the characteristics of your business. Typically, the real information content comes from the following indicators: calls, meetings, offers. Naturally, they can pursue many different goals, of which there can be many - exchange of information, discussion of a presentation, financial calculations, features of the payment system or its confirmation, etc. Well, if they serve as a step to a new stage of relations with the customer, the ladder of such development looks something like this: getting to know the client, then studying him deeply, based on the data obtained, you need to attract him, then develop these relationships and retain him to complete this transaction with a future perspective cooperation.

The most convenient tool for presenting sales processes and searching for connections between activities and a certain stage of sales is the use of the following sales algorithm.

Each period determines the sales process and stage of sales at which the customer is located. If you compile statistics on current customers, you will be able to find the average duration of the transaction process, which will provide initial information for building a sales forecast for “hot” customers. By applying these tactics to failed clients, you will discover the stage at which the client decides to abstain from dealing with your company, so you can learn how interesting your proposals look. The sales algorithm should look like this:

1. Request a meeting and determine its subject.
2. First meeting.
3. Establishing customer needs and your company's ability to meet them.
4. Sending minutes of discussions and client expectations questionnaires.
5. Schedule a new meeting to discuss the proposal.
6. First presentation.
7. Sending an “offer”

Of course, when creating this system, you must provide for all options. It is not a fact that the proposal for a meeting will be accepted, even if the client agrees to see each other, he does not always sign the contract, so you need to be prepared for many scenarios. For example, if you are refused to sign an agreement, and a specialist from the commercial department was able to find out the real reason for the refusal (he must be able to do this), the client is not satisfied with the cost. Next, you can send a thank you letter and notify him whenever the price of the product he is interested in changes. With a large base of such customers, you can arrange a sale to increase market share. It is also possible to consider the option of introducing savings cards, which, upon reaching the required number of purchases, will reduce the price to the desired level.

To analyze the commercial department, you must obtain data from the results of the description of sales business processes:

• identifying business contacts with the client;
• determination of sales stages;
• assigning a transaction stage to identified business contacts.

Assessing the performance of your managers.

To achieve this, you first need to familiarize your sales team with the rules for successful interactions with customers. You must convey the advantages of dividing the sales process into stages and determine the goals for which you need to record clients. If you can confidently express your thoughts and convince employees of the benefits of your proposals, then the information will be absorbed and adopted.

Your managers' final report should include the following items:

• inventory of current customers and determination of their sales stage and source of appearance;
• the amount of annual profit, data for each client: date of start of work and last contact, their result;
• when refusing, you must indicate the reason and the stage at which the client decided to refuse.

Be prepared that, unfortunately, you may receive an incomplete report. Sometimes this is not part of the responsibilities of a commercial department manager. If you insist on recording the history of work with clients, despite everything, you risk receiving misleading information. We advise you to introduce this practice when working with new clients.

For large companies with a huge customer base, it seems logical to focus on key customers, usually about a quarter of the total number of customers.

After reporting on current clients, the manager needs to indicate the number of active manipulations towards each client, this can include calls, meetings, special offers, etc. By dividing clients into groups: “buying”, “new buying” and “never bought”, it will be easier for you to calculate the indicators that determine the success of your managers:

• calls, meetings, offers of everything;
• calls, meetings, offers to new clients;
• calls, meetings, offers to old clients;
• calls, meetings, offers to new purchasing clients;
• calls, meetings, offers to old buying clients;
• calls, meetings, offers to non-buying clients.

By combining the information received about the manager’s activities, his activity and the resources spent into a table, you will find out the answers to the following questions:

1. What is the amount of effort expended by the sales department manager on working with clients?
2. Is each manager focused on large, medium or small clients?
3. Which clients bring the most profit?
4. How much effort (calls/meetings/offers) does an employee need to spend in order to receive an order?
5. Does the manager work with new or old clients?
6. What is the proportion of purchasing customers in the entire database?
7. After passing what stage does a manager get closer to signing a contract?
8. At what stage does a client usually refuse a manager?
9. What are the main reasons for refusal?
10. Does the manager have a deep or superficial attitude towards working with the client, does he reveal his full potential for interaction with your company?
11. What is the percentage of lost customers?

By making a comparison between KPIs and financial results, you can calculate the average number of calls, meetings or proposals for signing one contract and its average price.

Data statistics will say something like this: a specialist monthly calls about 80 clients, makes appointments with half of them, and receives 20 offers; as a result, 10 customers begin to cooperate with a contract amount of about $5,000. With reverse calculations, you will be able to notice the required degree of expenditure of professional effort by the manager to obtain a profit in the desired amount. By developing a percentage remuneration system, you will be able to control the activity of employees thanks to financial incentives and bonuses.

The resulting data will provide you with objective information about the capabilities of the commercial department manager, you will be able to identify his areas of growth and assist in the development of the required capabilities in order to increase his productivity. For example, if a manager conducts a sufficient number of meetings per working month, but only a small part ends with the signing of an agreement, and the department’s usual indicator clearly exceeds its success, then you need to establish the reason for the failures and help your employee to function successfully and increase income. If you notice that an employee spends quite a lot of effort working with new partners, but they are ineffective, study the list of his clients. It often turns out that the manager worked in a non-target segment. If an employee is busy with an outdated client base without attracting a fresh stream, you should stimulate the employee's interest in a different approach, even if the manager's performance is above average. A system for introducing bonuses for new partners can help you.

At the moment, commercial service departments give preference to finding opportunities to reduce organizational costs in favor of their own benefit, which depends on meeting the client’s needs. So, in modern market relations, the economic principle of “consumer benefit calculation” is at the very center of attention of departments that control the organization’s finances.

First of all, the commercial director is responsible for all issues related to clients and the main profit of the company. But there is always confusion about job responsibilities of a commercial director.

The fact is that in different companies, commercial directors perform different functions. Also, two different positions are very often confused - commercial director and sales director. The maximum segment where a commercial director can work is the simultaneous management of sales, logistics, purchasing and marketing services. It is also often thought that the responsibilities of a commercial director only include managing the sales department.

Where the skills of a commercial director may be required

Today, there are a lot of available vacancies for this position, but the requirements for a commercial director are not small. The specificity of vacancies for this position is that they have been open for a very long time. This leads to the conclusion that the search itself and further selection of candidates takes a very long time. Also, vacancies are very often vacant due to the fact that new commercial directors cannot stay in their place for long (up to a year of work). All this is due to the complexity of building relationships with the founders of the company.

Most often, the vacancy of a commercial director is open in loosely structured companies in Russia. The reason is that such companies have never had commercial directors until now. The volume of operations within the company is increasing in volume and managing the company using the same methods becomes practically ineffective. As a result, the company's owners are trying to increase the company's efficiency level by attracting experienced managers and commercial directors.

It also happens that during the entire existence of the company, it had only one commercial director, who was one of the founders of the company or an employee who worked from the beginning of the company’s opening, and then was promoted to general director and now a new commercial director is required. In this case, strict requirements will be imposed on the new candidate - management literacy, new methods to achieve the goal.

If we are talking about structured companies, then in this case the mood or personal sympathies will play a lesser role than the level of professionalism. In this situation, the commercial director is a person who performs clearly defined functions in the structure of the company’s business processes.

Most often, only Western companies have any clear requirements for education or skills. As for Russian companies, they just want to find a “wizard”. That is, they need a person who will come and personally solve all the problems and raise the company to a new level.

Main responsibilities of a commercial director

The main responsibilities of this position include the following:

• The commercial director must organize the management of the logistics of the enterprise, as well as engage in storage, transportation and further marketing of products.
• The director must coordinate the development and draw up long-term plans for logistics and subsequent sales of products.
• Manages the development of all regulations and quality standards for manufactured products.
• Recommends further development strategies to department managers and financial department specialists. Controls their quality of work.
• Responsible for the timely submission of estimate and financial documents, calculations, reports on the implementation of the set plan.
• Monitors financial and economic indicators and the expenditure of funds
• Responsible for negotiations on behalf of the company with various counterparties of the company on any business or financial activities
• Acts on behalf of the company at auctions, exchanges, advertising campaigns and other events

It is also worth noting (as we said above), in some companies the responsibilities of a commercial director may differ. His responsibilities may also include:

• Developing a plan to promote a new product or service
• Discussion of the budget and its calculation together with the General Director
• Control all distribution channels
• Creation of a program for material motivation of enterprise employees
• Participate in the creation of a new personnel policy for the company
• Monitor sales reporting
• Conduct negotiations with clients
• Develop new pricing policy methods
• Make final decisions on advertising campaigns

It is worth noting here that if a person applies for this position in a foreign company, he may be required to:

• MBA diploma
• Have a good command of English
• Have at least five years of experience in a leadership position

Functions of a commercial director

As we have already understood, the main tasks of a commercial director are the organization and direction of the activities of all divisions that are located in his segment. It is worth saying that his responsibilities directly depend on the specifics of the company’s industry and the size of the organization.

In the course of his work, the commercial director interacts with various heads of different departments of the company. This list may include: accounting, marketing department, IT, logical service, financial department. Most often, the main functions of this position are joint strategic planning with different departments, the formation of marketing, pricing, financial, and personnel policies. He is also obliged to control the sale of goods and plan further sales. Its functions include monitoring the competitive environment and the market for goods and services. The commercial director must also expand and control all relationships with suppliers and form the budget for the entire commercial unit.

Personal skills of a commercial director

It’s worth going into more detail here, since personal qualities are one of the key points when choosing a person for this position. The personal qualities of a commercial director should include a special management style, delegation of authority, and skills in interacting with company employees. Naturally, such a position requires a high level of communication skills and the ability to properly manage staff. Any company will be interested in people who have general management skills and the ability to organize forecasting and budgeting.

Despite the above, each company has its own criteria by which the personal qualities of a commercial director are assessed. Everything will directly depend on the current goals of the company and the period of its development. So, it all depends on the life cycle that the organization is currently in. Depending on this, the requirements not only for management positions, but also for all employees of the company change. We will talk about each life cycle of a company, and what personal qualities a commercial director should have in each cycle.

Initial stage of development

The person must have successful experience in building business models for companies from scratch. He must be able to form a new experienced team. Among personal qualities during this period, innovation, creativity, rigidity in decisions, and structure will be valued. At this stage, the commercial director must be able to quickly and efficiently make the necessary decisions. Have an objective point of view to combat competitors.

The rise of the company

During this period, sales are growing, there are already ideas for future periods in general market trends and plans for development in organizational terms. In this case, company owners most often need a person with successful experience in structured companies, who has considerable experience in optimizing all business processes. During this period, the director must be able to quickly and competently delegate authority and have a methodical approach to any problems. Already at this stage, thoroughness and consistency in performing work are more valued. It is necessary to deeply study each problem in order to find the most effective and less expensive solution. At this stage, the director must adhere to normative guidelines and be committed to systematically promoting the goal.

A commercial director may have different areas of activity depending on the company’s industry, profile and scale of its activities. However, in any case, it plays a key role in the enterprise management system. He oversees the strategic planning of the company and the implementation of the sales plan, builds relationships with suppliers, determines sales and logistics channels, controls budgeting in this area, and also coordinates the implementation of the marketing strategy. It is this top manager who is responsible for the formation of the final performance indicators of the enterprise, including the maximum increase in the revenue side of the budget.

Often, the commercial director maintains close ties with shareholders, since he plays one of the key roles in the management of the company. In organizing training for salespeople, the commercial director collaborates with the HR director. In determining the sales strategy, pricing policy and other issues, the commercial director collaborates with the financial director.

Functionality of the profession

1. Together with the general director and shareholders - long-term and current planning of the company’s work, ensuring the effective use of its resources;

2. Together with the CEO and shareholders - developing a strategy to expand the portfolio of brands, searching for new opportunities to develop the company’s presence in the market and free niches for the company’s products;

3. Determining the company’s trade policy, taking into account market research and past sales indicators, determining the geography of the company’s work, formulating and implementing regional sales strategies;

4. Creation and training of an effective sales team;

5. Selection of sales channels, creation and / or management of a distribution network, dealer network, management of the direct sales department;

6. Sales planning, responsibility for fulfilling the sales plan;

7. Coordination of work (or direct participation in work) with key clients, including negotiations;

8. Together with the marketing department - development of assortment and pricing policies, various programs to increase sales (trade marketing: special promotions, including budgeting; discounts; bonus programs, etc.). It is the commercial director who is responsible for the successful implementation of these programs and policies;

9. Organization of logistics - delivery, warehouses, packaging, etc. The key point of the logistics function is forecasting and planning future needs, creating the necessary structure for the delivery of goods, as well as finding new suppliers of transport and warehouse services;

10. Participation in the development of the company’s budget for the financial year (including marketing and sales budgets), approval of budgets and monitoring of their implementation;

11. The commercial director is also responsible for commercial procurement, smooth work with suppliers, selection of suppliers and services, coordination of all supply issues.

12. Organization of a system for advanced training of sales managers.

Features in companies of different industries

Features in companies of different sizes

If the company is small, then the functional responsibilities of the commercial director partially include marketing. Thus, in a small company of any profile, the functions of sales, purchasing and marketing can be the responsibility of one specialist. The number of departments subordinate to this top manager may vary depending on the specifics of the business. How to create a commercial department and manage it professionally, read the publication Executive.ru. In a large company, the three above areas are supervised by line directors who report to the commercial director.

Candidate requirements: competencies

Experience working effectively in the industry. Experience in effective sales work. Higher education, preference in economics or business. Advantages include knowledge of quantitative methods and fluent English. An MBA is also an added advantage.

A commercial director must constantly work to improve his skills. Regularly attending various types of training and seminars in your field will be a definite plus.

Candidate requirements: personal qualities

Responsibility and result orientation, excellent negotiation skills, communication skills, ability to manage a team, thoroughness, structure and consistency in work, leadership qualities, ability to make decisions in non-standard situations, ability to generate new ideas, strategic thinking, entrepreneurship, stress resistance, high performance .

Compensation level

Range from $5 thousand to $15 thousand per month depending on the size of the company and its location. The bonus for commercial directors is usually not lower than 20% of the base remuneration, the most common rate is 25-50%, sometimes up to 100%. The bonus calculator can be tied to the implementation of the sales plan. Additional conditions may be included in the bonus calculator: expansion or updating of the product line, sales growth in a certain segment or region, return on sales indicators.

• How the concept of “commercial director” has evolved.
• Job responsibilities and functions of the commercial director.
• Which companies do not need a commercial director?
• In what cases is it advisable to rename a commercial director to sales director?
• At what enterprises can the commercial director be responsible for purchasing?

Commercial Director deals with areas of activity related to supply issues, economic and financial activities and sales of the company.

The term “commerce” became fundamental for the people who were the first in Russia to work as commercial directors. After all, many areas of the domestic economy in the 90s were based on resales. Therefore, the entire business was based on commerce - to purchase on more favorable terms and then sell at a higher price. These tasks were assigned to both ordinary shuttle workers and entire companies that today managed to reach millions in turnover.

At that time, many companies did not even have the positions of sales director or purchasing director, and the term “marketing” was known only to a few. The commercial director was assigned a second role after the general director, who was usually a shareholder or owner of the business.

CEO speaks

Ilya Mazin, General Director of Office Premier CJSC, ErichKrause group of companies, Moscow

Often people in the position of commercial director grow into successful owners and managers of enterprises. Such career progression is much less common among financial or administrative directors. Commercial directors in 80% of cases are specialists with experience in sales departments, as managers or executives responsible for VIP areas. Sometimes specialists who leave purchasing departments also become commercial directors.

The commercial director is assigned job responsibilities in several areas of activity simultaneously. Therefore, he has sufficient skills to move to a higher position. Therefore, in the position of commercial director, a person gains quite valuable and important experience, mastering the necessary skills and forming useful connections for future work.

As all business and markets became more civilized, separate tasks began to be separated from commercial activities - including the functions of marketing, purchasing and sales. Therefore, the role of commercial directors in the work of companies has undergone certain changes.

KPI for commercial director: calculation examples

The editors of our magazine used examples to figure out for what indicators and in what amount the commander should be rewarded.

Job responsibilities and functions of the commercial director

The area of ​​responsibility of any commercial directors includes a number of basic functions:

1. Determines distribution channels for goods and services.
2. Strategic planning of the company.
3. Work with providers.
4. Regulating the work of the sales department.
5. Control of budgeting in all components of the company.
6. Coordination of company marketing.
7. Reducing business costs.

Some companies' interpretation of the position of commercial director may differ. Let's look at this issue in more detail using practical examples.

Commercial Director = Head of Sales Department

In this case, on commercial director assigned a minimum set of functions. He will only be responsible for the sales of his company. A more appropriate job title in this situation would not be Commercial Director, and sales director. To prevent a person from feeling demoted, you can rename a position during a change in leadership in that position.

Expert opinion

Andrey Milyaev, commercial director of the Hosser group of companies, St. Petersburg

In our company, the commercial director will manage two sales departments - complex telecommunications projects and engineering equipment. We are currently engaged in the reorganization and restructuring of our company’s business processes. The purpose of such transformations is to increase the efficiency of our interaction with the market, and internal interaction within the company itself - between departments that are responsible for the areas of logistics, sales and production. It is important that management in the company is ensured from one point - for a unified policy of working with the market. In the future, when business processes have been formed, it is necessary to select workers from the existing sales department employees who will become the heads of these departments.

Commercial Director = Sales Director + Marketing Director

This option corresponds to the position of director of marketing and sales, which has become common in Western practice. The marketing director and commercial director in one person need the ability to perfectly navigate market trends, taking into account the specifics of the work of competing companies, customer preferences and expectations. But managing sales in the market often requires maximum efficiency, which is why marketing itself fades into the background. As a result Commercial Director may not have enough time for the marketing field. Consequently, there may be a lack of necessary marketing tools, as well as the skills to use them in practice, and a strategic view of the medium-term perspective of market development.

• Material motivation of personnel. Advice from the General Director

Commercial Director = Director of Sales + Director of Marketing + Head of Purchasing

The combination of marketing, sales and purchasing in one hand provides a set of important advantages when choosing the most popular product at the moment, also with an understanding of the consumer qualities of the product (quite important when choosing products). This option becomes especially relevant, first of all, for intermediary and trading companies. But it should be used quite carefully if the company does not cooperate with regular suppliers, and therefore it is necessary to regularly analyze the competitive market to find the most suitable purchasing conditions. In such conditions, the likelihood increases that while striving to fulfill the sales plan, the manager will not have the opportunity to pay due attention to finding the best options for working with his supplier.

Expert opinion

Yulia Koroleva, Commercial Director of CJSC National Distribution Company, Moscow

The main principle of our organizational structure is efficiency of decision-making and mobility. Therefore, the entire sales block (including purchasing, marketing and sales) is united, and these functions are assigned to the commercial department. The tasks of the commercial director include not only control, but also the work itself with clients, concluding agreements on the supply of goods with large manufacturers, and monitoring price trends in their market. This organization of work allows us to have reliable information without distortion. For example, it can be distorted within companies in which these areas of activity are assigned to different departments (inconsistency of actions is possible). Thanks to the organizational principle, our company ensures operational management of its business processes while reducing costs.

Commercial Director = General Director

A similar option is possible when the General Director is not formally ready to transfer his functions as the head of the company, but is not actually involved in operational management. Consequently, his tasks are assigned to his “right hand” - the first deputy, the executive director, and in companies in which priority is given to commercial activities, these functions are assigned to the commercial director. Personally, I am against such a combination of functions. The General Director needs to distribute resources across all areas of activity. And when conflicts arise (for example, between financial and commercial departments), the general director must become an independent arbitrator. When managerial functions are assigned to the commercial director, there is a danger that these processes will be transferred to the benefit of commercial departments.

Expert opinion

Dmitry Grishin, commercial director of the Aqua Star company, Moscow

I work as a commercial director, but in fact I am entrusted with the functions of a general director. Because the owner of our company, with his ambitious plans to conquer new directions (not related to our main field of activity), strives to achieve complete control of the company’s activities, but at the same time retain enough time to work on new projects. Consequently, some problems arise - important company decisions take too long to be made.

Through joint efforts, we managed to get away from total control (over every penny spent); certain issues were highlighted that could affect the company’s work - functional characteristics of equipment, logistics, financial factors related to loans and their repayment. I resolve these issues jointly with our general director. At the same time, all issues remain under the control of the General Director.

Consequently, the company really remains under the control of the CEO, but at the same time he has more free time.

Dmitry Kurov, commercial director of ISG, Moscow

From personal experience, I can say that a commercial director can achieve effective work provided that he is “balanced” by the financial director. Because otherwise, the commercial director's job responsibilities may be primarily focused on commerce, thereby missing out on operational efficiency issues.

In most cases, the reason for misunderstanding between the general and commercial director is their solution of problems at different levels. I had to work when the general director set the vector of activity that impeded commercial development from the position of commercial director. In reality, what was more important was the company's share price, which was influenced by many factors.

What companies don't need a commercial director?

Companies in which selling services or products is not particularly difficult do not need a commercial director. Basically, these are companies that occupy a position in the market that is close to a monopoly (taking into account their location, the specifics of their products or other factors). The role of the commercial factor is low in companies that offer individual or exclusive developments. Such companies can work in any industry - from the development of highly specialized, professional software to complex engineering products. In this segment, greater importance is given to representatives of the creative or production department; their role is limited to the display and presentation of developed products. Often salespeople are managed by one of the top managers, so the commercial director is not particularly relevant.

CEO speaks

Ilya Mazin, General Director of the Office Premier holding, ErichKrause group of companies, Moscow

The need for a commercial director arises when a company has to connect two factors - obtaining favorable terms of supply and sales. If one of these functions is absent or decentralized, then there is no need to appoint a commercial director.

Also, very large or very small companies do not need a commercial director. After all, small companies simply cannot afford the costs of managers. As a rule, in this case the commercial director is replaced directly by the owner of the company.

If a company has several founders, then they usually distribute areas of management among themselves. One of them takes upon himself the block of earning money, the second is entrusted with the administrative and economic complex, etc.

In the case of large businesses, the tasks of the commercial director are often distributed among the heads of areas.

But in the work of medium-sized companies, the commercial director becomes a key figure - a top manager, on whom the profitable part of the business directly depends.