SMB Sales Manager

About Talent Edge:

As trusted Executive & Professional Search partners, Talent Edge brings deep expertise in talent acquisition and advisory across industries. We leverage cutting-edge research and market mapping tools to deliver exceptional candidate matches for our clients. Our talented team prides itself on bringing innovative strategies and a passion for excellence to each and every engagement.

About our Client:

Our client is a growing SaaS company with an established presence in its market and an ambitious growth trajectory.

The organization is building a high-performing, customer-focused team and is looking for leaders who are energized by growth, accountability, continuous improvement, and the opportunity to shape how a modern sales organization operates.

This is an opportunity to join a collaborative, evolving business where strong leadership, data-driven decision-making, and practical innovation are valued.

About this Role:

The SMB Sales Manager is a hands-on sales leadership role responsible for leading a team of Account Executives serving the small and medium-sized business market.

Reporting to senior sales leadership, this individual will be accountable for team performance against revenue and conversion targets while building a culture of high accountability, continuous coaching, and measurable improvement.

The successful candidate will be highly engaged in the day-to-day operation of the sales team, from pipeline and forecast management to call and deal reviews, performance management, training, hiring, and ramping. They will also play an important role in evolving the sales organization by identifying process improvements, leveraging data, and making practical use of AI across the team's workflow.

This role is well suited to a sales leader who enjoys being close to the work, knows how to coach through data and behaviour, and can balance high standards with clear, empathetic leadership.

Core Responsibilities:

Sales Leadership & Team Performance

• Lead and develop a team of Account Executives, establishing clear expectations, standards, and operating rhythms.

• Drive the team toward revenue, unit, conversion, and other sales targets.

• Monitor team and individual performance, identifying risks and opportunities early.

• Build a culture of accountability, recognition, continuous improvement, and high performance.

• Establish team scorecards and performance routines that make results visible and actionable.

Coaching & Development

• Conduct regular 1:1s, call reviews, and deal reviews with team members.

• Use data and observed behaviours to identify coaching opportunities and drive measurable improvements.

• Develop individualized coaching plans and development priorities.

• Identify team-wide skill gaps and lead ongoing training and development.

• Recognize high performers while addressing sustained under-performance directly and constructively.

Pipeline & Forecasting

• Own the team's pipeline management and forecasting discipline.

• Regularly inspect pipeline quality, stage accuracy, next steps, and deal aging.

• Deliver accurate weekly and monthly forecasts with clear visibility into risks and opportunities.

• Maintain strong CRM discipline and data quality.

• Use performance data to identify trends and inform sales strategy.

Sales Process & Continuous Improvement

• Own the day-to-day execution of the sales process.

• Identify bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement using data and frontline observations.

• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to test and implement process improvements.

• Help ensure changes to products, pricing, processes, and sales practices are effectively adopted by the team.

AI & Sales Innovation

• Make AI a practical part of the team's everyday sales workflow.

• Encourage the use of AI for prospect research, call preparation, follow-up, CRM administration, and other sales activities.

• Leverage AI-powered call analysis and other tools to support coaching and identify trends across the team's activity.

• Test new tools and workflows, measure their effectiveness, and scale what works.

Hiring & Team Growth

• Partner with senior leadership and People/Talent teams to hire high-calibre sales professionals.

• Participate in structured interviews and maintain a high hiring bar.

• Support onboarding and establish clear 30/60/90-day ramp plans.

• Monitor new-hire progress and help accelerate time to productivity.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Work closely with Marketing, Operations, Customer Success, Product, and other teams to improve the customer and sales experience.

• Bring frontline insights, win/loss themes, and customer feedback to cross-functional partners.

• Help identify and resolve issues that impact conversion, customer experience, and revenue performance.

• Ensure strong hand-offs between Sales and downstream teams.

About the Candidate:

The successful candidate is a hands-on sales leader with a proven track record of leading quota-carrying teams and improving performance through coaching, accountability, and data.

Key qualifications and attributes include:

• 3+ years of experience leading a quota-carrying sales team, ideally within SaaS or another high-velocity sales environment.

• Proven experience managing and coaching Account Executives or similar customer-facing sales professionals.

• Demonstrated ability to improve team and individual sales performance through structured coaching and accountability.

• Strong understanding of sales metrics, pipeline management, forecasting, and CRM discipline.

• Experience with performance management, including setting clear expectations and addressing under-performance.

• Experience hiring, onboarding, and ramping sales professionals.

• Strong analytical skills and the ability to translate sales data into practical actions.

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to be direct, clear, empathetic, and constructive.

• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills.

• A customer-first, consultative approach to sales leadership.

• Comfort operating in a fast-paced environment where priorities, products, pricing, and processes can evolve.

• A hands-on leadership style with the ability to balance day-to-day execution with longer-term thinking.

• Genuine interest in AI and emerging sales technologies, with the ability to translate new tools into practical improvements for a sales team.

Assets include:

• Experience leading SMB or high-velocity sales teams.

• Experience within SaaS, technology, fintech, HR technology, or another recurring-revenue business model.

• Hands-on experience implementing AI tools within a sales organization.

• Experience with AI-powered conversation intelligence or call analysis.

• Strong CRM reporting and analytics capabilities.

• Experience leading teams through significant changes to products, pricing, processes, or go-to-market strategy.

• Degree or diploma in business or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Compensation & Benefits:

Our client is committed to providing a competitive base salary in the range of CAD $100,000-110,000, along with a significant performance-based bonus in the range of 25-50%. The total compensation package also includes extended health and dental benefits, generous paid time off, professional growth and development, and a fantastic company culture.

The final compensation package will be commensurate with the successful candidate's qualifications, skills, and experience.

Next Steps:

If you are interested in learning more about this confidential opportunity, we'd be happy to connect.

Please click the 'Apply' button to submit your resume. A member of the Talent Edge team will reach out to qualified candidates to arrange a confidential introductory conversation and provide additional information about the opportunity.

Talent Edge and our client are equal opportunity employers. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and candidates. If you require any accommodations during the application or interview process, please let us know at [email protected].

All applications are treated with the utmost confidentiality. Your personal information is solely for the purpose of the hiring process and will not be shared or circulated without your consent.