Hire Non-IT Talent · Sales Managers
Hire Sales Managers and Account Executives in India
Closers and team leaders screened on the targets they have carried, the size of their deals and their CRM habits, for contract, contract-to-hire or permanent roles.
- Closers & Team Leaders
- Contract · C2H · Permanent
- Inside, field or hybrid sales
Sales Manager and AE Staffing
People Who Own a Revenue Number
Both titles carry a target, but they are not the same job. An account executive is an individual contributor: they run discovery, demos, proposals and negotiation on their own deals, and nobody reports to them. A sales manager adds forecasting, territory planning and coaching, and answers for what a team of executives delivers each month and quarter. Zilo AI helps founders and sales heads across India hire the right one of the two, so a strong closer is not pushed into management and a good coach is not hired to work a personal patch.
We screen on targets carried, deal sizes, CRM habits and market knowledge, then check fit with your team and buyers. Contract terms suit a defined push such as a new city or product line, contract-to-hire helps you test a new territory, and permanent hiring is the usual route for people who will build a team or hold a long-term patch.
Targets Actually Carried
We ask what each candidate was measured on and how they performed against it.
Deal Sizes That Match
A closer of small inbound deals and a seller of long enterprise contracts are different hires, so deal size is part of screening.
CRM Habits Checked
Pipeline discipline in Salesforce, HubSpot CRM, Zoho CRM or LeadSquared, with stages and close dates that reflect reality.
Manager or Individual Contributor
The two tracks stay separate: managers answer for forecasting and coaching a team, and AEs answer for their own closed deals.
Roles We Fill
Sales Roles We Fill
Hire a single closer or a team leader, or build the full chain from first outreach to account growth.
Business Development Executive
Opens new accounts through cold calls, email and LinkedIn outreach, referrals and field visits. Qualifies leads, books meetings and demos, and keeps every conversation logged in the CRM so no opportunity goes cold.
Sales Manager / Account Executive
Owns a revenue number end to end: discovery, demos, proposals, negotiation and closure. Sales managers add forecasting, territory planning and coaching a team of executives to hit monthly and quarterly targets.
Inside Sales Executive / SDR
Works high volumes of inbound and outbound leads from a desk, running call, email and WhatsApp cadences, qualifying prospects against agreed criteria and handing sales-ready meetings to account executives.
Key Account Manager
Grows revenue from your largest customers through account plans, quarterly business reviews, renewals and cross-selling, acting as the senior commercial contact for buyers, users and finance teams.
For Recruiters & Hiring Managers
How to Hire a Sales Manager or Account Executive
Sales hires go wrong when a brilliant individual seller is handed a team, or when an ad says manager for a role with no reports. Decide who the person leads, if anyone, then test them against real deals and real pipelines.
Writing the job post? Start from our Sales Manager Job Description, a template you can copy and edit.
Not sure which skills to test for? Our guide to Sales Manager Skills covers what to look for at each level and how to check it.
Interview questions worth asking
- What were your target and achievement over your last few periods, and how was your territory assigned?
- Tell me about a large deal you lost. What would you do differently now?
- A procurement contact asks for a heavy discount just before signing. How do you respond?
- Here is a sample pipeline. Which deals would you remove, and what would you commit to the forecast?
- For managers: how did you turn around an executive who was missing target?
- For AEs: how do you get a deal moving when your sponsor goes silent?
Settle the Title First
If nobody reports to this person, call the role Account Executive. Sales Manager should mean direct reports, coaching and a team number, and any mismatch confuses strong applicants.
Write a Clear Job Post
A good sales manager job description gives the target scope, team size, buyer, inside or field split and how incentives work. Without those, experienced sellers tend not to apply.
Ask for Target History
Request achievement across several periods along with territory context. One outstanding quarter on a warm patch says less than steady delivery on an average one.
Role-Play Discovery
Act as the buyer for a short call. Strong candidates work out the current process, the cost of the problem and who decides, before they start presenting.
Test Coaching in Managers
Describe a weak sales call and ask for the feedback the candidate would give. Management hires should pick one behaviour to change and explain how they would follow it up.
Know the Neighbouring Roles
BDEs and SDRs open and qualify, AEs close, and key account managers grow what is already won. If the job is mostly renewals or mostly prospecting, use that title.
Engagement Models
Flexible Ways to Hire
Permanent, contract or volume hiring: choose the model that matches your growth plans.
Permanent Recruitment
End-to-end search for full-time hires: sourcing, screening, interview coordination and offer support.
Best forLong-term, core roles
Contract Staffing
Skilled professionals for projects, seasonal peaks or leave cover, without adding permanent headcount.
Best forShort-term & seasonal needs
Contract-to-Hire
Evaluate a professional on the job before converting them to a permanent employee.
Best forReducing hiring risk
Volume Hiring
Hire multiple roles at once for new teams, branches or launches, with consistent screening at scale.
Best forExpansions & new locations
How It Works
Hire in Four Simple Steps
A transparent process that keeps you in control and gets the right people in the right seats.
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1
Request
Share the role, responsibilities, experience, location and budget, and we align on what great looks like.
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2
Shortlist
We source and screen candidates for skills, experience and culture fit, and share a focused shortlist.
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3
Interview
You meet the best-fit candidates while we manage scheduling, feedback and follow-ups.
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4
Hire
We support the offer and onboarding so your new team member can contribute from day one.
Why Zilo AI
Why Companies Choose Zilo AI for Non-IT Hiring
Job boards bring volume; what you need is fit. We handle sourcing, screening and interview coordination, and put forward only candidates whose skills, experience and values match your brief.
- Screening for skills, experience and culture fit on every role
- Role-specific checks, from GST workings to CRM and helpdesk skills
- Seven business functions covered by one recruitment partner
- Permanent, contract, contract-to-hire and volume hiring
- Hiring in metros, tier-2 cities, plants, stores and remote roles
- Business and IT talent through the same partner
Industries We Serve
- Manufacturing
- BFSI & Fintech
- Retail & E-commerce
- SaaS & Technology
- Healthcare & Pharma
- Logistics & Supply Chain
- FMCG & Food
- Real Estate & Construction
- Startups & Scale-ups
FAQs
Hiring Sales Managers and AEs: Common Questions
Have a question we have not answered? Talk to our team and we will get back to you quickly.
Talk to Our Team
- +91 77604 02792
- connect@ziloservices.com
- Mon to Fri: 8am to 10pm
- Hebbal Kempapura, Bangalore
What is the difference between a sales manager and an account executive?
An account executive is an individual contributor who closes deals and has no direct reports. A sales manager leads a team of executives and adds forecasting, territory planning and coaching. Some sales managers still sell, but they are judged on the team's number.
Do you offer contract sales staffing?
Yes, though it fits a defined push best, such as a new city, a product launch or leave cover. Contract-to-hire works for testing a territory, and permanent terms suit most managers and long-term AEs.
How do you screen sales managers and account executives?
Candidates are assessed on the numbers they have carried, the size of their deals, their CRM discipline and their market knowledge. Tell us whether the role leads a team, so the search targets the right track.
Should we hire a sales manager or a business development executive?
If you need more meetings and qualified leads, start with a business development executive. If leads exist but deals are not closing, hire an account executive. If you already have sellers who need direction and forecasting, hire a sales manager.
What belongs in a sales manager job description?
State whether the role has direct reports, the target and territory, the product and buyer, inside or field selling, the CRM and how the incentive plan works.
Can you hire for field sales as well as inside sales?
Yes. Tell us how your deals are sold, and we will look for candidates who have sold in the same way to similar buyers, including GeM and tender bids where those apply.
Ready to Hire a Sales Manager or AE?
Tell us about your target, your territory and whether the role leads a team, and get a shortlist of sellers screened on what they have delivered.