Job position

Posted by Bruce Kahl on April 25, 2004

In Reply to: Job position posted by ESC on April 25, 2004

: : : hi,, i'd like to know if there's a difference between "head of acquisitions' and 'sales manager'?

: : : Thank you so much !

: : Unless there is really a lot that either you or they have failed to tell us, there is a big difference. A sales manager sells things, a head of acquisitions buys them. Well, not the same things, but things. The head of acquisitions sees that things are acquired, not necessarily by purchase, from sources outside the company; the sales manager sells things which the company makes or to which it has access. A "head of acquisitions" is a job you'll often find in a library, but presumably also in any organization that needs to acquire things. Libraries don't have sales managers, however. SS

: The U.S. Department of Labor has an occupational handbook online. The site seems to be down today. But you could try again later.

The sales manager usually does not actively sell product; the sales manager manages the sales force.

He usually hires fires, sets goals and usually sets your sales quota. If the position for which you were hired is an outside sales position then the sales manager will spend time with you in the field to acquaint you with what is going on in your territory and to evaluate you, usually every quarter for the first year or so.

The person responsible for purchasing things that a company uses is usually named the purchasing agent. He or she will contact various vendors to obtain quotes, delivery times, payment terms etc. and will issue purchase orders to vendors to obtain those items.

The "head of acquisitions", in the corporate world, is usually seen in larger corporations such as the Fortune 1000 or so.
The title is usally "Director of Acquisitions" or "Sr. VP of Acquisitions" and this person is expected to originate, structure, and close transactions and joint ventures. If, for instance, the firm is a real estate holding company then he is also expected to interface with investors, and contribute to the formulation of the firm's investment strategy and deal with the asset management people within the firm.

As Mr. Stover stated the "head of acquisitions" also is a title at a library.

• Occupational handbook ESC 25/April/04