Sales Managers: Job Description
Plan, direct, or coordinate the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer. Coordinate sales distribution by establishing sales territories, quotas, and goals and establish training programs for sales representatives. Analyze sales statistics gathered by staff to determine sales potential and inventory requirements and monitor the preferences of customers.
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What Tasks Do Sales Managers Do?
Typical responsibilities of sales managers span:
- Oversee regional and local sales managers and their staffs.
- Resolve customer complaints regarding sales and service.
- Monitor customer preferences to determine focus of sales efforts.
- Confer with potential customers regarding equipment needs, and advise customers on types of equipment to purchase.
- Review operational records and reports to project sales and determine profitability.
- Plan and direct staffing, training, and performance evaluations to develop and control sales and service programs.
- Direct and coordinate activities involving sales of manufactured products, services, commodities, real estate, or other subjects of sale.
- Determine price schedules and discount rates.
Skills and Knowledge
Top sales managers rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Key Skills
These are the skills that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Core Knowledge
Related Job Titles
Common job titles for this role include:
- Account Manager
- Area Sales Manager
- Area Supervisor
- BD Director (Business Development Director)
- BD Executive (Business Development Executive)
- BD Manager (Business Development Manager)
- Business Developer
- Channel Manager
Job Outlook
There are roughly 99,123 sales managers working in the United States today. Employment is projected to decline by -0.6% over the projection horizon.
Sales Managers Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $68,051 |
| Hourly median | $32.72 |
| 10th percentile | $47,242 |
| 25th percentile | $57,646 |
| 75th percentile | $78,456 |
| 90th percentile | $88,861 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
Sales Managers Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| New York | $214,350 |
| Delaware | $201,090 |
| Colorado | $174,840 |
| New Jersey | $171,490 |
| Virginia | $170,970 |
| Massachusetts | $170,610 |
| Washington | $167,210 |
| District of Columbia | $154,320 |
| Kansas | $151,440 |
| Georgia | $149,570 |
| Minnesota | $148,190 |
| Connecticut | $147,380 |
| Illinois | $142,170 |
| New Hampshire | $139,540 |
| Michigan | $136,480 |
| North Carolina | $134,860 |
| Wisconsin | $134,560 |
| Rhode Island | $134,180 |
| South Dakota | $133,590 |
| Wyoming | $132,940 |
| California | $132,440 |
| Texas | $132,250 |
| Utah | $130,430 |
| Ohio | $130,210 |
| Oklahoma | $130,010 |
| Arizona | $129,690 |
| Maryland | $129,180 |
| Pennsylvania | $128,640 |
| Iowa | $128,010 |
| Oregon | $127,780 |
| Tennessee | $127,060 |
| Indiana | $126,740 |
| Idaho | $126,560 |
| Florida | $126,410 |
| Montana | $125,170 |
| North Dakota | $124,500 |
| Nebraska | $124,440 |
| South Carolina | $123,860 |
| Vermont | $123,260 |
| Kentucky | $120,500 |
| Arkansas | $119,990 |
| Hawaii | $116,640 |
| Virgin Islands | $109,280 |
| Alabama | $108,740 |
| Maine | $106,340 |
| New Mexico | $106,330 |
| Mississippi | $106,290 |
| Nevada | $106,020 |
| Louisiana | $102,710 |
| Missouri | $102,420 |
| West Virginia | $101,920 |
| Alaska | $97,330 |
| Puerto Rico | $82,300 |
| Guam | $62,130 |
Where Sales Managers Earn the Most
Pay for sales managers shift depending on where you work. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Atlantic | $175,196 | 13.9% | 0.92 |
| New England | $155,059 | 4.5% | 1.12 |
| Rocky Mountains | $149,533 | 3.6% | 0.99 |
| Great Lakes | $135,810 | 14.3% | 1.04 |
| Far Western US | $133,397 | 21.9% | 1.39 |
| Southeast | $131,863 | 20.7% | 0.87 |
| Southwest | $131,470 | 15.7% | 1.33 |
| Plains States | $131,262 | 5.1% | 0.79 |
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Sales Managers
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | NY | $211,670 | 40,990 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $200,450 | 9,170 |
| Boulder, CO | CO | $183,880 | 890 |
| Trenton-Princeton, NJ | NJ | $181,500 | 850 |
| Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | CO | $177,240 | 360 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | CO | $176,620 | 6,580 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | MA | $175,360 | 11,110 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $174,610 | 17,890 |
Top Industries Employing Sales Managers
Most sales managers are found across these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale Trade | 123,910 | $135,530 |
| Retail Trade | 100,180 | $92,630 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 83,200 | $168,320 |
| Manufacturing | 63,920 | $150,210 |
| Finance and Insurance | 61,040 | $173,230 |
| Information | 42,020 | $170,280 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 35,830 | $166,330 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 27,330 | $125,010 |
Below are examples of industries where sales managers work:
Software Sales Managers Use
- Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Creative Cloud software (hot technology)
- Computer aided design CAD software: Bentley MicroStation (hot technology)
- Development environment software: Eclipse IDE (hot technology)
- Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
- Data mining software: Google Analytics (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Google Docs (hot technology)
- Sales and marketing software: HubSpot software (hot technology)
- Web platform development software: Hypertext markup language HTML (hot technology)
- Analytical or scientific software: IBM SPSS Statistics (hot technology)
- Sales and marketing software: Marketo Marketing Automation (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
The Day-to-Day Environment
The on-the-job environment of sales managers is shaped by the following characteristics:
- Telephone Conversations
- Contact With Others
- Deal With External Customers or the Public in General
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
Getting Started in This Career
Entry-level sales managers positions require a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education. This career aligns with Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
Similar Occupations
- Purchasing Managers (Primary-Long)
- Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products (Primary-Short)
- Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products (Supplemental)
- Logisticians (Supplemental)
- Management Analysts (Supplemental)
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists (Primary-Short)
- Online Merchants (Supplemental)
- Financial and Investment Analysts (Supplemental)
Degree Programs
Future sales managers often complete programs in:
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services
3 programs across 3 majors
About the Data
Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 11-2022.00 (Sales Managers).
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