8 High-Paying Sales Jobs

Sales can be a rewarding career, both financially and professionally, because most jobs are partially or fully commission-based, meaning they have a high earning potential. There are many high-paying sales jobs that you can find either through career advancement or by applying transferable skills and pivoting into a sales career.

In this article, we'll go over some of the highest-paying sales jobs you may want to consider if you're interested in this line of work. Afterward, if you'd like to pursue a career in sales, consider enrolling in the Salesforce Sales Operations Professional Certificate, where you'll learn foundational skills in Salesforce that will prepare you for a variety of entry-level sales roles.

8 of the highest-paying sales jobs in the US

A career in sales can offer substantial base salaries with larger bonuses or commissions based on how successful the work has been on a quarterly or annual basis.

Explore the eight sales jobs listed below to gain further insight into the roles, salary expectations, and projected outlook for each. We’ve provided the annual base salary data and additional pay, including commissions, cash bonuses, and tips, as sourced from Glassdoor as of October 2024.

1. Account executive

Average annual salary: $153,487 ($82,885 base pay, $70,601 additional pay)

What you'll do: Account executives oversee the relationship with both new and existing clients. They must have a strong understanding of what each client needs—and the specifics of the products and services their company offers—so they can recommend the right fit to address those needs.

Requirements: While a bachelor's degree may be useful in this career, it's not always required. To become an account executive, you may need to first gain anywhere from one to three years of experience.

Key skills: Active listening, problem-solving, customer service, budgeting, product knowledge

2. Sales manager

Average annual salary: $167,525 ($84,269 base pay, $83,255 additional pay)

What you'll do: As a sales manager, you’ll be responsible for overseeing members of an organization's sales team and making sure your direct reports are on track to meet the company's sales goals by quarter or year.

Requirements: A bachelor’s degree is highly recommended but not essential to become a sales manager. You will also likely need around five years of sales experience with some management or leadership ability.

Key skills: People management, leadership, critical thinking, problem-solving

3. Pharmaceutical sales representative

Average annual salary: $161,248 ($77,608 base pay, $83,640 additional pay)

What you'll do: It will be your responsibility as a pharmaceutical sales representative to sell pharmaceutical products to hospitals, clinics, and doctors' offices, making it a great opportunity to travel for work since you'll be expected to meet with clients rather than having them meet with you.

Requirements: A bachelor’s degree is customary to begin a career as a pharmaceutical sales representative given the more scientific nature of the product you'll be selling, as well as previous sales experience.

Key skills: Product knowledge, scientific knowledge, customer service, presentation skills, communication

4. Medical device sales representative

Average annual salary: $177,586 ($89,779 base pay, $87,807 additional pay)

What you'll do: Much like a pharmaceutical sales representative, a medical device sales representative’s job is to sell devices and instruments that can be used in a medical setting. For example, hospital beds or lab equipment. Expect to travel as a medical device sales representative, although you will generally be able to maintain a particular territory.

Requirements: Earning your bachelor’s degree is important given the technical nature of the products you'll be selling. A background in health care or medical sales will help distinguish you from other candidates.

Key skills: Product knowledge, customer service, relationship building, presentation skills, flexibility

5. Sales engineer

Average annual salary: $193,069 ($111,890 base pay, $87,189 additional pay)

What you'll do: As a sales engineer, you’ll sell sophisticated technological and scientific products to other businesses. Staying updated with product specifics and critical functions is essential to fulfilling your clients' various needs.

Some typical responsibilities of a sales engineer include preparing and delivering technical presentations to current or prospective customers, or partaking in research for developing innovative new products. Some sales engineers work for independent sales firms and others work for the company that designs and builds the technical product.

Requirements: Employers typically seek candidates who have a bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related field such as business. It's possible to become a sales engineer without a typical four-year college degree. Still, prior technical experience and training will generally give you an advantage over candidates for specific roles.

Skills: Product knowledge, technical communication, customer service, active listening, critical thinking

6. Real estate agent

Average annual salary: $238,351 ($147,488 base pay, $90,862 additional pay)

What you'll do: It’s a real estate agent’s job to assist clients in selling, renting, or purchasing property. For this role, you must be knowledgeable about the real estate market in the area, as every area has different property values. While residential real estate agents make up a large sum of all agents, you can also sell commercial, industrial, or agricultural property.

Unlike other roles on this list that typically have a steady base salary, a large percentage of a real estate agent’s income is typically earned from commissions made on sales. Real estate agents must also promote properties through open houses, advertisements, and listing platforms, so they should be familiar with marketing techniques to spread the word about their available listings.

Requirements: To become a real estate agent, you must earn a license. Be sure to check and see what your state's rules are, since each one is different. Candidates applying for their license must typically be 18, complete several real estate courses, and pass the exam. Some people get their real estate license right out of high school, while others get them later in life during a career change.

Skills: Regional knowledge, marketing, communication, customer service

7. Digital sales manager

Average annual salary: $177,246 ($93,139 base pay, $84,096 additional pay)

What you'll do: If you're interested in digital advertising, then a digital sales manager may be the right career for you. You’ll be responsible for leading the digital sales team or working as a third-party vendor. Vendors are often hired to help assist a digital team in executing their initiatives by providing a certain service or technology that the team is unable to do in-house.

Becoming well-versed in identifying changes in the market that could affect your digital advertising plan will be essential for this role. Your goal as a digital sales manager is to direct sales processes to generate the most revenue and plan and execute all digital marketing efforts through social media, email, and display advertising for campaigns.

Requirements: Seventy-nine percent of digital sales managers obtain a bachelor’s degree, according to Zippia [1]. Some of the most popular bachelor’s degrees you can earn to become a digital sales manager are in business, marketing, and communications.

Skills: Advertising and sales, communication, presentation skills, attention to detail

8. Software sales representative

Average annual salary: $168,468 ($86,620 base pay, $81,848 additional pay)

What you'll do: Like a sales engineer, a software sales representative sells software products to potential clients. However, they don't focus as closely on the technology underpinning this software but rather the ways in which it can address key client needs.

Software tends to be sold two ways: business-to-consumer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B). B2C consists of selling to a potential consumer for their personal use, whereas B2B refers to selling to another business. Like other sales representatives, software sales representatives rely heavily on the commission made from inventory sold. If you're a goal-oriented individual and perform well in high-stress situations, this may be a good role for you.

Requirements: Most employers seeking a software sales representative will prefer you have a bachelor’s degree. If not, two to three years of experience in the field might be enough, depending on the company.

Skills: Product knowledge, customer service, communication, presentation skills, organization

High-paying industries for sales

Beyond the jobs listed above, you may find higher-paying sales jobs in the industries listed below given the increased demand for their products and services.

• Health care: Whether you're interested in pharmaceutical sales jobs or medical sales jobs, working in or alongside the health care industry can be a lucrative choice for a sales career given the growing demands for medical interventions.

• Technology: The tech sector continues to offer key solutions to an array of business needs and remains in demand for that reason. There are a number of different tech companies offering telecommunications, software as a service (SaaS), cloud computing, security, and more.

• Real estate: Although markets can fluctuate, the need for housing often remains consistent, meaning that working in real estate can be a high-paying opportunity, especially if you handle luxury housing or commercial real estate.

• Finance: The finance industry continues to need sales professionals to help clients determine the best financial products for their goals. Often, it helps to have a background—or foundational understanding—of finance or economics with some sales and customer service experience.

• Agriculture: The agricultural industry is a significant one, reaching over $200 billion in 2022 [2]. Working in agricultural sales often means selling industrial farm equipment and commercial farm equipment, which remains in demand across the sector.

Sales skills and abilities that can increase your earnings

Sales roles in each industry usually require some amount of industry or technical knowledge. Depending on what you're trying to sell, you will need to have a deeper understanding of that product or service because the client wants to know you're a subject matter expert and can answer their questions.

Beyond that key knowledge base, sales is a field strongly dependent on interpersonal skills. Let's review some of the crucial skills you can develop if you're interested in advancing toward some of the higher-paying sales jobs we've listed above.

Important sales skills:

• Relationship building

• Active listening

• Written and verbal communication

• Presenting

• Negotiating

• Attention to detail

• Organization

• Time management

Develop your sales skills on Coursera

Begin developing important sales knowledge with the Salesforce Sales Operations Professional Certificate. Over four courses, you'll learn the fundamentals of CRM, how to manage leads in Salesforce, how to manage opportunities in Salesforce, how to use Salesforce to ensure customer success, and how to effectively leverage Salesforce data through reports and dashboards.