Discover more about what a sales manager does, the skills required, and job opportunities.
Sales managers oversee sales teams to ensure they meet their sales targets. People in this role are integral to helping organizations meet their overall business goals by guiding sales reps toward success.
Keep reading to learn more about sales managers, what they do, and how much they earn. Ultimately, you'll also discover what you need to do to become a sales manager and explore suggested courses to gain job-relevant skills today.
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Accelerate Your Sales Career. No matter where you are in your sales career, this specialization will take it to the next level.
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Skills you'll build:
Sales Management, Sales, strategy, career growth, Training, Inspection, Market (Economics), Sales Strategy, Communication, Inbound Sales, Negotiation, Customer, Planning
As a sales manager, you're responsible for the overall management and performance of a company's sales team. Depending on what you find in a job search, a sales manager job description might include the following duties:
Setting sales targets
Coaching sales representatives to meet sales targets
Developing and implementing sales strategies
Managing customer relationships
Overseeing the sales process from start to finish
Hiring, training, and motivating the sales team
Developing and implementing promotional campaigns to boost sales
Monitoring sales performance and motivating and incentivizing staff to meet targets
Analyzing market trends and identifying new business opportunities
Negotiating contracts with customers and suppliers
Sales management is a diverse career field, with different roles tailored to the needs of different industries. Let's explore a few examples:
Regional sales manager: oversees sales operations in a specific geographical region.
Inside sales manager: oversees a sales team that connects with customers remotely (phone calls, email, or web communication).
Enterprise sales manager: oversees a team's efforts to serve large corporate clients.
E-commerce sales manager: oversees a team's online and digital sales efforts.
Your work environment as a sales manager depends on what you’re selling, your industry, whether you’re selling business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C), the company you work for, and how your team is structured. In today's business landscape, with many companies going fully remote or adopting a hybrid setup, you may find a variety of settings. Here are some industry-specific examples:
In retail, sales managers and teams may operate on store premises to assist customers, manage inventory, and close sales.
In health care and pharmaceuticals, sales managers may oversee sales teams from a central office location or remotely, while sales reps may visit medical facilities in person.
In technology, you may find that sales managers oversee sales teams remotely by using different sales software and digital communication tools.
For some sales management jobs, you may spend time in the field at client sites, networking events, trade shows, or conventions.
Read more: Getting a Remote Sales Job: Your 2024 Guide
Payscale reviews from people in sales management positions reveal that in terms of job satisfaction, the sales manager’s role has a 3.9 out of 5 rating, which scores as "highly satisfied" [1]. Sales manager jobs require a unique blend of people skills, business knowledge, and creativity. They provide an opportunity to make a significant impact on the success of a company.
If you have high-quality sales and management skills and enjoy working in a fast-paced, challenging environment, then a career in sales management could be very satisfying for you.
Sales managers earn a median salary of $130,600, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) [2]. Base salary levels for sales managers are affected by many factors, including the company's size and industry. Sales managers typically earn higher salaries in larger companies and industries with high margins.
Your location can also determine your salary, as well. Consider these city-based salary averages reported on Glassdoor as of December 2023:
San Fransisco, CA: $150,000
New York, NY: $141,000
Denver, CO: $121,000
Trenton, NJ: $112,000
In addition, bonuses and commissions can significantly affect earnings.
According to BLS, the job outlook for sales managers is positive, with an expected growth rate of 4 percent between 2022 and 2032, which is as fast as average [2]. BLS predicts that this growth will be driven by economic growth, increasing online sales, and emphasis on customer service in brick-and-mortar stores.
With the right skill set, you can enjoy a successful career as a sales manager, with plenty of opportunities for advancement.
To become a sales manager, you typically need several years of experience in sales and strong leadership and management skills. Various courses and certifications can also help you develop the skills to help you succeed in sales management. To begin your sales manager career journey, follow these steps:
You won’t find one definitive educational path to becoming a sales manager, but many employers prefer sales applicants to hold at least a bachelor’s degree. Sixty-three percent of sales managers hold a bachelor’s degree, and 16 percent have an associate degree, according to Zippia [3]. Common areas of study for sales managers include business, marketing, communications, and management.
In addition to formal education, many sales managers receive training through on-the-job or professional development courses.
It’s important to gain experience in sales and management to be effective in this role. You’ll find many ways to gain sales experience, such as working in retail, sales-focused customer service roles, or telemarketing. The amount of experience you need varies based on the employer, but typically, candidates for sales management positions will have several years of sales experience. A standard route to sales manager jobs is to start in a sales role and then advance within the company, taking on more team leadership and management responsibilities as you grow your career.
Read more: 6 Entry-Level Sales Jobs + How to Get One
The sales manager role is multifaceted, so you'll need a strong blend of technical skills, workplace skills, and core personal attributes. To improve your performance and better meet the needs of customers, consider honing these skills:
Using sales software and CRMs
Understanding sales data and analytics
Understanding your company's unique sales process
Improving your ability to give sales presentations
Creating effective sales plans and tracking progress
Leading and mentoring teams through execution
Sales managers are also knowledgeable about the products or services their company sells and can answer questions from potential customers.
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Unlock your AI-powered efficiency and innovation. Boost sales, close deals faster! Learn Copilot to supercharge your productivity, personalize pitches, and skyrocket your success.
754 already enrolled
Beginner level
Average time: 1 month(s)
Learn at your own pace
Skills you'll build:
Leveraging Customer Data, Personalized Communication, Emerging AI Trends, Sales forecasting, Pipeline Management, Sales Forecasting, Copilot for Sales, GenAI, Ethical Consideration, Customer Data Analysis, Personalized Interactions, Sales Performance Measurement, Task Automation, Insight Generation, Effective Utilization, Advanced Feature Mastery, Sales Forecasting and Pipeline Management, Integration and Future Trends
Excellent communication, both verbally and in writing
Interpersonal skills
Leadership
The ability to encourage and motivate others, including during periods of uncertainty
Listening carefully, with empathy, and understanding what customers want and need
Building relationships with your sales teams and customers.
Providing sales staff with the training, materials, and resources they need to succeed
Have strong organizational skills to keep track of customer orders and manage your sales team
Multitasking
In addition to excellent leadership, motivation, and communication skills, you'll need to be able to handle stress and be comfortable with change, while looking for ways to improve results.
While certifications are not necessary to apply for most sales management jobs, they could give you an edge. You’ll discover many certifications available, including:
Consider courses, specializations, and Professional Certificates to give your resume more depth. These can demonstrate your commitment to your career and that you have proactively pursued opportunities to expand your skill set.
Employers value managers with experience in sales, customer service, and people management. To help you build the necessary skills, consider taking a cost-effective online course through Coursera.
In HubSpot's Sales Training for High Performing Teams Specialization, you'll gain a new perspective on what it's like to be a sales job seeker, individual contributor, manager, and executive.
In GitLab's How to Manage a Remote Team, you'll learn and apply remote work best practices, build your remote work policy, and prepare your team for success.
specialization
Accelerate Your Sales Career. No matter where you are in your sales career, this specialization will take it to the next level.
4.7
(680 ratings)
20,861 already enrolled
Beginner level
Average time: 1 month(s)
Learn at your own pace
Skills you'll build:
Sales Management, Sales, strategy, career growth, Training, Inspection, Market (Economics), Sales Strategy, Communication, Inbound Sales, Negotiation, Customer, Planning
course
Remote management is much more than just implementing a work-from-home policy. In this course, you’ll learn and apply remote work best practices, build your ...
4.8
(996 ratings)
72,188 already enrolled
Intermediate level
Average time: 10 hour(s)
Learn at your own pace
Skills you'll build:
Business Transformation, Human Resources (HR), Remote work, Business Strategy, Leadership And Management
Payscale. “Sales Manager Salary, https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Sales_Manager/Salary.” Accessed December 15, 2023.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Sales Managers, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/sales-managers.htm.” Accessed December 15, 2023.
Zippia. “Sales Manager Education Requirements, https://www.zippia.com/sales-manager-jobs/education/.” Accessed December 15, 2023.
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