What Does a Sales Manager Do?
Sales managers break a company's sales goal into targets for each rep and territory, then coach the team toward them, reviewing open deals every week and joining calls on the biggest ones. The base is usually a company office, with regular trips to key clients in industries from software to machinery. Their own pay tends to rise and fall with the team's results.
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as District Sales Manager, Fractional Sales Executive, National Sales Manager, Regional Sales Manager, Sales and Marketing VP (Sales and Marketing Vice President), Sales Director, Sales Operations Manager (Sales Ops Manager), Sales Supervisor.
Sales Manager Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a sales manager include:
- Set sales targets for each representative and territory, based on past results and market potential.
- Hire, train and coach sales reps, riding along on calls to give feedback.
- Review the pipeline in the CRM each week and help reps move stalled deals forward.
- Negotiate pricing and terms on large accounts, within the discounts leadership allows.
- Build sales forecasts and report results against target to senior management.
- Design commission plans and contests that reward the behavior the business needs.
- Work with marketing on campaigns, lead quality and messaging for each market.
- Visit key clients to strengthen relationships and hear complaints firsthand.
- Analyze win and loss data to spot pricing, product or skills problems.
- Manage the sales budget, including travel, events and sales tools.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a sales manager, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- CRM software such as Salesforce or HubSpot
- Coaching and developing sales reps
- Forecasting and pipeline management
- Negotiating large deals
- Excel and sales analytics
- Setting quotas and commission plans
- Resilience when targets slip
- Bachelor's degree in business or marketing
Education and Training
Hitting quota year after year as a sales representative is the usual way into this job. Companies promote proven sellers from marketing, business and technical backgrounds, and most managers hold a bachelor's degree.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $100,360 - $207,340 per year, with a median of $148,270.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Sales Managers.
BLS projects employment of sales managers to grow about 4.5 percent from 2025 to 2035, with roughly 47,300 openings a year as companies replace managers who retire or move up. In May 2025 the lowest-paid quarter of sales managers earned less than about $100,400, and the highest-paid quarter earned more than about $207,300. Bonuses tied to team results are common in this job, so pay can swing from year to year.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Sales managers.
Sales Manager Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $73,170 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $100,360 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $148,270 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $207,340 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $290,540 |
Highest-Paying States for Sales Managers
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are New York ($217,640), Massachusetts ($191,200), Virginia ($191,130), Colorado ($180,850), Washington ($174,000). Pay is lowest in Arkansas ($108,330), Alaska ($98,860), West Virginia ($94,830).
Median pay in all 50 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $124,040 |
| Alaska | $98,860 |
| Arizona | $145,690 |
| Arkansas | $108,330 |
| California | $134,910 |
| Colorado | $180,850 |
| Connecticut | $162,110 |
| District of Columbia | $141,800 |
| Florida | $131,900 |
| Georgia | $159,890 |
| Hawaii | $116,340 |
| Idaho | $135,350 |
| Illinois | $155,280 |
| Indiana | $131,470 |
| Iowa | $134,010 |
| Kansas | $159,990 |
| Kentucky | $128,650 |
| Louisiana | $110,700 |
| Maine | $158,660 |
| Maryland | $137,150 |
| Massachusetts | $191,200 |
| Michigan | $136,870 |
| Minnesota | $151,670 |
| Mississippi | $108,750 |
| Missouri | $115,370 |
| Montana | $117,390 |
| Nebraska | $126,990 |
| Nevada | $109,790 |
| New Hampshire | $141,900 |
| New Jersey | $173,020 |
| New Mexico | $114,080 |
| New York | $217,640 |
| North Carolina | $150,470 |
| North Dakota | $119,990 |
| Ohio | $135,510 |
| Oklahoma | $128,920 |
| Oregon | $155,810 |
| Pennsylvania | $130,610 |
| Rhode Island | $154,970 |
| South Carolina | $131,080 |
| South Dakota | $136,360 |
| Tennessee | $128,040 |
| Texas | $136,020 |
| Utah | $136,520 |
| Vermont | $138,650 |
| Virginia | $191,130 |
| Washington | $174,000 |
| West Virginia | $94,830 |
| Wisconsin | $134,870 |
| Wyoming | $129,840 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as sales managers about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 100% are on the phone every day
- 100% use email every day
- 90% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
- 86% usually work more than 40 hours a week
- 81% spend more than half the workday sitting
- 65% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
- 40% deal with rude or angry people at least once a week
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree | 71% |
| Some college | 19% |
Tools and Software Sales Managers Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy leading, persuading and making business decisions as well as organized work with data, records and clear procedures.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Active Listening, Speaking, Negotiation, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Monitoring.
Knowledge areas used most: Sales and Marketing, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administration and Management, Personnel and Human Resources.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 4 of 5, which means considerable preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
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Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 11-2022.00 (Sales Managers). View on O*NET OnLine.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The Job Explorer has modified some of the information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.