Associate director of sales vs outside sales manager

The differences between associate directors of sales and outside sales managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both an associate director of sales and an outside sales manager. Additionally, an associate director of sales has an average salary of $132,949, which is higher than the $84,408 average annual salary of an outside sales manager.

The top three skills for an associate director of sales include customer service, portfolio and CRM. The most important skills for an outside sales manager are product knowledge, CRM, and customer service.

Associate director of sales vs outside sales manager overview

	Associate Director Of Sales	Outside Sales Manager
Yearly salary	$132,949	$84,408
Hourly rate	$63.92	$40.58
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	85,596	138,054
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	8	8

What does an associate director of sales do?

An associate director of sales oversees a company's daily sales operations, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Their responsibilities include managing and supervising the workforce, setting goals and guidelines, establishing budgets and schedules, liaising with external business partners, performing research and analysis, gathering and analyzing data, and implementing solutions against vulnerable areas. They monitor the progress of all procedures and report directly to the director. Moreover, an associate director leads and encourages teams to reach goals, all while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.

What does an outside sales manager do?

An outside sales manager is responsible for monitoring the sales staff performance in selling goods and services to existing and potential clients and ensuring that the team meets sales objectives. Outside sales managers set reasonable sales targets and establish techniques to maximize the staff's efficiency and productivity. They regularly connect with the clients to determine their needs and make any adjustments to business plans as needed. An outside sales manager should have excellent knowledge of the current market trends to identify business opportunities that would generate more revenues and resources.

Associate director of sales vs outside sales manager salary

Associate directors of sales and outside sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Associate Director Of Sales	Outside Sales Manager
Average salary	$132,949	$84,408
Salary range	Between $92,000 And $190,000	Between $51,000 And $138,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Albany, NY
Highest paying state	Maine	Hawaii
Best paying company	Novartis	Dominion Enterprises
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Finance

Differences between associate director of sales and outside sales manager education

There are a few differences between an associate director of sales and an outside sales manager in terms of educational background:

	Associate Director Of Sales	Outside Sales Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Associate director of sales vs outside sales manager demographics

Here are the differences between associate directors of sales' and outside sales managers' demographics:

	Associate Director Of Sales	Outside Sales Manager
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0%	Male, 79.1% Female, 20.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between associate director of sales and outside sales manager duties and responsibilities

Associate director of sales example responsibilities.

Manage all reservations by phone and online.
Manage RFP process and contribute to budget development.
Manage guests itinerary including but not limit to dinning reservations and tours.
Full responsibility for all sales activities for a start-up electronic commerce company managing electronic data flow in the healthcare industry.
Design, implement and maintain a highly-customize CRM that track all aspects of the sales process.
Direct sales and marketing programs for one of Pennsylvania's premier ski and golf resorts.

Outside sales manager example responsibilities.

Manage a team of sales executives to establish and maintain professional relationships with healthcare professionals in their prospective territories.
Develop a complete marketing program where none previously exist, now serves as CRM base for company.
Used CRM tools in order to provide current and detail information relate to activities, opportunity pipeline, and close business.
Channele marketing through the establishment of international distributors servicing Mexico (Hermosillo, Mexicali, and Tijuana) and Korea.
Plan and schedule work perform by HVAC technicians.
Educate and present new approach to facility managers and plant managers including ROI analysis.

Associate director of sales vs outside sales manager skills

Common associate director of sales skills

Customer Service, 28%
Portfolio, 8%
CRM, 6%
Booking, 5%
Training Programs, 4%
Sales Process, 4%

Common outside sales manager skills

Product Knowledge, 12%
CRM, 10%
Customer Service, 10%
Sales Territory, 7%
Sales Strategies, 4%
Sales Growth, 3%

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Associate Director Of Sales
Associate Director Of Sales vs Outside Sales Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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