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The differences between business unit managers and sales managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a business unit manager, becoming a sales manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a business unit manager has an average salary of $122,782, which is higher than the $73,952 average annual salary of a sales manager.
The top three skills for a business unit manager include continuous improvement, customer service and product line. The most important skills for a sales manager are product knowledge, customer satisfaction, and sales performance.
| Business Unit Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $122,782 | $73,952 |
| Hourly rate | $59.03 | $35.55 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 295,151 | 119,066 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 8 |
A business unit manager handles a unit or segment of the company. This unit may be a specialized team on specific projects or a part of a significant production process. The business unit manager ensures that the unit works efficiently and productively by implementing strategies and techniques that will enhance the productive output. A business unit manager also provides suggestions, offers solutions to problems, handles tasks delegation, planning production processes, and training and monitoring of employees in a unit.
Sales managers are responsible for leading the organization's sales team. They oversee the progress and performance of the whole team, set area assignments to team members, and set weekly or monthly quotas. Sales managers oversee training team members during onboarding and providing further coaching to help them achieve their goals. They manage the challenges that team members may meet and help mitigate any problems that come along the way. Sales managers also set the strategic direction of the sales team and follow through by ensuring that the team's activities are in line with the goals.
Business unit managers and sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Business Unit Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Average salary | $122,782 | $73,952 |
| Salary range | Between $81,000 And $184,000 | Between $42,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | East Providence, RI | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Citi | Capgemini |
| Best paying industry | Technology | - |
There are a few differences between a business unit manager and a sales manager in terms of educational background:
| Business Unit Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between business unit managers' and sales managers' demographics:
| Business Unit Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 82.8% Female, 17.2% | Male, 68.7% Female, 31.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | 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 | 10% | 7% |