Channel manager vs outside sales manager

The differences between channel managers 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 a channel manager and an outside sales manager. Additionally, a channel manager has an average salary of $87,573, which is higher than the $84,408 average annual salary of an outside sales manager.

The top three skills for a channel manager include customer service, CRM and digital marketing. The most important skills for an outside sales manager are product knowledge, CRM, and customer service.

Channel manager vs outside sales manager overview

	Channel Manager	Outside Sales Manager
Yearly salary	$87,573	$84,408
Hourly rate	$42.10	$40.58
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	106,753	138,054
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	8	8

What does a channel manager do?

A channel manager is responsible for supervising client relations within the assigned partner accounts. Channel managers handle the project management strategies to achieve clients' satisfaction by following their specifications and requirements. They manage marketing and promotional campaigns to improve brand awareness of the target market audience. A channel manager also oversees media relations techniques, as well as publishing digital content that would attract customers and generate more revenue resources for the business. A channel manager coordinates with channel partners for maintaining optimal performance and maximum productivity.

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.

Channel manager vs outside sales manager salary

Channel managers and outside sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Channel Manager	Outside Sales Manager
Average salary	$87,573	$84,408
Salary range	Between $63,000 And $121,000	Between $51,000 And $138,000
Highest paying City	Sunnyvale, CA	Albany, NY
Highest paying state	California	Hawaii
Best paying company	Meta	Dominion Enterprises
Best paying industry	Professional	Finance

Differences between channel manager and outside sales manager education

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

	Channel Manager	Outside Sales Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Channel manager vs outside sales manager demographics

Here are the differences between channel managers' and outside sales managers' demographics:

	Channel Manager	Outside Sales Manager
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 70.1% Female, 29.9%	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 channel manager and outside sales manager duties and responsibilities

Channel manager example responsibilities.

Use SalesForce to keep track of customers and prospective leads information.
Manage social media advertising, SEO and PCP advertising as part of daily tasks.
Manage and communicate with over 2600 VAR's/reseller accounts at industry relate conferences, user groups and tradeshows.
Manage multinational marketing group in strategic marketing and channel development in the Americas, EMEA and APJK.
Launch and manage the domestic distribution go-to-market channel strategy.
Develop co-marketing business plans resulting in YoY growth with several manage partners.

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.

Channel manager vs outside sales manager skills

Common channel manager skills

Customer Service, 7%
CRM, 5%
Digital Marketing, 4%
Business Development, 4%
Channel Marketing, 4%
Cloud, 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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Channel Manager
Channel Manager vs Outside Sales Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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