What does a commercial director do?
Commercial Directors are executives who manage the performance and subsequent growth of the company. They lead activities related to the commerce side of the business. Commercial directors study the current trends in both the economic market and in the industry that the business operates in. They also study their target market. With this research, they devise ways to ensure that a company's performance will not decline as they navigate the changing market landscape. Commercial Directors should have good foresight and strong analytical skills to make sense of the current trends and how they would affect their future.
Commercial director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real commercial director resumes:
- Monitor and manage budgets on each account to ensure high ROI and biggest bang for each buck.
- Lead start-up of new far-east OEM partner, including selection process, technical & manufacturing management and relationship development.
- Lead global project to commercialize expand portfolio of adhesive utilizing company synergies to establish a strong, highly-competitive distribution channel.
- Define and implement the CRM and phone systems and infrastructure need to support commercialization efforts.
- Create and maintain adoption measurement for SFDC resulting in increase usage of CRM tool, globally.
- Institute metrics to document cost savings, purchase requisition turnaround, and number of POs issue.
- Negotiate global service proposals and contracts (plus subcontracts) for key financial, manufacturing, healthcare and telecom customers.
- Preform educational (box lunch) presentations to the architectural and design community, healthcare providers, flooring dealers and end-users.
- Evaluate struggling projects for potential reclamation, rehabilitation, and acquisition; conduct detail risk versus reward assessments to determine ROI.
- Assist RA/QA with developing quality systems, production product specifications and drafting of FDA regulatory submissions.
- Provide scientific leadership to effectively troubleshoot and alleviate escalate complex projects, support clients with submit data review with FDA.
- Integrate legacy Pfizer and legacy Wyeth network and voice infrastructures that eliminate redundant infrastructure, streamline processes and reduce support resources.
- Standardize computing environment, consolidate infrastructure environment.
- Standardize computing environment, consolidate infrastructure environment.
Commercial director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Commercial Directors are proficient in Project Management, KPIs, and Healthcare. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Analytical skills, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Commercial Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Project Management, 9%
Complete project management from concept to completion operating, managing sub-contractors.
- KPIs, 8%
Focused efforts on enabling significant capacity expansion and delivering operational excellence across all KPIs.
- Healthcare, 8%
Preformed educational (box lunch) presentations to the architectural and design community, healthcare providers, flooring dealers and end-users.
- Business Development, 8%
Directed daily operations for the commercial lending department including business development; gathering deposits with commercial and consumer loans.
- Customer Service, 7%
Achieved budgetary compliance and financial profitability of each program through consistent attention to quality, safety and customer service.
- Lead Generation, 5%
Developed lead generation system and marketing research teams targeting key prospects for territory representatives.
Most commercial directors use their skills in "project management," "kpis," and "healthcare" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential commercial director responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling commercial director duties is analytical skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to analyze industry trends to determine the most promising strategies for their organization." According to a commercial director resume, here's how commercial directors can utilize analytical skills in their job responsibilities: "analyzed generic market and established business plan for capitalizing on anticipated growth of generic drugs"
Creativity. commercial directors are also known for creativity, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to commercial director responsibilities, because "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must be able to generate new and imaginative ideas." A commercial director resume example shows how creativity is used in the workplace: "oversee creative, agency and new product development initiatives from concept to delivery. "
Interpersonal skills. commercial director responsibilities often require "interpersonal skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "managers must deal with a range of people in different roles, both inside and outside the organization." This resume example shows what commercial directors do with interpersonal skills on a typical day: "guided sourcing evaluations and product development initiatives by directing cross-functional teams.leveraged negotiation and interpersonal skills to maximize service and vendor contracts. "
Organizational skills. Another crucial skill for a commercial director to carry out their responsibilities is "organizational skills." A big part of what commercial directors relies on this skill, since "advertising, promotions, and marketing managers must manage their time and budget efficiently while directing and motivating staff members." How this skill relates to commercial director duties can be seen in an example from a commercial director resume snippet: "designed, coordinated and implemented policies and procedures, to improve efficiency, productivity and business processes to achieve organizational goals. "
Communication skills. Another skill commonly found on commercial director job descriptions is "communication skills." It can come up quite often in commercial director duties, since "managers must be able to communicate effectively with a broad-based team made up of other managers or staff members during the advertising, promotions, and marketing process." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day commercial director responsibilities: "led worldwide public relations, communications, market research, global distribution and customer support. "
The three companies that hire the most commercial directors are:
- CBRE Group180 commercial directors jobs
- Organon62 commercial directors jobs
- Oracle48 commercial directors jobs
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Compare different commercial directors
Commercial director vs. Vice president & general manager
A vice president and general manager's role is to implement policies and regulations while overseeing the business operations. Typically, it is their primary responsibility to devise training programs that would produce more efficient workforce members, create new strategies to boost sales and customer satisfaction, and participate in budget and goals creation. They mainly report to high-ranking officials such as the president and board members. Furthermore, a vice president and general manager may perform clerical tasks such as preparing progress reports and presentations, managing schedules, and responding to correspondence.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, commercial director responsibilities require skills like "kpis," "healthcare," "lead generation," and "market research." Meanwhile a typical vice president & general manager has skills in areas such as "financial performance," "business strategy," "continuous improvement," and "product management." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Vice president & general managers earn the highest salaries when working in the media industry, with an average yearly salary of $172,642. On the other hand, commercial directors are paid more in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $126,324.vice president & general managers tend to reach similar levels of education than commercial directors. In fact, vice president & general managers are 4.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Commercial director vs. Sales and marketing vice president
A sales and marketing vice president is responsible for managing brand awareness, developing strategic promotional plans, and preparing marketing campaigns to attract existing. Potential customers increase sales revenues and improve the company's profitability. A sales and marketing vice president monitors the sales team, reviews the sales budget, researches the current industry trends to identify business opportunities, and allocates resources efficiently. A sales and marketing vice president must have excellent leadership and communication skills to discuss services with clients and set long-term sales development goals.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real commercial director resumes. While commercial director responsibilities can utilize skills like "project management," "kpis," "customer service," and "lead generation," sales and marketing vice presidents use skills like "strategic partnerships," "sales strategy," "direct sales," and "seo."
On average, sales and marketing vice presidents earn a higher salary than commercial directors. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, sales and marketing vice presidents earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $161,144. Whereas commercial directors have higher pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $126,324.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Sales and marketing vice presidents tend to reach lower levels of education than commercial directors. In fact, they're 8.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Commercial director vs. Director new business development
A director of new business development is in charge of spearheading new programs and procedures, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. It is their duty to set goals and objectives in adherence to the company's vision and mission, establishing guidelines, allocating budgets, and overseeing the progress of all efforts. Furthermore, as a director of new business development, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from commercial director resumes include skills like "kpis," "customer service," "lead generation," and "digital marketing," whereas a director new business development is more likely to list skills in "corporate clients," "sales process," "market trends," and "rfp. "
Directors new business development earn the best pay in the energy industry, where they command an average salary of $126,576. Commercial directors earn the highest pay from the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $126,324.directors new business development typically earn lower educational levels compared to commercial directors. Specifically, they're 7.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Commercial director vs. Director of sales and marketing
A director of sales and marketing's responsibilities revolve around overseeing the sales, budgets, and all programs related to marketing. They must implement budget goals and revenue targets, evaluate the progress of the various teams, participate in securing sales and reaching out to high profile clients, and even negotiate contracts. Furthermore, they have the discretion to assign pricing and discounts, strategize ways to build a more substantial client base, and lead a team of skilled professionals to boost sales and improve client satisfaction.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between commercial directors and directors of sales and marketing, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a commercial director might have more use for skills like "project management," "kpis," "healthcare," and "lead generation." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of directors of sales and marketing require skills like "strategic sales," "lead management," "sales process," and "revenue management. "
The manufacturing industry tends to pay the highest salaries for directors of sales and marketing, with average annual pay of $137,526. Comparatively, the highest commercial director annual salary comes from the manufacturing industry.directors of sales and marketing reach lower levels of education compared to commercial directors, in general. The difference is that they're 11.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of commercial director
Updated January 8, 2025
