How many years does it take to become a sales manager?

It takes 3 to 5 years to become a sales manager. A sales manager is expected to have some formal education, as well as some work experience. Most sales managers have a bachelor's degree in management, marketing; accounting; finance; economics; or statistics. In some cases having an associate's degree with an adequate amount of work experience is all that is needed.

How To Become A Commercial Sales Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a commercial sales manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Bill Thorne

The role of a commercial sales manager is to apply strategies and methodologies to and through projects and programs in order to increase the commercial sales of a business. They often have set targets and goals that they are meant to reach.

The Manager communicates with customers on a regular basis, and cooperates with and coordinates a team of personnel on a daily basis, including people from sales and customer service and transport departments of the company. They are also tasked with keeping and updating records and databases as needed, maintaining a safe and healthy work environment, ensuring other documents and work are within company standards, and generally doing what they can to nurture growth.

Though a high school degree and prior experience in commercial sales is often the minimum requirement for this position, a university-level degree in business administration or a similarly relevant subject is preferred and can present a big plus on a commercial sales manager's resume. Depending on the industry they work in, certification and further education and training might be necessary. On average, they earn $77,403 a year.

What general advice would you give to a Commercial Sales Manager?

Bill Thorne

Executive Director of the NRF Foundation and Senior Vice President of Communication and Public Affairs of NRF, National Retail Federation

Retail is the largest private-sector employer in the country, directly employing 32 million people and supporting 52 million jobs overall - roughly one-quarter of the U.S. workforce. While COVID-19 has presented new and unexpected challenges, retailers have continued to showcase the industry's resilience and adaptability time and again. The safety and security of customers and employees remains our greatest priority. It is no doubt that the professional environment has changed this year, but retail continues to offer a plethora of career opportunities for graduates and seasoned veterans alike.

ScoreCommercial Sales ManagerUS Average

Salary

7.0

Avg. Salary $90,126

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.4

Growth Rate 5%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.24%

Asian 4.07%

Black or African American 3.24%

Hispanic or Latino 9.82%

Unknown 4.41%

White 78.23%

Gender

female 16.58%

male 83.42%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress Level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.7

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.4

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a commercial sales manager

Explore commercial sales manager education requirements

Most common commercial sales manager degrees

Bachelor's

51.6 %

Associate

20.9 %

High School Diploma

14.1 %

Start to develop specific commercial sales manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	59.13%
Sales Targets	36.07%
CRM	0.54%
Customer Satisfaction	0.39%
Product Knowledge	0.37%

Complete relevant commercial sales manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New commercial sales managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a commercial sales manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real commercial sales manager resumes.

Research commercial sales manager duties and responsibilities

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Manage a team of sales executives to establish and maintain professional relationships with healthcare professionals in their prospective territories.

Prepare your commercial sales manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your commercial sales manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a commercial sales manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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