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Country manager vs sales manager

The differences between country 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 country manager, becoming a sales manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a country manager has an average salary of $99,341, which is higher than the $73,952 average annual salary of a sales manager.

The top three skills for a country manager include logistics, business development and business strategy. The most important skills for a sales manager are product knowledge, customer satisfaction, and sales performance.

Country manager vs sales manager overview

Country ManagerSales Manager
Yearly salary$99,341$73,952
Hourly rate$47.76$35.55
Growth rate6%5%
Number of jobs309,722119,066
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age4446
Years of experience68

What does a country manager do?

A Country Manager oversees a company's operations in a different region or country, ensuring corporate expansions run smoothly and efficiently. They are responsible for establishing objectives and guidelines, conducting market research and analysis to find international business and client opportunities, developing strategic plans for revenue growth and brand awareness, and monitoring sales, generating progress reports regularly. Should there be conflicts or issues, it is also their responsibility to resolve them right away. Moreover, a Country Manager leads and encourages staff to reach goals while implementing the company's standards and policies.

What does a sales manager do?

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.

Country manager vs sales manager salary

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

Country ManagerSales Manager
Average salary$99,341$73,952
Salary rangeBetween $56,000 And $173,000Between $42,000 And $129,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYJersey City, NJ
Highest paying stateNew YorkNew Jersey
Best paying companyGenentechCapgemini
Best paying industryEnergy-

Differences between country manager and sales manager education

There are a few differences between a country manager and a sales manager in terms of educational background:

Country ManagerSales Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Southern California

Country manager vs sales manager demographics

Here are the differences between country managers' and sales managers' demographics:

Country ManagerSales Manager
Average age4446
Gender ratioMale, 85.6% Female, 14.4%Male, 68.7% Female, 31.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.5% 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 Percentage10%7%

Differences between country manager and sales manager duties and responsibilities

Country manager example responsibilities.

  • Achieve 3pp in EBITDA growth from 2015 and 9pp vs budget.
  • Manage Striderite's offshore sourcing operations in the Caribbean.
  • Manage two to four grants annually, totaling 1-2 million USD each year.
  • Manage billing, payroll, and other necessary fix and variable costs, maintaining profit growth year to year.
  • Lead internal risk management processes of all in-country associate parties, including final assessments/decisions.
  • Support search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) campaigns.
  • Show more

Sales manager example responsibilities.

  • Achieve proficiency in multitasking by performing multiple duties and managing differing responsibilities periodically.
  • Manage discount contracts, write up of add-ons, renewals, transfers of equities.
  • Manage and support one of the largest portfolios within the division and the largest in the Americas.
  • Manage website, updating product listings, enhancing SEO positioning, and maintaining overall site appearance and functionality.
  • Launch and manage the Americas outsourcing lead generation and qualification process.
  • Set all promotional activity, introduce new items and manage distributors in select markets.
  • Show more

Country manager vs sales manager skills

Common country manager skills
  • Logistics, 13%
  • Business Development, 9%
  • Business Strategy, 8%
  • Product Development, 7%
  • Revenue Growth, 6%
  • Human Resources, 4%
Common sales manager skills
  • Product Knowledge, 12%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 7%
  • Sales Performance, 6%
  • CRM, 5%
  • Sales Process, 4%
  • Work Ethic, 4%

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