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The differences between customer service 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 customer service manager, becoming a sales manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a sales manager has an average salary of $73,952, which is higher than the $61,487 average annual salary of a customer service manager.
The top three skills for a customer service manager include strong customer service, payroll and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a sales manager are product knowledge, customer satisfaction, and sales performance.
| Customer Service Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $61,487 | $73,952 |
| Hourly rate | $29.56 | $35.55 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 313,110 | 119,066 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 8 |
Customer service managers are in charge of overseeing a group of customer service associates. They ensure that key metrics are met by the employees. These metrics usually include average handling time and customer satisfaction ratings. They also give coaching to employees who might need additional guidance in reaching team goals. Customer service managers are expected to have had experience on the operations floor to balance their role as a strategic leader and a people manager. They should have customer service skills, decision-making skills, and communication skills.
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.
Customer service managers and sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Service Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Average salary | $61,487 | $73,952 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $105,000 | Between $42,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | KLA | Capgemini |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | - |
There are a few differences between a customer service manager and a sales manager in terms of educational background:
| Customer Service Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 46% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between customer service managers' and sales managers' demographics:
| Customer Service Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0% | Male, 68.7% Female, 31.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.0% 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% |