Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between direct sales managers and general 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 direct sales manager and a general sales manager. Additionally, a direct sales manager has an average salary of $120,139, which is higher than the $118,744 average annual salary of a general sales manager.
The top three skills for a direct sales manager include sales professionals, account executives and customer service. The most important skills for a general sales manager are customer service, dealership, and customer satisfaction.
| Direct Sales Manager | General Sales Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $120,139 | $118,744 |
| Hourly rate | $57.76 | $57.09 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 140,506 | 196,210 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
Direct sales managers are individuals who take responsibility for leading and guiding sales people within an organization. It is the job of the sales managers to set the goals and quotas, create sales plans, and analyze data. They assign sales territories and conduct sales training. They serve as mentors for sales team members and involve in the recruitment and dismissal process. Also, they foresee sales and identify product and service profitability for the company.
General sales managers are responsible for monitoring the daily operation of the sales team and analyze marketing strategies to improve sales performance and generate more revenues. General sales managers develop strategic plans, adjust sales quotas as needed, identify business opportunities, research current market trends, and evaluate the annual budget. General sales managers also respond to the customers' inquiries and high-level complaints, providing immediate resolutions to ensure customer satisfaction. A general sales manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle the sales department, especially on sales techniques in reaching the business' profitability goals.
Direct sales managers and general sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Direct Sales Manager | General Sales Manager | |
| Average salary | $120,139 | $118,744 |
| Salary range | Between $80,000 And $178,000 | Between $71,000 And $196,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Westport, CT |
| Highest paying state | - | Maine |
| Best paying company | - | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a direct sales manager and a general sales manager in terms of educational background:
| Direct Sales Manager | General Sales Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between direct sales managers' and general sales managers' demographics:
| Direct Sales Manager | General Sales Manager | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.9% Female, 38.1% | Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5% |
| 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% |