Director, inside sales vs outside sales manager

The differences between directors, inside sales and outside 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 director, inside sales and an outside sales manager. Additionally, an outside sales manager has an average salary of $84,408, which is higher than the $57,509 average annual salary of a director, inside sales.

The top three skills for a director, inside sales include customer service, product knowledge and salesforce. The most important skills for an outside sales manager are product knowledge, CRM, and customer service.

Director, inside sales vs outside sales manager overview

	Director, Inside Sales	Outside Sales Manager
Yearly salary	$57,509	$84,408
Hourly rate	$27.65	$40.58
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	105,811	138,054
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	8	8

What does a director, inside sales do?

The role of inside sales directors is to sell services and products over the phone. They are responsible for overseeing sales representatives who make and take telephone calls. They must ensure that the inside sales department is operating smoothly and that sales quotas are met by sales representatives. They may also be involved in the recruitment and training of new sales employees, settle sales disputes in a highly-pressured environment, and ensure that sales representatives have consistent sales leads.

What does an outside sales manager do?

An outside sales manager is responsible for monitoring the sales staff performance in selling goods and services to existing and potential clients and ensuring that the team meets sales objectives. Outside sales managers set reasonable sales targets and establish techniques to maximize the staff's efficiency and productivity. They regularly connect with the clients to determine their needs and make any adjustments to business plans as needed. An outside sales manager should have excellent knowledge of the current market trends to identify business opportunities that would generate more revenues and resources.

Director, inside sales vs outside sales manager salary

Directors, inside sales and outside sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director, Inside Sales	Outside Sales Manager
Average salary	$57,509	$84,408
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $105,000	Between $51,000 And $138,000
Highest paying City	Portland, ME	Albany, NY
Highest paying state	Maine	Hawaii
Best paying company	Safran	Dominion Enterprises
Best paying industry	Technology	Finance

Differences between director, inside sales and outside sales manager education

There are a few differences between a director, inside sales and an outside sales manager in terms of educational background:

	Director, Inside Sales	Outside Sales Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Wisconsin - Madison	University of Southern California

Director, inside sales vs outside sales manager demographics

Here are the differences between directors, inside sales' and outside sales managers' demographics:

	Director, Inside Sales	Outside Sales Manager
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 66.1% Female, 33.9%	Male, 79.1% Female, 20.9%
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%

Differences between director, inside sales and outside sales manager duties and responsibilities

Director, inside sales example responsibilities.

Manage job flow with Peachtree ERP.
Manage A/R to payment terms, including resolution of discrepancies
Manage inside sales team, implement best practices and conduct sales training as CRM administrator on SalesForce.com.
Full responsibility for all sales activities for a start-up electronic commerce company managing electronic data flow in the healthcare industry.
Log all information in SalesForce.
Establish product standards for implementation of ERP package.

Outside sales manager example responsibilities.

Manage a team of sales executives to establish and maintain professional relationships with healthcare professionals in their prospective territories.
Develop a complete marketing program where none previously exist, now serves as CRM base for company.
Used CRM tools in order to provide current and detail information relate to activities, opportunity pipeline, and close business.
Channele marketing through the establishment of international distributors servicing Mexico (Hermosillo, Mexicali, and Tijuana) and Korea.
Plan and schedule work perform by HVAC technicians.
Educate and present new approach to facility managers and plant managers including ROI analysis.

Director, inside sales vs outside sales manager skills

Common director, inside sales skills

Customer Service, 23%
Product Knowledge, 13%
Salesforce, 5%
Purchase Orders, 5%
Order Entry, 4%
Outbound Calls, 4%

Common outside sales manager skills

Product Knowledge, 12%
CRM, 10%
Customer Service, 10%
Sales Territory, 7%
Sales Strategies, 4%
Sales Growth, 3%

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Executive Management Industry
Director, Inside Sales
Director, Inside Sales vs Outside Sales Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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