Director of catering vs catering sales manager

The differences between directors of catering and catering sales managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a director of catering, becoming a catering sales manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a director of catering has an average salary of $65,732, which is higher than the $53,086 average annual salary of a catering sales manager.

The top three skills for a director of catering include booking, customer service and culinary. The most important skills for a catering sales manager are customer service, booking, and event planning.

Director of catering vs catering sales manager overview

	Director Of Catering	Catering Sales Manager
Yearly salary	$65,732	$53,086
Hourly rate	$31.60	$25.52
Growth rate	10%	5%
Number of jobs	54,263	136,748
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	39	46
Years of experience	4	8

What does a director of catering do?

A director of catering spearheads and oversees catering services and programs, from planning to execution. They usually lead the hiring and training procedures, establishing goals and timelines, managing budgets and controlling costs, setting protocols and guidelines, coordinating managers and teams, and negotiating with suppliers, building positive relationships in the process. They may also participate in developing marketing plans, meeting with clients to identify their needs and preferences, monitoring inventories, solving issues and concerns, and supervising catering services to ensure operations run smoothly and efficiently.

What does a catering sales manager do?

A catering sales manager is in charge of developing strategies to secure customers and establish a strong client base. Their responsibilities typically revolve around performing research and analysis to identify business opportunities, coordinating catering staff, liaising with potential clients, negotiating with suppliers and other external parties, and overseeing the sales performance of the company, producing progress reports and presentations as needed. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the team to reach goals, all while prioritizing customer satisfaction.

Director of catering vs catering sales manager salary

Directors of catering and catering sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director Of Catering	Catering Sales Manager
Average salary	$65,732	$53,086
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $98,000	Between $41,000 And $68,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	J.F. Shea Co	Columbia University in the City of New York
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Hospitality

Differences between director of catering and catering sales manager education

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

	Director Of Catering	Catering Sales Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Cornell University	University of Southern California

Director of catering vs catering sales manager demographics

Here are the differences between directors of catering' and catering sales managers' demographics:

	Director Of Catering	Catering Sales Manager
Average age	39	46
Gender ratio	Male, 35.3% Female, 64.7%	Male, 18.8% Female, 81.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 8.4% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	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%

Differences between director of catering and catering sales manager duties and responsibilities

Director of catering example responsibilities.

Manage and execute every aspect of the planning process, creating BEOs and managing banquet staff.
Prepare and manage BEOs to client specifications including auto-visual requirements.
Revamp BEO writing process with training.
Direct the catering, conference service and banquet departments for two five star, five diamond resorts and two country clubs.
Monitor daily activities to ensure quality food and cleanliness standards.
Foster a positive work/customer atmosphere by ensuring facility cleanliness and compliance with health department regulations.

Catering sales manager example responsibilities.

Leverage other sales office resources and administrative/support staff to achieve personal and team relate revenue goals.
Generate revenue, monitor booking pace and book repeat business while keeping quality consistently high.
Maintain efficient data activity in Delphi.
Maintain reports that evaluate revenue management performance including source of business, booking pace and geographical analysis.
Develop Delphi diagrams and other tools to efficiently organize key information, itemizing all resources and priorities for relevant departments.
Develop, negotiate, review and process all RFP s and sales contracts before final submission to corresponding spa location.

Director of catering vs catering sales manager skills

Common director of catering skills

Booking, 10%
Customer Service, 10%
Culinary, 10%
Event Planning, 8%
Food Preparation, 6%
Menu Planning, 5%

Common catering sales manager skills

Customer Service, 9%
Booking, 8%
Event Planning, 5%
Wine, 4%
Culinary, 3%
Audio Visual, 3%

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Director Of Catering
Director Of Catering vs Catering Sales Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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