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Director of client development vs sales development manager

The differences between directors of client development and sales development managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a director of client development, becoming a sales development manager takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a sales development manager has an average salary of $102,790, which is higher than the $87,570 average annual salary of a director of client development.

The top three skills for a director of client development include client facing, digital marketing and client relationships. The most important skills for a sales development manager are SDR, salesforce, and customer service.

Director of client development vs sales development manager overview

Director Of Client DevelopmentSales Development Manager
Yearly salary$87,570$102,790
Hourly rate$42.10$49.42
Growth rate5%7%
Number of jobs124,777171,101
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age4645
Years of experience84

What does a director of client development do?

A director of client development is a management executive who is responsible for managing business development managers to provide customer service to clients. This director is required to identify and secure business opportunities to support new revenue growth for the organization. The director must develop sales strategies for new account prospects and secure profitable new business by managing marketing activities, performing competitive analysis, and conducting client meetings. This director must also meet with the organization's chief operations officer to review their sales efforts and build territory business plans.

What does a sales development manager do?

Sales Development Managers oversee a specific function in the sales department. They are in charge of creating sales pitches, communication tools, and strategies to boost the company's sales performance. They may be assigned to do these activities for a specific product or service or for the whole product line of the organization. Sales Development Managers are also expected to create branding images that will help their sales strategies. They are required to fully understand the company's history, image, and target market. This will ensure that the branding and sales strategies they create are in line with the company's values.

Director of client development vs sales development manager salary

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

Director Of Client DevelopmentSales Development Manager
Average salary$87,570$102,790
Salary rangeBetween $60,000 And $125,000Between $66,000 And $157,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew Hampshire
Best paying companyShearman & SterlingEveryday Health
Best paying industryFinanceManufacturing

Differences between director of client development and sales development manager education

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

Director Of Client DevelopmentSales Development Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaNorthwestern University

Director of client development vs sales development manager demographics

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

Director Of Client DevelopmentSales Development Manager
Average age4645
Gender ratioMale, 60.5% Female, 39.5%Male, 67.8% Female, 32.2%
Race ratioBlack 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, 10.4% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 4.4% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage7%18%

Differences between director of client development and sales development manager duties and responsibilities

Director of client development example responsibilities.

  • Lead centralized, electronic referral center coordinating post-acute service needs of patients discharging from multiple acute facilities in Arizona region.
  • Direct and secure all new business - from prospecting and cultivating relationships through RFP development and contract negotiations.
  • Full service marketing company with an emphasis on client's ROI for advertising.
  • Create proposals, presentations and RFP's to upper management base on specific needs and budgetary constraints.
  • Collaborate with senior leadership team on strategy to improve win rate, ROI and other growth goals.
  • Implement a CRM approach with focus on account profiling, tactical and strategic planning and elevating levels of relationship selling.
  • Show more

Sales development manager example responsibilities.

  • Create the communication of leads into the sales CRM to be follow up on by the inside sales force.
  • Develop and manage customized patient education programs for nationwide distribution through healthcare nonprofit associations by securing third-party pharmaceutical sponsorship.
  • Conduct healthcare need assessments for prospective assist living residents.
  • Maintain CRM customer database for assign and newly develop customers.
  • Generate week-over-week sales snapshots for management that identify actionable insights to improve market share in territory.
  • Create ad sales materials for lifestyle category editorial content packages as well as determined optimal pricing models to maximize revenue earnings.
  • Show more

Director of client development vs sales development manager skills

Common director of client development skills
  • Client Facing, 10%
  • Digital Marketing, 9%
  • Client Relationships, 9%
  • Account Management, 7%
  • Salesforce, 5%
  • Java, 5%
Common sales development manager skills
  • SDR, 9%
  • Salesforce, 7%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • CRM, 5%
  • Sales Process, 5%
  • Business Development, 5%

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