Director of retail sales vs head of sales

The differences between directors of retail sales and heads of sales 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 of retail sales and a head of sales. Additionally, a head of sales has an average salary of $166,100, which is higher than the $36,773 average annual salary of a director of retail sales.

The top three skills for a director of retail sales include customer satisfaction, product line and retail sales. The most important skills for a head of sales are CRM, sales strategy, and sales organization.

Director of retail sales vs head of sales overview

	Director Of Retail Sales	Head Of Sales
Yearly salary	$36,773	$166,100
Hourly rate	$17.68	$79.86
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	180,640	112,592
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	8	8

What does a director of retail sales do?

A director of retail sales is in charge of spearheading and overseeing retail sales operations, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. They are primarily responsible for setting goals and objectives, supervising product roadmaps, managing budgets, coordinating managers and different departments, and making decisions in adherence to the company's needs. They must also monitor the progress of sales, implementing solutions in problem areas. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage the employees to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

What does a head of sales do?

The head of sales is primarily responsible for overseeing the sales performance of a company and devising strategies to optimize practices. Their responsibilities typically revolve around monitoring the progress of every sales effort, setting objectives and deadlines, performing research and analysis to identify sales opportunities, and coordinating with different departments to improve procedures and reach sales targets. Furthermore, as the head of sales, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.

Director of retail sales vs head of sales salary

Directors of retail sales and heads of sales have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director Of Retail Sales	Head Of Sales
Average salary	$36,773	$166,100
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $62,000	Between $110,000 And $248,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Portland, OR
Highest paying state	California	Vermont
Best paying company	BlackRock	Flexport
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Technology

Differences between director of retail sales and head of sales education

There are a few differences between a director of retail sales and a head of sales in terms of educational background:

	Director Of Retail Sales	Head Of Sales
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Director of retail sales vs head of sales demographics

Here are the differences between directors of retail sales' and heads of sales' demographics:

	Director Of Retail Sales	Head Of Sales
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 65.1% Female, 34.9%	Male, 66.5% Female, 33.5%
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%

Differences between director of retail sales and head of sales duties and responsibilities

Director of retail sales example responsibilities.

Manage initial contact, negotiation and administration of all OEM programs.
Manage a staff of 2 OEM account managers and 3 national account managers.
Monitor and manage all KPI's driving DTC business including taster count, bottles per visitor, conversion rates and attrition.
Manage multi-million dollar advertising budgets and strategically book vehiclesgarnering optimal visibility and ROI.
Full responsibility for all sales activities for a start-up electronic commerce company managing electronic data flow in the healthcare industry.
Visit and train in store sales staff on new products, sales reports, POS placement and customer service.

Head of sales example responsibilities.

Coordinate social media work (Facebook, apps, and social post within the managed brands).
Create, and manage social media initiatives.including facebook, twitter, instagram, pinterest, and youtube.3.
Full responsibility for all sales activities for a start-up electronic commerce company managing electronic data flow in the healthcare industry.
Establish the group sales strategy, group ceiling, and booking calendar for groups.
Initiate and execute a customer service development program, CRM implementation and adoption.
Advance c-level and senior relationships with brand, agency, networks and publishers.

Director of retail sales vs head of sales skills

Common director of retail sales skills

Customer Satisfaction, 11%
Product Line, 8%
Retail Sales, 6%
CRM, 6%
POS, 5%
Market Research, 5%

Common head of sales skills

CRM, 8%
Sales Strategy, 7%
Sales Organization, 5%
Product Knowledge, 5%
Business Development, 5%
Sales Operations, 5%

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Director Of Retail Sales
Director Of Retail Sales vs Head Of Sales

Updated January 8, 2025

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