Director of sales vs business development director

The differences between directors of sales and business development directors 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 sales, becoming a business development director takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a business development director has an average salary of $117,784, which is higher than the $111,068 average annual salary of a director of sales.

The top three skills for a director of sales include sales process, customer service and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a business development director are healthcare, CRM, and patients.

Director of sales vs business development director overview

	Director Of Sales	Business Development Director
Yearly salary	$111,068	$117,784
Hourly rate	$53.40	$56.63
Growth rate	5%	10%
Number of jobs	91,891	153,601
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	46	39
Years of experience	8	10

What does a director of sales do?

A sales director is responsible for managing the sales operation of the team, ensuring that members comply with the sales strategies and procedures in meeting sales goals. Sales directors' duties include maintaining consistency of sales targets, providing reports and important updates for sales improvement, managing customers' inquiries and resolving complaints, launching new services to expand product offers, researching the current market trends, and improving sales plans. A sales director must have excellent leadership and decision-making skills to support and acknowledge the team's best efforts.

What does a business development director do?

A business development director specializes in crafting plans and strategies to develop the relationship between the brand, clients, and other key characters in the industry. It is their responsibility to examine and understand everything about the brand and figure out which areas require improvement or changes. They must also conduct a thorough marketing analysis and remain updated on the latest trends in the market to identify new opportunities that would improve customer satisfaction. Furthermore, they must also communicate with all clients, even appear on public gatherings to strengthen brand awareness.

Director of sales vs business development director salary

Directors of sales and business development directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director Of Sales	Business Development Director
Average salary	$111,068	$117,784
Salary range	Between $73,000 And $168,000	Between $72,000 And $192,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New York	New Mexico
Best paying company	Mayo Clinic	alliantgroup
Best paying industry	Finance	Finance

Differences between director of sales and business development director education

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

	Director Of Sales	Business Development Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Georgia

Director of sales vs business development director demographics

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

	Director Of Sales	Business Development Director
Average age	46	39
Gender ratio	Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6%	Male, 72.3% Female, 27.7%
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, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	7%	10%

Differences between director of sales and business development director duties and responsibilities

Director of sales example responsibilities.

Lead the OEM business transformation.
Manage projects & action items for EVP.
Manage during periods of dynamic challenge and change relative to start-up, turnaround and revitalization situations.
Manage relationships with toll manufacturers and logistics providers to exceed cost reduction and inventory turn targets.
Cultivate and manage business relationships with wholesale distributors creating positive impact for newsstand product sell at retail.
Full responsibility for all sales activities for a start-up electronic commerce company managing electronic data flow in the healthcare industry.

Business development director example responsibilities.

Create and manage business development, government affairs and public relations initiatives to achieve growth objectives for this correctional healthcare company.
Achieve access to SVP level resulting in significant new business.
Manage network services, e-ticketing and packaging solutions, CRM solutions, message management, and e-provisioning/identity management/security solutions.
Lead centralized, electronic referral center coordinating post-acute service needs of patients discharging from multiple acute facilities in Arizona region.
Track all sales and marketing activities using a CRM program and analyze data to optimize business development approach and management
Collaborate with the marketing team to ensure laser focuse messages at all conferences and trade shows ensuring competitive logistics solution offerings.

Director of sales vs business development director skills

Common director of sales skills

Sales Process, 7%
Customer Service, 7%
Customer Satisfaction, 6%
Sales Management, 6%
Healthcare, 5%
CRM, 4%

Common business development director skills

Healthcare, 9%
CRM, 5%
Patients, 4%
Customer Relationships, 4%
Account Management, 4%
Project Management, 4%

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Director Of Sales
Director Of Sales vs Business Development Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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