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.
Director of sales responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of sales resumes:
- 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.
- Cloud base virtual interviewing techniques.
- Launch of IT/ cloud development program.
- Promote to RSD for recognition of constantly exceed monthly quota.
- Utilize coupon and other pharmacy initiatives to reduce cost to patients.
- Serve in the role of EVP of field sales and productivity.
- Train new RSD hires in region as needed- locally or in their markets
- Develop departmental policies and controls, KPI tracking reports and weekly quality audits.
- Analyze KPIs, sales trends data and position product for greatest exposure and utilization.
- Introduce KPIs for performance management and appraisals, providing robust feedback as part of career development strategies and employee engagement.
Director of sales skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of Directors Of Sales are proficient in Sales Process, Customer Service, and Customer Satisfaction. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Directors Of Sales that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Sales Process, 7%
Envisioned and spearheaded the implementation of a new sales process and methodology, increasing account penetration rates and dramatically elevating revenues.
- Customer Service, 7%
Promoted through multiple positions with increasing responsibility including Aerospace Contracts Manager, Aerospace Sales Manager, and Aerospace Sales/Customer Service Representative.
- Customer Satisfaction, 6%
Created customized packages and promotions to generate sales revenue, and successfully increased higher levels of repeat business and customer satisfaction.
- Sales Management, 6%
Key focus on channel sales management for enterprise customers and direct sales model to penetrate incumbent telecommunication operators in the region.
- Healthcare, 5%
Managed strategic initiatives focused mainly on brokers and HealthCare Reform.
- CRM, 4%
Maintain detailed sales and account information in corporate customer relationship management (CRM) system in support of cross-departmental business intelligence.
Most directors of sales use their skills in "sales process," "customer service," and "customer satisfaction" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential director of sales responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a director of sales to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "sales managers must collect and interpret complex data to target the most promising geographic areas and demographic groups, and determine the most effective sales strategies." Directors of sales often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "recruited, hired, trained, motivated, and analyzed the performance of a local direct sales team. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling director of sales duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "sales managers need to work with colleagues and customers, so they must be able to communicate clearly." According to a director of sales resume, here's how directors of sales can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "generated new accounts through direct sales of inmarsat land mobile and marine communications services. "
Customer-service skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of directors of sales is customer-service skills. This skill is critical to many everyday director of sales duties, as "when helping to make a sale, sales managers must listen and respond to the customer’s needs." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "support of outside direct sales personnel to tier 1 & 2 customers via on site presentations and lunch & learn forums. "
Leadership skills. director of sales responsibilities often require "leadership skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "sales managers must be able to evaluate how their sales staff performs and must develop strategies for meeting sales goals." This resume example shows what directors of sales do with leadership skills on a typical day: "provided strategic direction, development of business plans and leadership to sales territory team members to achieve sales objectives. "
The three companies that hire the most director of saless are:
- Cornerstone142 directors of sales jobs
- Rural King140 directors of sales jobs
- Oracle102 directors of sales jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable director of sales resume templates
Build a professional director of sales resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your director of sales resume.
Compare different directors of sales
Director of sales vs. Sales vice president
Sales vice presidents are top-level executives at a sales, retail, or marketing corporation. Primarily these executives are tasked to direct and lead a sales department or team within the organization. Their objective is to meet or even exceed the sales or marketing standards set for a successful business operation. They manage brands, deploy sales, and distribute the channels of the company. Also, they oversee the internal operations of the organization to establish customer relationships.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a director of sales are more likely to require skills like "salesforce," "sales strategies," "work ethic," and "home health." On the other hand, a job as a sales vice president requires skills like "sales strategy," "real estate," "strategic direction," and "americas." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Sales vice presidents tend to make the most money working in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $150,209. In contrast, directors of sales make the biggest average salary, $124,924, in the finance industry.sales vice presidents tend to reach similar levels of education than directors of sales. In fact, sales vice presidents are 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Director of sales vs. Business development director
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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, director of sales responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "sales management," "sales plan," "work ethic," and "sales targets." Meanwhile, a business development director has duties that require skills in areas such as "patients," "project management," "business relationships," and "market trends." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Business development directors may earn a higher salary than directors of sales, but business development directors earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $124,195. On the other hand, directors of sales receive higher pay in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $124,924.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Business development directors tend to reach higher levels of education than directors of sales. In fact, they're 6.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Directors of sales in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Doc McAlister Billingsley Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Elmira College
Director of sales vs. Regional sales vice president
A regional sales vice president is responsible for monitoring the sales performance of the whole sales team within the assigned region, conducting data analysis and market research, and adjusting sales goals and objectives as needed to meet client demands and public interest. Regional sales vice presidents coordinate with each sales team lead to identify business opportunities that would generate more resources for revenues and attract potential clients for business partnerships. A regional sales vice president also handles media relations for promoting brand image to the target audience within the budget limitations and timeframes.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, directors of sales are more likely to have skills like "customer service," "sales management," "salesforce," and "sales strategies." But a regional sales vice president is more likely to have skills like "regional sales," "sales strategy," "rvp," and "cloud computing."
Regional sales vice presidents earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $160,140. Comparatively, directors of sales have the highest earning potential in the finance industry, with an average salary of $124,924.When it comes to education, regional sales vice presidents tend to earn similar degree levels compared to directors of sales. In fact, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Director of sales vs. National sales director
A national sales director is responsible for monitoring the sales targets and performance of the sales force across the country's regions. National sales directors handle the execution and release of goods and services according to market trends and public demands. They strategize on related business opportunities to identify additional resources that would increase the company's revenue and profitability. A national sales director conducts data and statistical analysis to determine pricing techniques, considering the availability of supplies and its market demands.
Types of director of sales
Updated January 8, 2025
