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Job outlook for general managers/director of sales in the United States
General manager/director of sales job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected general manager/director of sales job growth rate is 5% from 2018-2028.
About 23,800 new jobs for general managers/director of sales are projected over the next decade.
General manager/director of sales salaries have increased 12% for general managers/director of sales in the last 5 years.
There are over 8,464 general managers/director of sales currently employed in the United States.
There are 151,741 active general manager/director of sales job openings in the US.
The average general manager/director of sales salary is $73,998.
Are general manager/director of sales jobs in demand?
General manager/director of sales job and salary trends over time
General manager/director of sales jobs over time
General manager/director of sales job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 8,464 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 7,277 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 7,509 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 7,070 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 6,927 | 0.00% |
Average general manager/director of sales salary over time
General manager/director of sales salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $73,998 | $35.58 | +4.5% |
| 2024 | $70,838 | $34.06 | +1.9% |
| 2023 | $69,484 | $33.41 | +2.6% |
| 2022 | $67,716 | $32.56 | +2.6% |
| 2021 | $65,982 | $31.72 | +3.6% |
General manager/director of sales jobs by state
Most common states for general managers/director of sales
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 425 | 61% |
| 2 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 354 | 41% |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 2,120 | 31% |
| 4 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 948 | 31% |
| 5 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 319 | 30% |
| 6 | Delaware | 961,939 | 293 | 30% |
| 7 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 1,182 | 29% |
| 8 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 529 | 28% |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 3,211 | 25% |
| 10 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 339 | 25% |
| 11 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 184 | 24% |
| 12 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 726 | 23% |
| 13 | Arkansas | 3,004,279 | 695 | 23% |
| 14 | Vermont | 623,657 | 143 | 23% |
| 15 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 1,958 | 22% |
| 16 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,619 | 22% |
| 17 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 374 | 22% |
| 18 | California | 39,536,653 | 7,774 | 20% |
| 19 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 724 | 20% |
| 20 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 267 | 20% |
General Manager/Director Of Sales job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of general manager/director of sales experts
Texas Christian University
University of Maryland
Dr. Brandon Chicotsky
Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in Marketing at the TCU Neeley School of BusinessTexas Christian University
Specialized Sales, Merchandising And Marketing Operations
What skills stand out on General Manager/Director Of Sales resumes?
Dr. Brandon Chicotsky: Substantiated numbers such as sales pipeline efficiency, callbacks, meetings, and repeat purchasing are more important than listing responsibilities. Also, management-level personnel should have team growth numbers and coaching methodologies listed with substantiated returns from such efforts.
What soft skills should all General Managers/Director Of Sales possess?
Dr. Brandon Chicotsky: Ability to listen, humility, empathy toward clients, due diligence regarding pre-meeting research, authenticity (i.e., engaging personnel with honesty and with thoughts, words, and actions all aligning), and integrity with the client and within your firm.
What hard/technical skills are most important for General Managers/Director Of Sales?
Dr. Brandon Chicotsky: Sales enablement software, customer relationship management systems; customer analytics and social listening tools; and video playbooks are becoming increasingly important.
What skills will help General Managers/Director Of Sales earn the most?
Dr. Brandon Chicotsky: Research about the client and strategic questions (with active listening) to understand a client's needs and opportunities will help a sales professional determine if there is value alignment, which leads to more efficient and remunerative outcomes.
Roland Rust Ph.D.
Distinguished University Professor, David Bruce Smith Chair in Marketing, Executive Director, Center for Excellence in Service, Ph.D., Business Administration, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill MarketingUniversity of Maryland
Robert H. Smith School of Business
What skills stand out on General Manager/Director Of Sales resumes?
Roland Rust Ph.D.: One might think that a stellar sales record would be most important, but that would be most relevant only if the individual has prior sales manager experience. If promoting a salesperson to sales manager, the thing that may be missing is administrative and managerial skills. In addition, we are in a technological revolution, driven by AI, which means that prior knowledge and experience with AI-related analysis would also definitely stand out (although probably hard to find).
What soft skills should all General Managers/Director Of Sales possess?
Roland Rust Ph.D.: We consider empathy the most important soft skill (see our 2021 book, "The Feeling Economy: How Artificial Intelligence Is Creating the Era of Empathy," authored with Ming-Hui Huang). This is central for both sales managers and salespeople. The sales manager can best manage a salesperson by being able to understand their emotions. Different salespeople require different approaches. Likewise, salespeople need to relate to the customer's feelings. In addition, because so much of business is now digital, and we're in a pandemic of unknown duration, skills on media such as Zoom are more important than ever, as is the capability of texting and other modes of electronic communication.
What hard/technical skills are most important for General Managers/Director Of Sales?
Roland Rust Ph.D.: Artificial intelligence is taking over many thinking tasks throughout the economy (see our recent book). Few salespeople or sales managers are AI experts, but at least they need to be aware of the state-of-the-art in that field, enough to know how best to manage human-AI teams. In the sales context, this generally means using AI in the "backroom" and using people for customer contact, although AI salespeople (e.g., chatbots) are becoming more widespread.
What skills will help General Managers/Director Of Sales earn the most?
Roland Rust Ph.D.: My co-author, Ming-Hui Huang, and I conducted a research study about the "Feeling Economy" published in the California Management Review in 2019. In that study, which tested our predictions about the impact of AI, we investigated US government data to determine which skills are paying more over time. Interestingly, and across various industries, we found that soft skills were increasing in pay the fastest. This makes sense because as AI takes over more thinking tasks, humans will need to focus more on feeling tasks. With sales and sales management being among the most people-oriented jobs that exist, those choosing this career direction are doing the right thing!