General manager vs general sales manager

The differences between general managers and general sales managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a general manager, becoming a general sales manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a general sales manager has an average salary of $118,744, which is higher than the $71,581 average annual salary of a general manager.

The top three skills for a general manager include customer service, cleanliness and food safety. The most important skills for a general sales manager are customer service, dealership, and customer satisfaction.

General manager vs general sales manager overview

	General Manager	General Sales Manager
Yearly salary	$71,581	$118,744
Hourly rate	$34.41	$57.09
Growth rate	6%	5%
Number of jobs	442,690	196,210
Job satisfaction	4.25	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	44	46
Years of experience	6	8

What does a general manager do?

A general manager is responsible for handling the overall operations in the business. General managers manage the staff tasks efficiently, monitor the productivity and efficiency of the work environment, implement new strategies to improve the business performance, recognize the team's best efforts, and effective allocation of budget resources. A general manager must have excellent communication, decision-making, and critical-thinking skills to identify areas of improvement in handling customer complaints, connecting with vendors and other lines of businesses that will direct the company towards its successful objectives.

What does a general sales manager do?

General sales managers are responsible for monitoring the daily operation of the sales team and analyze marketing strategies to improve sales performance and generate more revenues. General sales managers develop strategic plans, adjust sales quotas as needed, identify business opportunities, research current market trends, and evaluate the annual budget. General sales managers also respond to the customers' inquiries and high-level complaints, providing immediate resolutions to ensure customer satisfaction. A general sales manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle the sales department, especially on sales techniques in reaching the business' profitability goals.

General manager vs general sales manager salary

General managers and general sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	General Manager	General Sales Manager
Average salary	$71,581	$118,744
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $126,000	Between $71,000 And $196,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Westport, CT
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Maine
Best paying company	NVIDIA	Meta
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Professional

Differences between general manager and general sales manager education

There are a few differences between a general manager and a general sales manager in terms of educational background:

	General Manager	General Sales Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Southern California

General manager vs general sales manager demographics

Here are the differences between general managers' and general sales managers' demographics:

	General Manager	General Sales Manager
Average age	44	46
Gender ratio	Male, 70.7% Female, 29.3%	Male, 85.5% Female, 14.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	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	10%	7%

Differences between general manager and general sales manager duties and responsibilities

General manager example responsibilities.

Generate positive EBITDA and improve cash flow by managing costs and inventory.
Manage all recruiting and training efforts, and develop systems to track ROI comparison results.
Work as a FOH AGM and train to manage all staff functions including training, hiring, food and labor controls.
Develop yearly budget for multiple hotels that include revenue, labor, fix and variable costs to achieve overall EBITDA goal.
Task primarily with building logistics infrastructure, managing operational expenses, and supporting start up strategies.
Train and manage FOH staff and improve overall quality, organization and professionalism of restaurant and bakery.

General sales manager example responsibilities.

Manage financial bookkeeping for the company using Quickbooks.
Manage hotel through complete interior/exterior renovation and flag change to IHG brand.
Develop new sales leads for group, LNR corporate, and leisure travel.
Manage all LNR and CRN rates in accordance with brand standards and hotel needs.
Manage front office, executing plans to increase occupancy and ADR through walk-ins, up-sells, and management of rate variance.
Manage all scheduling and payroll functions to maximize sales and productivity while meeting/exceeding company financial goals.

General manager vs general sales manager skills

Common general manager skills

Customer Service, 20%
Cleanliness, 18%
Food Safety, 7%
Guest Service, 4%
Payroll, 4%
Math, 4%

Common general sales manager skills

Customer Service, 15%
Dealership, 12%
Customer Satisfaction, 6%
Sales Management, 6%
Sales Process, 4%
Sales Training, 3%

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General Manager vs General Sales Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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