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Job outlook for international sales managers in the United States
International sales manager job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected international sales manager job growth rate is 5% from 2018-2028.
About 23,800 new jobs for international sales managers are projected over the next decade.
International sales manager salaries have increased 12% for international sales managers in the last 5 years.
There are over 73,385 international sales managers currently employed in the United States.
There are 97,905 active international sales manager job openings in the US.
The average international sales manager salary is $71,128.
Are international sales manager jobs in demand?
International sales manager job and salary trends over time
International sales manager jobs over time
International sales manager job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 73,385 | 0.02% |
| 2020 | 63,870 | 0.02% |
| 2019 | 65,521 | 0.02% |
| 2018 | 61,491 | 0.02% |
| 2017 | 59,830 | 0.02% |
Average international sales manager salary over time
International sales manager salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $71,128 | $34.20 | +4.5% |
| 2025 | $68,091 | $32.74 | +1.9% |
| 2024 | $66,789 | $32.11 | +2.6% |
| 2023 | $65,090 | $31.29 | +2.6% |
| 2022 | $63,424 | $30.49 | +3.6% |
International sales manager jobs by state
Most common states for international sales managers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 338 | 49% |
| 2 | Delaware | 961,939 | 169 | 18% |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,196 | 17% |
| 4 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 1,877 | 15% |
| 5 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 815 | 15% |
| 6 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 614 | 15% |
| 7 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 461 | 15% |
| 8 | Vermont | 623,657 | 91 | 15% |
| 9 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 503 | 14% |
| 10 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 1,313 | 13% |
| 11 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,060 | 13% |
| 12 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 718 | 13% |
| 13 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 170 | 13% |
| 14 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 134 | 13% |
| 15 | California | 39,536,653 | 4,682 | 12% |
| 16 | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 1,209 | 12% |
| 17 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 899 | 12% |
| 18 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 808 | 12% |
| 19 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 201 | 12% |
| 20 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 90 | 12% |
Most common cities for international sales managers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Herndon | 1 | 4% | $86,094 |
| 2 | Boston | 3 | 0% | $81,506 |
| 3 | Saint Paul | 1 | 0% | $67,287 |
| 4 | Tampa | 1 | 0% | $54,635 |
International Sales Manager job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of international sales manager experts
Georgia State University
Drexel University
Utah State University
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University
Wayne State University
University of Maryland
University of Saint Mary
Baylor University
Clarion University of Pennsylvania
Augsburg University
Northeastern University
Longwood University
Aquinas College
Montana State University
Michigan State University
Upper Iowa University
Fordham University
What general advice would you give to an International Sales Manager?
Andrew Spicer: Resiliency is a particularly important skill for international business and career progression. Resiliency – the ability to recover quickly in the face of obstacles and failures – has always been a critical part of successful international assignments. The only constant of working abroad is that there will be miscommunication and mistakes. Successful international business careers depend on the ability to learn from these inevitable setbacks to improve over time. The constant change in the global business environment also leads to the demand for resiliency among international business specialists. An important role for those with a global mindset is to help companies adapt to the massive disruption to the global business environment for international trade and investment presently taking place across the world.
What International Sales Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Andrew Spicer: If you know another language and have deep knowledge of foreign markets, then a good strategy is to deliberately seek out multinational companies that would value these international capabilities. This returns to advice to seek out companies with a strong international presence and an interest in hiring and fostering international expertise.
What will help International Sales Managers increase their earning potential?
Andrew Spicer: My first piece of advice for a graduating college student who wishes to pursue a career in international business is to ask lots of questions about the potential for international assignments before accepting a job. Does the company send people abroad for work assignments? For how long? To which places? How do international assignments fit into long-term career progression in the company? Besides talking to the company recruiter, I would also advise to talk directly to people who have already completed an international assignment with the company.
What will help International Sales Managers increase their earning potential?
Salomao De Farias: Likes: IB analysts often see a direct impact of their work on company decisions and strategy, which can be highly satisfying. IB roles offer varied problems to solve, which can make every day interesting and intellectually stimulating. Working with international markets offers exposure to different cultures and business practices, enhancing personal and professional growth. Travelling internationally, getting to know different countries, cities and cultures around the globe. Dislikes: I wouldn’t call dislikes, rather challenges. I will start pointing that the stakes are high, as incorrect analysis could lead to poor strategic decisions. This pressure can be stressful. Also, navigating various international regulations, economic conditions, and cultural nuances can be daunting and complex. Depending on the markets covered, working hours might be irregular to overlap with different time zones.
Parfait Kouassi PhD.
Associate Teaching ProfessorDrexel University
Bilingual, Multilingual, And Multicultural Education
What general advice would you give to an International Sales Manager?
Parfait Kouassi PhD.: In the next 3-5 years, bilingual and multicultural skills will likely become as indispensable as having access to transportation. Just as individuals without access to a personal vehicle can rely on public transit or ridesharing services, those lacking multilingual abilities will find themselves at a severe disadvantage in their careers. The world is becoming increasingly interconnected, and the ability to communicate across languages and navigate different cultural contexts will be essential for professional growth, success, and mobility.
What International Sales Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Parfait Kouassi PhD.: Maximizing your salary potential when starting your career with multilingual and multicultural skills requires a strategic approach. While some companies offer language incentives, the true value of these skills extends far beyond financial compensation. Multilingual and multicultural individuals enjoy a wealth of social fulfillment by fostering connections, building bridges, and gaining deeper insights into diverse perspectives and ways of life. If you want to maximize your financial gain and your chosen field does not directly reward language proficiency, you should be aware that numerous opportunities exist across various industries that actively seek out and compensate individuals with your unique skill set. Fields such as international business, diplomacy, education, healthcare, and tourism highly value bilingual and multicultural individuals for their ability to facilitate communication, build bridges, and drive innovation in diverse contexts.
What will help International Sales Managers increase their earning potential?
Parfait Kouassi PhD.: My advice would be to embrace these valuable competencies as a competitive edge. Research shows that individuals with multilingual and multicultural backgrounds possess enhanced cognitive abilities, including improved working memory and mental flexibility for solving problems in innovative ways. They should actively seek out opportunities that allow them to leverage these unique strengths and pursue their passions while making meaningful contributions to their chosen field.
What International Sales Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Barbara Ribbens: Specific IB skills that are increasing in importance are cultural intelligence, being able to deal with complexity in problem solving, and adaptability/flexibility to work in different situations and settings. As the world globalizes, more people will need the ability to work with peers and on teams that are diverse culturally in effective ways. This is a real strength of IB majors since they take language and international general education courses to broaden their thinking and then also do cross cultural courses and study abroad to develop their cultural communication and leadership skills.
What will help International Sales Managers increase their earning potential?
Barbara Ribbens: Developing your poise and experience through college activities is essential beyond doing well in classes. Getting involved in student organizations, doing case competition teams, getting involved in consulting projects and taking on leadership roles are all good examples of ways to develop your skills. Doing a study abroad and an internship are both important steps to being ready to negotiate a good salary for that first job. Being able to clearly communicate your goals and how your experiences have prepared you for your career is key to successfully negotiating that first job and starting your career with a job that pays well and offers development opportunities.
Brent Allred
Professor of International Business and Strategic ManagementUtah State University
Marketing
What general advice would you give to an International Sales Manager?
Brent Allred: As noted above, for international business careers and job opportunities, understanding how the global marketplace works is critical. This is necessary at the macro and micro levels. You need to understand key global trends, but also factors that influence specific countries and even subsegments within those countries. The critical skills of Accounting, Finance, Marketing, and Operations will continue to be important. The rise of AI is changing the way I am teaching my International Business and International Marketing courses because it is changing the way business is done. I still need my students to gain the skills and understand how to conduct critical analyses for international business decisions, but AI will significantly change and improve the quality of the information and analyses. It must also be validated and not be taken without some skepticism. The students need to learn how to harness AI and add value from it in ways that it cannot provide. Otherwise, they are not going to be needed.
What International Sales Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Brent Allred: I get this question often from my students that wish to have international careers and job opportunities. One of the reasons we suspended our International Business (IB) major was that we found that not a single company was coming to campus to specifically recruit students with IB degrees. At the undergraduate level, companies are more focused hiring students with function skills from degrees like Accounting, Finance, Operations, Marketing, Data Analytics, etc. Few companies are looking for fresh undergraduates to come advise in creating and implementing high level international strategies. Instead, they look to those in the company and industry that have extensive experience. Due to the expense of sending employees abroad, fresh undergraduates are also not the prime candidates for international assignments. While Executive Ex-patriot assignments are declining (due to expense and the increased availability of local national talent), companies that wish to have employees acquire international experience are sending more mid-level managers for international assignments. This allows them to send high potential employees that have developed the understanding and talent of the company/industry/specific field to enhance their value to the company with international experience. So, the advice that I give my students is to first focus on the functional business degree that interests them most and complement this with an International Business Minor or our new Certificate. They should then seek out companies that have a global reach and provide international opportunities to employees. Once on the job, excel at that job, while also seeking out opportunities that will expose them to global projects and managers that can result in international opportunities.
What will help International Sales Managers increase their earning potential?
Brent Allred: As stated above, I feel that students should focus first on establishing a solid job/career within a company, typically an American company for US students. International assignments and experience within a company will only enhance your value. Pursuing international jobs directly in countries that pay as locals is not a recommended path for maximizing salary. It could be a good path for gaining experience, but many countries do not pay as well as the US and the cost of living may be high. I led a student experience to London this past March and while the students came away with a sense that they could pursue jobs there, they also learned that they would not be paid as well in a very expensive city. A colleague of mine taught at the London Business School and told me that his salary paid for rent and his consulting paid for food. It is wonderful to live and work in places like London for a couple of years, but that may not help you get ahead financially. On the other hand, the experience may prove invaluable for a career and future opportunities. It should also help make you a better global citizen, which may be the most important thing to be.
Ken Corbit Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in MarketingTexas Christian University
Specialized Sales, Merchandising And Marketing Operations
What general advice would you give to an International Sales Manager?
Ken Corbit Ph.D.: Strategic
Company Selection:
Focus on joining companies with robust sales training programs, emphasizing consultative selling. Look for organizations that invest in your development, providing live calling experiences, quota-driven sales processes, and exposure to tools like Salesforce.
Tech
Proficiency and Sales Tools Mastery:
Familiarize yourself with cutting-edge sales technologies, including CRM tools like Salesforce. Your proficiency in these tools will not only streamline your sales processes but also position you as a tech-savvy professional in the competitive sales landscape.
Hands-On
Experience:
Actively engage in live calling, take ownership of sales funnels, and work with senior hiring authorities during your training. This hands-on experience will not only build your confidence but also prepare you for the challenges of consultative selling.
Research
and Decision-Making Skills:
Develop strong research skills to evaluate companies based on fit, growth opportunities, compensation structures, and overall potential. This informed decision-making approach will set you apart and empower you to navigate the sales landscape strategically.
Mentorship
and Networking:
Seek mentorship both within and outside your organization. Building relationships with mentors who invest in your sales skills and knowledge will provide valuable insights. Additionally, actively participate in online forums to connect with practical sales
knowledge and best practices.
What International Sales Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Ken Corbit Ph.D.: AI-Integrated Consultative Selling: Recognize the evolving role of AI in sales. Embrace AI tools that enhance your pre-call preparation, role-playing, agenda setting, and call talk track development. Stay ahead by incorporating AI into your sales strategies to deliver personalized and efficient client engagements.
What will help International Sales Managers increase their earning potential?
Ken Corbit Ph.D.: Holistic
Knowledge Mastery:
Become an expert in your industry, staying abreast of market trends, and thoroughly understanding the products/services you sell. This comprehensive knowledge will empower you to provide exceptional value, resulting in higher sales success and increased client
retention.
Strategic
Question-Based Selling:
Master the art of question-based selling. Use insightful questions to uncover client needs, address pain points, and tailor your approach. This strategic skill will not only boost initial sales but also contribute to secondary sales and long-term client satisfaction.
Compensation
Structure Expertise:
Understand your organization's compensation structure thoroughly. This includes baseline compensation, commission and bonus plans, and additional benefits. This knowledge allows you to set realistic targets, maximize your earnings, and take full advantage
of uncapped commission structures.
Consistent
Target Achievement:
Consistently meet or exceed targets and quotas to demonstrate your value. This not only enhances your immediate success but also positions you for continuous earning potential, especially in roles with uncapped commissions.
Negotiation
and Value Recognition:
Develop negotiation skills to ensure you are compensated appropriately. Recognize your worth and, when appropriate, discuss compensation adjustments or additional benefits with your employer. A proactive approach to recognizing and articulating your value
contributes to your overall salary potential.
In a rapidly evolving sales landscape, continuous learning, tech adaptability, and proactive career management are fundamental for achieving sustained success in consultative sales.
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 will help International Sales Managers 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.
Attila Yaprak Ph.D.
Professor of Marketing and International Business, Director, Doctoral ProgramsWayne State University
Mike Ilitch School of Business
What skills stand out on International Sales Manager resumes?
Attila Yaprak Ph.D.: Experience abroad; depth and breadth of experience in the person's experience portfolio; evidence of cognitive sharpness.
What soft skills should all International Sales Managers possess?
Attila Yaprak Ph.D.: Humility, tolerance, appreciation for diversity, empathy, cultural adaptability.
What hard/technical skills are most important for International Sales Managers?
Attila Yaprak Ph.D.: Functional area knowledge, i.e., in (international) marketing, finance, strategic management, etc.; world area knowledge, i.e., expertise in West Africa and digital facilities.
What skills will help International Sales Managers earn the most?
Attila Yaprak Ph.D.: Portfolio of the above three with different weights depending on context.
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 International Sales Manager 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 International Sales Managers 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 skills will help International Sales Managers 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!
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Director of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs, Coordinator of All-University Honors ProgramUniversity of Saint Mary
Division of Business and Information Technologies (DBiT)
What soft skills should all International Sales Managers possess?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: First, critical and creative thinking. Employers value problem solvers. A Business Development Managers' problem usually is finding growth opportunities. Candidates need to learn to take the initiative to figure out how to solve problems like those.
Second, writing. The best employees know how to communicate in writing. More and more communication occurs through email and other forms of social media and apps, and as such, this skill is absolutely critical. You don't need to be a creative writing genius, but you do need to know how to write in a professional tone, present your ideas in an organized way, get to the point, and avoid errors. There is a direct line between a student's ability to write an academic essay with a clear thesis and an employee's ability to write a good email or proposal. If you can't do those things, then you risk embarrassment and possibly limited options for promotion.
Third, speaking. The American business world discriminates against introverts-sometimes at their own peril. Everyone needs to know how to give a quality speech, but more importantly, you need to sound confident and assertive in a board room during meetings. You need to be confident in front of clients. Fake it if you have to. The way you present yourself is absolutely critical.
Fourth, social skills. You need to be friendly. Get to know co-workers and clients. Find out what they like and show an interest. Find common ground. Your undergraduate degree hopefully exposed you to a wide diversity of topics you may have thought were irrelevant at some point. Now is the time to remember that stuff and use it to connect with people. Nearly everything you learned will have some application someday. It will help you connect with others. In addition, put away your cell phone when you are at work or on social occasions. To some people, a preoccupation with a cell phone communicates a lack of interest in the person you are with. It can alienate bosses, co-workers, and clients.
What skills stand out on International Sales Manager resumes?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: Resumes are hard. It is very difficult to predict what any employer is looking for on any resume. The "skills" section of a resume is probably not the first thing most employers are looking at. The first consideration is probably education. Those with a bachelor's degree will be sorted first in fields-such as those who have business degrees, or particularly sales and marketing majors. Those with MBAs will be placed on the top. Those who have MBAs and marketing concentrations will likely be valued the most. The second consideration would probably be experience. Someone with several years of experience in business development or sales and marketing will be moved to the top. Someone with a bachelor's degree who has a lot of experience might beat out a fresh MBA. However, MBA plus experience beats almost everything. Someone with an MBA going for an entry-level position with little experience needed will likely beat out all bachelor challengers. For new graduates, getting some kind of internship in sales and marketing can differentiate them from those who do not.
Most hiring managers will probably assume that somebody who has sales and marketing education and/or experience probably has the skills necessary to do the job. An interviewer may probe on specific skills. I'll comment more specifically on other kinds of skills below, but it's also fair to say that a candidate's soft skills should shine in the interview. Simply saying that you have certain skills on a resume doesn't mean that you actually have them.
I think that the best thing a candidate can do is to research the company they hope to work for and tailor their resume to that employer. What does the business do? What kinds of things do you think that development manager is going to do in that particular industry? How do your skills as a candidate match what you guess they're looking for? The more you customize your resume, the better chances you have of resonating with the company. Employers are impressed when you already know something about the job and the industry.
Andrea Dixon Ph.D.
Executive Director, Center for Professional Selling, Frank and Floy Smith Holloway Endowed Professorship in Marketing, President, University Sales Center Alliance 2019-2021Baylor University
Hankamer School of Business
What skills stand out on International Sales Manager resumes?
Andrea Dixon Ph.D.: Like salespeople, sales managers must focus their resumes on tangible, objective performance results that are achieved by their teams.
Growth in revenue or quota attainment for the overall team are examples of the types of objective performance results that matter.
High-performing sales managers also highlight long-term performance indicators, which includes both long-term revenue growth by the unit
AND investment metrics that signal the sales manager is building company results for the long run. For example, a high-performance sales manager focuses on building and maintaining a high-performing unit. Such a manager looks to move low performers to other roles where they can be successful.
Another investment metric that a sales manager can signal is the percent of their unit promoted to managerial roles in the organization.
What soft skills should all International Sales Managers possess?
Andrea Dixon Ph.D.: Since sales professionals have a lot of information available to them today via customer relationship management (CRM) systems, the sales manager's "supervisory" role is less important (especially for experienced sellers). Consequently, the sales manager needs to be more of a coach and enabler of high performance. Having confidence balanced with humility allows the sales manager to engage more effectively with their salespeople.
One of the critical soft skills for sales managers going forward will be the ability to connect members of the sales team to others in the organization - in other words, the sales manager of the future needs to have strong skills in network building for others. Sellers have access to data which helps them build success.
They also need access to the right people to turn to when they need specific expertise or assistance.
What hard/technical skills are most important for International Sales Managers?
Andrea Dixon Ph.D.: One of the growing technical skill requirements for sales managers is in the area of data analytics. Our performance and customer systems provide a myriad of data, and the role of the sales manager is to be a sense-maker of that mound of data. What are the implications for changes in strategy or behavior evident in last quarter's activity? How can the sales manager help a specific seller "see" where the data suggest new approaches?
What skills will help International Sales Managers earn the most?
Andrea Dixon Ph.D.: People who can recognize patterns (in data, in people), build connections with and across others, create a focus on high-performance behaviors, and lead with a confident humility are those who will win today and in the future business environment.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the International Sales Manager job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Miguel Olivas-Luján Ph.D.: As the economy "reopens" (thanks to appeased fears of contagion driven by vaccination, herd immunity, people worn out by the lockdowns, warmer weather, etc.), we should see workforce adjustments across industries and occupations. Already in March, unemployment was returning to 6% (from a high of 14.8% in April 2020, but after a low of 3.5 in February 2020; https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000). Barring unexpected resistance in the virus variants or other influences, the summer and fall months should give us better job market numbers, but this recovery seems to be benefitting some population segments more than others. The unemployed rate for teenagers was at 13%, followed by Blacks (9.6%), Hispanics (7.9%), Asians (6%), adult men (5.8%), and adult women (5.7%; more detail is available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm).
George Dierberger
MBA Director, Associate ProfessorAugsburg University
Business Administration
What general advice would you give to an International Sales Manager?
George Dierberger: Early on, it is all about getting international experience. Once you have completed 3-5 years then you can look at maximizing your earning potential and becoming an expert in a certain field like medical devices. I believe it is really important to become a subject expert in a given field like medical devices; that will create plenty of opportunities with high returns on investment.
What International Sales Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
George Dierberger: Being fluent in multiple languages (written and oral); excel skills; having the experience of living abroad for a semester.
What will help International Sales Managers increase their earning potential?
George Dierberger: Some early advice is to get an internship while you are in school in a multinational company. Secondly, given recent graduates inexperienced, they may want to get an entry-level position in a large corporation and network their way to the international division. Rarely will a company take a recent graduate and plug them into the complex world of international business. Being bilingual will open some doors right away.
What general advice would you give to an International Sales Manager?
Ravi Sarathy Ph.D.: Around 75% of the global market lies outside the US, so firms that want to grow sales need to understand and market to foreign customers. Similarly, with the restructuring of supply chains formerly concentrated in China, firms need to analyze alternative sources of supply in other counties such as India, Brazil, Mexico, Kenya, Morocco and elsewhere, find and qualify suppliers, and negotiate supply contracts with them, taking into account transportation and logistics, customs duties, economic and political stability, and so forth. Students who graduate with an understanding of how IB affects a business based in the US will be able to offer additional analytical and decision-making skills which will be helpful to their potential employers. In a complex technological world, firms will often seek overseas alliance and joint venture partners, and new recruits who have an understanding of and can help manage economic, political and cultural differences will be invaluable.
What International Sales Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Ravi Sarathy Ph.D.: I am unaware of such a position - International Business Analyst. IB is intertwined with most business functions in companies that do international manufacturing or marketing, conduct R&D; with overseas partners, acquire human resource talent from outside the US or depend on global supply chains. Thus, students who work in one of the functional disciplines mentioned above, as well as in support functions, such as Finance or Accounting, will need to have some understanding of how IB affects their responsibilities and assignments. For example, firms marketing overseas will need to understand currency fluctuations, hedge receivables and payables, adjust pricing in local currencies and assess longer-term trends in currency fluctuations in making foreign investment and foreign borrowing decisions.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for International Sales Managers to find work opportunities?
Dr. David Lehr: Most job growth will continue to be in urban centers and the surrounding suburbs. Rural areas will continue to struggle (remote work notwithstanding).
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the International Sales Manager job market given the pandemic?
Dr. David Lehr: A premium on flexibility and having a variety of skillsets. Continued weakness across the board in labor markets.
What skills stand out on International Sales Manager resumes?
Dr. David Lehr: Information flow skills, particularly surrounding data analytics.
Kerri Orders
Assistant Professor of BusinessAquinas College
Business Administration Department
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the International Sales Manager job market given the pandemic?
Kerri Orders: In 2020, companies of all sizes rapidly changed the way they were organized and conducted business daily, both internally and externally, with customers and suppliers. COVID has accelerated the potential and opportunity for remote work, both domestically and within the international business environment. Consequently, the future trends for international business will be a decrease in business travel and an increase in collaboration and communication via remote modalities. Many companies have now realized the ability for employees to conduct international business via remote networks, which are both effective and economically efficient. Increasingly, employers are looking for candidates with a global mindset, a culturally diverse range of experiences, and a broad skill set. In addition, employers will expect candidates to have a high level of technical and communication skills in order to thrive and have a shorter learning curve at the entry level. It is important for students entering the job market to highlight and promote their specific skills and value added to a potential employer.
What International Sales Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Kerri Orders: In terms of a gap year, I recommend that international business students acquire tangible skills, relevant experience and/or certifications which will enhance their success in their desired area of interest. For example, a gap year could consist of gaining technical or digital training overseas, which would also further the students' cultural intelligence and language proficiency. These types of enriching gap year experiences will assist students to distinguish themselves in a highly competitive market. Furthermore, students should focus on broadening and maintaining their global network during a gap year in order to be ready for the job market once the gap year is concluded.
What general advice would you give to an International Sales Manager?
Kerri Orders: There is more than one path to any given career, therefore students will benefit from being curious, creative, and collaborative as they embark upon their international business careers. More than ever, employers will be looking for students who are adaptable, flexible, and proactive. In this tighter job market, students should be more open-minded about opportunities and willing to work in a range of sectors and different sizes of companies. The pandemic has impacted businesses around the world, so this advice will apply to graduates from all regions of the world.
What skills stand out on International Sales Manager resumes?
Dr. Angela Woodland Ph.D.: Skills that are immediately useful stand out on resumes. Right now, data analytics skills are in hot demand. A desirable job candidate should be able to import large data sets in various formats, clean data, manipulate data, interrogate data, and draw conclusions from the data. Additionally, the job candidate should be able to prepare informative and easy-to-follow data visualizations of the results. This skill set allows a job candidate to be immediately useful in an organization. It is the new way of analyzing and communicating.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for International Sales Managers to find work opportunities?
Dr. Angela Woodland Ph.D.: There are pockets of opportunity in most communities. The savvy student will meet and make connections with local businesses through internships, student clubs, guest lectures, and other college events. With a little effort, students can learn to speak the vernacular of local industries and tailor their resumes and skill sets accordingly.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the International Sales Manager job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Angela Woodland Ph.D.: There is still work that needs to be done. Those jobs that are necessary for the economy to continue and for the protection and service of the public will continue to need willing and able employees. The field I know most about is accounting. Publicly-traded companies are required to have audits of their financial statements. This is for the protection of all who use financial statements to make investing decisions. Think about your retirement savings plans, 401(k) plans, etc. So, every year there is a need to hire students who are ready to take the CPA exam and ready to become auditors. The same goes for students who are trained and ready to prepare income tax returns for corporations and individuals. Pandemic or no pandemic, we still need accountants. In fact, we now need accountants who are prepared to make certain that loans and grants related to pandemic relief have been used for their intended purposes and have been distributed appropriately.
Wyatt Schrock Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of MarketingMichigan State University
Broad College of Business
What type of skills will young International Sales Managers need?
Wyatt Schrock Ph.D.: For graduates entering careers in sales, two skills that come to my mind are (1) listening skills and (2) analytical skills. First, I think listening is indeed a skill that can be developed with techniques and practice. Importantly, and for several reasons (e.g., building rapport, overcoming objections), I do not think you can be a good salesperson and be a bad listener. Second, I think analytical skills may be overlooked in terms of importance for salespeople. Certainly, selling is about relationship-building. However, and simultaneously, selling is also about delivering quantifiable value. It may be increasingly important for salespeople to have the ability to demonstrate exactly how or where they intend to help their customers grow revenue or reduce expenses.
What experience really stands out on International Sales Manager resumes?
Wyatt Schrock Ph.D.: Based on my experience and discussions with recruiters, at least two things stand out for applicants looking for sales jobs. First, I think transferrable skills are important to signal on a resume. For example, working as a hostess or waiter at a restaurant could signal to recruiters certain interpersonal skills that are important in sales. Second, I think any experience that allows the applicant to quantify their success will help applicants to stand out. If a person did well at work, I think it is worth spending some time thinking about how to tell that story with numbers. I think numbers can be just as important as words on a resume, especially when applying for a sales position.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on International Sales Managers?
Wyatt Schrock Ph.D.: For graduates entering careers in sales, I expect the coronavirus pandemic to have at least one enduring impact. That is, I think the pandemic has changed the way that people think about the nature of buyer-seller interactions. In particular, I think we now know that a lot of relationship-building, problem-solving, etc., can be accomplished remotely with video meeting applications. This development might, for example, ultimately lead to lower levels of business travel for salespeople.
Dr. Karla Gavin
Director of the Master of Sport Administration Program, Associate Professor of Sport Administration (2010)Upper Iowa University
School of Business and Professional Studies
What skills stand out on International Sales Manager resumes?
Dr. Karla Gavin: College students who graduate and move into the workforce need to think of themselves as independent contractors. They need to articulate their abilities to be flexible and adaptable, and to communicate very clearly in written and verbal communication. Job candidates will benefit from viewing issues as challenges instead of problems and using out-of-the-box thinking to resolve those issues.
They need to share their ability to work with diverse groups of people in team settings. Their willingness to be lifelong learners is important and they should reflect their desire to attend professional development activities and to pursue advanced degrees or certifications. Examples of leadership positions and opportunities need to be indicated on the resume.
Each of the areas mentioned above requires related examples to be stated concisely to reiterate their accomplishments and future goals.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the International Sales Manager job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Karla Gavin: At this time, it appears that individuals will continue to be interviewed and hired virtually without meeting their employer face-to-face. To retain these new hires, employers need to have stellar orientation programs to be completed remotely and onboarding that engages them before Day 1 of employment. Constant communication is critical, especially in the hiring process.
Work is very likely to be conducted in a virtual format for many employees in at least the first six months of 2021. Candidates with experience working with multiple virtual communication platforms will stand out during this time frame.
Employers may require employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19 before returning to face-to-face work with colleagues and clients. Depending on what happens as this vaccine is more widely administered, it could impact employee and new hire decisions to stay or to leave.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for International Sales Managers to find work opportunities?
Dr. Karla Gavin: The world of work is in great flux right now. Willingness to relocate and to learn the field from the bottom up is very important, wherever that might be. Too many students have unrealistic expectations for salary and job title upon graduation.
They also need to know themselves well enough to understand how their personal purpose and passion match that of their chosen field and of their specific employer.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on International Sales Managers?
Peter Johnson DPS: From an academic standpoint, I believe there will be a minimal long-lasting impact on our graduates. All students will be required to complete the necessary credits and be assessed for their performance. Many of their courses will be online, but there is currently no research body that clearly indicates that online teaching is significantly less effective than in class. Several studies of work from home (WFH) indicate comparable or increase productivity.
What type of skills will young International Sales Managers need?
Peter Johnson DPS: There are three things that employers are looking for:
1. Demonstrated ability to solve problems
2. Ability to analyze and make decisions based on data
3. Communication skills with management, teams, and clients
What experience really stands out on International Sales Manager resumes?
Peter Johnson DPS: For entry-level positions, resumes need to include the basic "table stakes" type of skills: career-related coursework, leadership experience, and technical competencies: PowerPoint, Excel, CRM, and something like Python, if analytics are required. To stand out and for mid-level positions: published articles or white paper; original research, for demonstrated expertise in a product or service category.