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National sales manager vs general manager

The differences between national sales managers and general managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a national sales manager, becoming a general manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a national sales manager has an average salary of $102,742, which is higher than the $71,581 average annual salary of a general manager.

The top three skills for a national sales manager include customer service, product development and trade shows. The most important skills for a general manager are customer service, cleanliness, and food safety.

National sales manager vs general manager overview

National Sales ManagerGeneral Manager
Yearly salary$102,742$71,581
Hourly rate$49.40$34.41
Growth rate5%6%
Number of jobs94,554442,690
Job satisfaction-4.25
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age4644
Years of experience86

What does a national sales manager do?

A national sales manager is responsible for leading a large group of sales teams, monitoring sales performance, and implementing strategic sales procedures to drive revenues and achieve the organization's profitability goals. National sales managers identify business opportunities by analyzing current market trends and closing business partnerships to boost the company's brand popularity and attract more customers. They also monitor marketing strategies and negotiate continuous agreements with existing customers to keep them purchasing the company's services. A national sales manager creates sales forecasts, ensuring that the services provided by the organization align with the standard budget goals.

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.

National sales manager vs general manager salary

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

National Sales ManagerGeneral Manager
Average salary$102,742$71,581
Salary rangeBetween $67,000 And $155,000Between $40,000 And $126,000
Highest paying CityHartford, CTSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonHawaii
Best paying companyNetAppNVIDIA
Best paying industryManufacturingManufacturing

Differences between national sales manager and general manager education

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

National Sales ManagerGeneral Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

National sales manager vs general manager demographics

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

National Sales ManagerGeneral Manager
Average age4644
Gender ratioMale, 80.4% Female, 19.6%Male, 70.7% Female, 29.3%
Race ratioBlack 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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage7%10%

Differences between national sales manager and general manager duties and responsibilities

National sales manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage nationwide SAAS sales team, train, hire, develop territories, create budgets, marketing and sales development.
  • Manage relationships with clients via CRM, conducted/coordinate city wide site visits, craft creative presentations, proposals and bid packets.
  • Lead team on product redesign to web-base SaaS infrastructure and generate feature content base on customer need and marketability.
  • Introduce a foreign manufacture into a dominant domestic automotive and aerospace markets while achieving business goals and domestic tool production plans.
  • Experience with on-line, call center, recruitment with the use of Salesforce software.
  • Implement CRM tool tailor specifically for the collegiate market, creating equity and accountability in the inside and outside sales force.
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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.
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National sales manager vs general manager skills

Common national sales manager skills
  • Customer Service, 10%
  • Product Development, 10%
  • Trade Shows, 7%
  • Sales Growth, 6%
  • Sales Strategies, 5%
  • Business Development, 4%
Common general manager skills
  • Customer Service, 20%
  • Cleanliness, 18%
  • Food Safety, 7%
  • Guest Service, 4%
  • Payroll, 4%
  • Math, 4%

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