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The differences between operations managers and 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 an operations manager, becoming a sales manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, an operations manager has an average salary of $76,894, which is higher than the $73,952 average annual salary of a sales manager.
The top three skills for an operations manager include customer service, logistics and continuous improvement. The most important skills for a sales manager are product knowledge, customer satisfaction, and sales performance.
| Operations Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $76,894 | $73,952 |
| Hourly rate | $36.97 | $35.55 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 343,868 | 119,066 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 8 |
Operations managers are in charge of running the main business of the organization. They ensure that the business is running smoothly from an operations standpoint. They make sure that the processes in place produce the necessary output by implementing quality control measures. They also manage finances and ensure that there is enough budget to keep the operations of the business running. They also ensure that the production of goods or services is cost-efficient. Operations managers also handle people-related concerns. They are responsible for interviewing candidates, choosing the ones to hire, and ensuring that individuals assigned to operations are properly trained.
Sales managers are responsible for leading the organization's sales team. They oversee the progress and performance of the whole team, set area assignments to team members, and set weekly or monthly quotas. Sales managers oversee training team members during onboarding and providing further coaching to help them achieve their goals. They manage the challenges that team members may meet and help mitigate any problems that come along the way. Sales managers also set the strategic direction of the sales team and follow through by ensuring that the team's activities are in line with the goals.
Operations managers and sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Operations Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Average salary | $76,894 | $73,952 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $123,000 | Between $42,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | McKinsey & Company Inc | Capgemini |
| Best paying industry | Technology | - |
There are a few differences between an operations manager and a sales manager in terms of educational background:
| Operations Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between operations managers' and sales managers' demographics:
| Operations Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6% | Male, 68.7% Female, 31.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.3% 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% |