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The differences between outside sales managers and sales development managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become an outside sales manager, becoming a sales development manager takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a sales development manager has an average salary of $102,790, which is higher than the $84,408 average annual salary of an outside sales manager.
The top three skills for an outside sales manager include product knowledge, CRM and customer service. The most important skills for a sales development manager are SDR, salesforce, and customer service.
| Outside Sales Manager | Sales Development Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $84,408 | $102,790 |
| Hourly rate | $40.58 | $49.42 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 138,054 | 171,101 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 46 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 4 |
An outside sales manager is responsible for monitoring the sales staff performance in selling goods and services to existing and potential clients and ensuring that the team meets sales objectives. Outside sales managers set reasonable sales targets and establish techniques to maximize the staff's efficiency and productivity. They regularly connect with the clients to determine their needs and make any adjustments to business plans as needed. An outside sales manager should have excellent knowledge of the current market trends to identify business opportunities that would generate more revenues and resources.
Sales Development Managers oversee a specific function in the sales department. They are in charge of creating sales pitches, communication tools, and strategies to boost the company's sales performance. They may be assigned to do these activities for a specific product or service or for the whole product line of the organization. Sales Development Managers are also expected to create branding images that will help their sales strategies. They are required to fully understand the company's history, image, and target market. This will ensure that the branding and sales strategies they create are in line with the company's values.
Outside sales managers and sales development managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Outside Sales Manager | Sales Development Manager | |
| Average salary | $84,408 | $102,790 |
| Salary range | Between $51,000 And $138,000 | Between $66,000 And $157,000 |
| Highest paying City | Albany, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Dominion Enterprises | Everyday Health |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an outside sales manager and a sales development manager in terms of educational background:
| Outside Sales Manager | Sales Development Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between outside sales managers' and sales development managers' demographics:
| Outside Sales Manager | Sales Development Manager | |
| Average age | 46 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 79.1% Female, 20.9% | Male, 67.8% Female, 32.2% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 4.4% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 18% |