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The differences between retail sales managers and directors of sales can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a retail sales manager and a director of sales. Additionally, a director of sales has an average salary of $111,068, which is higher than the $48,678 average annual salary of a retail sales manager.
The top three skills for a retail sales manager include retail sales, store operations and store sales. The most important skills for a director of sales are sales process, customer service, and customer satisfaction.
| Retail Sales Manager | Director Of Sales | |
| Yearly salary | $48,678 | $111,068 |
| Hourly rate | $23.40 | $53.40 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 353,765 | 91,891 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
A retail sales manager is responsible for managing the retail sales department's operations, ensuring the highest customer satisfaction with the staff's efficiency and performance. Retail sales managers develop sales strategies and marketing campaigns to boost revenues, increasing the company's profitability. They also conduct training and programs for staff to maximize their productivity and provide the best customer service for their clients. A retail sales manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills, respond to the customers' inquiries and concerns, and resolve their complaints.
A sales director is responsible for managing the sales operation of the team, ensuring that members comply with the sales strategies and procedures in meeting sales goals. Sales directors' duties include maintaining consistency of sales targets, providing reports and important updates for sales improvement, managing customers' inquiries and resolving complaints, launching new services to expand product offers, researching the current market trends, and improving sales plans. A sales director must have excellent leadership and decision-making skills to support and acknowledge the team's best efforts.
Retail sales managers and directors of sales have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Retail Sales Manager | Director Of Sales | |
| Average salary | $48,678 | $111,068 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $66,000 | Between $73,000 And $168,000 |
| Highest paying City | Reno, NV | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | New York |
| Best paying company | Talbots | Mayo Clinic |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Finance |
There are a few differences between a retail sales manager and a director of sales in terms of educational background:
| Retail Sales Manager | Director Of Sales | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between retail sales managers' and directors of sales' demographics:
| Retail Sales Manager | Director Of Sales | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.2% Female, 38.8% | Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6% |
| 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, 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 | 7% | 7% |