Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between sales consultants and sales managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a sales consultant, becoming a sales manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a sales manager has an average salary of $73,952, which is higher than the $60,135 average annual salary of a sales consultant.
The top three skills for a sales consultant include sales process, product knowledge and POS. The most important skills for a sales manager are product knowledge, customer satisfaction, and sales performance.
| Sales Consultant | Sales Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $60,135 | $73,952 |
| Hourly rate | $28.91 | $35.55 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 227,636 | 119,066 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.5 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 47 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 8 |
Sales consultants are employees who work in the sales department of a company. They are usually more skilled than usual sales employees. As such, they are usually given more complicated products or services to sell because they will be able to explain the product or service to the customers better. Sales consultants have in-depth knowledge of the offerings of the company. They talk to customers, understand what the customers need, and match the customers' needs with company products that can address the needs. They should also be updated on trends in the market and what is currently popular with the masses.
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.
Sales consultants and sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Consultant | Sales Manager | |
| Average salary | $60,135 | $73,952 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $97,000 | Between $42,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Capgemini | |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between a sales consultant and a sales manager in terms of educational background:
| Sales Consultant | Sales Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between sales consultants' and sales managers' demographics:
| Sales Consultant | Sales Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 63.2% Female, 36.8% | Male, 68.7% Female, 31.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 72.8% 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 | 6% | 7% |