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Job outlook for sales development managers in the United States
Sales development manager job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected sales development manager job growth rate is 7% from 2018-2028.
About 2,900 new jobs for sales development managers are projected over the next decade.
Sales development manager salaries have increased 9% for sales development managers in the last 5 years.
There are over 184,135 sales development managers currently employed in the United States.
There are 171,101 active sales development manager job openings in the US.
The average sales development manager salary is $102,790.
Are sales development manager jobs in demand?
Sales development manager job and salary trends over time
Sales development manager jobs over time
Sales development manager job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 184,135 | 0.05% |
| 2020 | 160,879 | 0.05% |
| 2019 | 164,792 | 0.05% |
| 2018 | 154,531 | 0.05% |
| 2017 | 150,109 | 0.05% |
Average sales development manager salary over time
Sales development manager salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $102,790 | $49.42 | +2.0% |
| 2025 | $100,754 | $48.44 | +1.8% |
| 2024 | $98,967 | $47.58 | +2.9% |
| 2023 | $96,221 | $46.26 | +2.3% |
| 2022 | $94,070 | $45.23 | +3.1% |
Sales development manager jobs by state
Most common states for sales development managers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 523 | 75% |
| 2 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 289 | 28% |
| 3 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 215 | 28% |
| 4 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1,881 | 27% |
| 5 | Alaska | 739,795 | 178 | 24% |
| 6 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 2,450 | 23% |
| 7 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 433 | 23% |
| 8 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 1,665 | 22% |
| 9 | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 1,445 | 22% |
| 10 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 648 | 22% |
| 11 | Delaware | 961,939 | 207 | 22% |
| 12 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 192 | 22% |
| 13 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 1,504 | 21% |
| 14 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 879 | 21% |
| 15 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 659 | 21% |
| 16 | Vermont | 623,657 | 132 | 21% |
| 17 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 2,618 | 20% |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 1,159 | 20% |
| 19 | Arkansas | 3,004,279 | 615 | 20% |
| 20 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 422 | 20% |
Most common cities for sales development managers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frankfort | 6 | 22% | $91,200 |
| 2 | Dover | 6 | 16% | $109,923 |
| 3 | Annapolis | 6 | 15% | $103,990 |
| 4 | Hartford | 6 | 5% | $127,557 |
| 5 | Lansing | 6 | 5% | $96,124 |
| 6 | Topeka | 6 | 5% | $93,011 |
| 7 | Baton Rouge | 6 | 3% | $74,663 |
| 8 | Des Moines | 6 | 3% | $106,147 |
| 9 | Little Rock | 6 | 3% | $96,326 |
| 10 | Montgomery | 6 | 3% | $77,125 |
| 11 | Tallahassee | 6 | 3% | $67,205 |
| 12 | Atlanta | 8 | 2% | $77,971 |
| 13 | Boston | 9 | 1% | $106,074 |
| 14 | Washington | 7 | 1% | $101,714 |
| 15 | Denver | 6 | 1% | $95,235 |
| 16 | Indianapolis | 6 | 1% | $93,252 |
| 17 | Sacramento | 6 | 1% | $128,561 |
| 18 | Phoenix | 7 | 0% | $94,528 |
Sales Development Manager job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of sales development manager experts
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University
University of Maryland
University of Saint Mary
The Pennsylvania State University
Baylor University
Clarion University of Pennsylvania
SUNY New Paltz
The University of West Florida
Christopher Newport University
Andrews University
Penn State Behrend
Buffalo State College
Longwood University
Aquinas College
Montana State University
Michigan State University
Upper Iowa University
The University of Findlay
Fordham University Gabelli School of Business
Ken Corbit Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in MarketingTexas Christian University
Specialized Sales, Merchandising And Marketing Operations
What general advice would you give to a Sales Development Manager?
Ken Corbit Ph.D.: Strategic
Company Selection:
Focus on joining companies with robust sales training programs, emphasizing consultative selling. Look for organizations that invest in your development, providing live calling experiences, quota-driven sales processes, and exposure to tools like Salesforce.
Tech
Proficiency and Sales Tools Mastery:
Familiarize yourself with cutting-edge sales technologies, including CRM tools like Salesforce. Your proficiency in these tools will not only streamline your sales processes but also position you as a tech-savvy professional in the competitive sales landscape.
Hands-On
Experience:
Actively engage in live calling, take ownership of sales funnels, and work with senior hiring authorities during your training. This hands-on experience will not only build your confidence but also prepare you for the challenges of consultative selling.
Research
and Decision-Making Skills:
Develop strong research skills to evaluate companies based on fit, growth opportunities, compensation structures, and overall potential. This informed decision-making approach will set you apart and empower you to navigate the sales landscape strategically.
Mentorship
and Networking:
Seek mentorship both within and outside your organization. Building relationships with mentors who invest in your sales skills and knowledge will provide valuable insights. Additionally, actively participate in online forums to connect with practical sales
knowledge and best practices.
What Sales Development Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Ken Corbit Ph.D.: AI-Integrated Consultative Selling: Recognize the evolving role of AI in sales. Embrace AI tools that enhance your pre-call preparation, role-playing, agenda setting, and call talk track development. Stay ahead by incorporating AI into your sales strategies to deliver personalized and efficient client engagements.
What will help Sales Development Managers increase their earning potential?
Ken Corbit Ph.D.: Holistic
Knowledge Mastery:
Become an expert in your industry, staying abreast of market trends, and thoroughly understanding the products/services you sell. This comprehensive knowledge will empower you to provide exceptional value, resulting in higher sales success and increased client
retention.
Strategic
Question-Based Selling:
Master the art of question-based selling. Use insightful questions to uncover client needs, address pain points, and tailor your approach. This strategic skill will not only boost initial sales but also contribute to secondary sales and long-term client satisfaction.
Compensation
Structure Expertise:
Understand your organization's compensation structure thoroughly. This includes baseline compensation, commission and bonus plans, and additional benefits. This knowledge allows you to set realistic targets, maximize your earnings, and take full advantage
of uncapped commission structures.
Consistent
Target Achievement:
Consistently meet or exceed targets and quotas to demonstrate your value. This not only enhances your immediate success but also positions you for continuous earning potential, especially in roles with uncapped commissions.
Negotiation
and Value Recognition:
Develop negotiation skills to ensure you are compensated appropriately. Recognize your worth and, when appropriate, discuss compensation adjustments or additional benefits with your employer. A proactive approach to recognizing and articulating your value
contributes to your overall salary potential.
In a rapidly evolving sales landscape, continuous learning, tech adaptability, and proactive career management are fundamental for achieving sustained success in consultative sales.
Dr. Brandon Chicotsky
Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in Marketing at the TCU Neeley School of BusinessTexas Christian University
Specialized Sales, Merchandising And Marketing Operations
What skills stand out on Sales Development Manager resumes?
Dr. Brandon Chicotsky: Substantiated numbers such as sales pipeline efficiency, callbacks, meetings, and repeat purchasing are more important than listing responsibilities. Also, management-level personnel should have team growth numbers and coaching methodologies listed with substantiated returns from such efforts.
Roland Rust Ph.D.
Distinguished University Professor, David Bruce Smith Chair in Marketing, Executive Director, Center for Excellence in Service, Ph.D., Business Administration, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill MarketingUniversity of Maryland
Robert H. Smith School of Business
What skills stand out on Sales Development Manager resumes?
Roland Rust Ph.D.: One might think that a stellar sales record would be most important, but that would be most relevant only if the individual has prior sales manager experience. If promoting a salesperson to sales manager, the thing that may be missing is administrative and managerial skills. In addition, we are in a technological revolution, driven by AI, which means that prior knowledge and experience with AI-related analysis would also definitely stand out (although probably hard to find).
What hard/technical skills are most important for Sales Development Managers?
Roland Rust Ph.D.: Artificial intelligence is taking over many thinking tasks throughout the economy (see our recent book). Few salespeople or sales managers are AI experts, but at least they need to be aware of the state-of-the-art in that field, enough to know how best to manage human-AI teams. In the sales context, this generally means using AI in the "backroom" and using people for customer contact, although AI salespeople (e.g., chatbots) are becoming more widespread.
What skills will help Sales Development Managers earn the most?
Roland Rust Ph.D.: My co-author, Ming-Hui Huang, and I conducted a research study about the "Feeling Economy" published in the California Management Review in 2019. In that study, which tested our predictions about the impact of AI, we investigated US government data to determine which skills are paying more over time. Interestingly, and across various industries, we found that soft skills were increasing in pay the fastest. This makes sense because as AI takes over more thinking tasks, humans will need to focus more on feeling tasks. With sales and sales management being among the most people-oriented jobs that exist, those choosing this career direction are doing the right thing!
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Director of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs, Coordinator of All-University Honors ProgramUniversity of Saint Mary
Division of Business and Information Technologies (DBiT)
What soft skills should all Sales Development Managers possess?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: First, critical and creative thinking. Employers value problem solvers. A Business Development Managers' problem usually is finding growth opportunities. Candidates need to learn to take the initiative to figure out how to solve problems like those.
Second, writing. The best employees know how to communicate in writing. More and more communication occurs through email and other forms of social media and apps, and as such, this skill is absolutely critical. You don't need to be a creative writing genius, but you do need to know how to write in a professional tone, present your ideas in an organized way, get to the point, and avoid errors. There is a direct line between a student's ability to write an academic essay with a clear thesis and an employee's ability to write a good email or proposal. If you can't do those things, then you risk embarrassment and possibly limited options for promotion.
Third, speaking. The American business world discriminates against introverts-sometimes at their own peril. Everyone needs to know how to give a quality speech, but more importantly, you need to sound confident and assertive in a board room during meetings. You need to be confident in front of clients. Fake it if you have to. The way you present yourself is absolutely critical.
Fourth, social skills. You need to be friendly. Get to know co-workers and clients. Find out what they like and show an interest. Find common ground. Your undergraduate degree hopefully exposed you to a wide diversity of topics you may have thought were irrelevant at some point. Now is the time to remember that stuff and use it to connect with people. Nearly everything you learned will have some application someday. It will help you connect with others. In addition, put away your cell phone when you are at work or on social occasions. To some people, a preoccupation with a cell phone communicates a lack of interest in the person you are with. It can alienate bosses, co-workers, and clients.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Sales Development Managers?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: Familiarity with software-basic windows packages, particularly MS Word and Excel. Candidates should not be afraid of quantitative data analysis. Analytics are necessary to figuring out what your business is doing and how it can grow. Also, familiarity with whatever social media platforms are used in that industry can be very important.
What skills will help Sales Development Managers earn the most?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: One consideration is, does the position pay commission? If so, the soft skills listed above are extremely important because the more you apply those skills, the more likely you are to grow your business.
When a manager is not on commission, there's little correlation between skills and pay while doing the job. The employer will hire you at a given salary level, and it is your job to negotiate to the best position. Once they have chosen you-that's the moment when you have the most leverage. You will never get a raise that is as substantial as what you might be able to ask for upon hire. After that, most raises are not going to be tied mechanically to performance and skills. Your next chance at a raise will be when you move or are promoted to a new position. Thus, those soft skills can affect your ability to negotiate.
I will repeat a previous theme: education and experience are probably more important than skills in terms of making more money. An employer can't really tell what your skills are from your resume. Just because you say you have a skill doesn't mean that you really do. They can reasonably guess that somebody with a degree is responsible enough to have accomplished something big. Somebody who makes it through a graduate program is probably very good at what they know. And somebody who has been in the industry and/or in a similar job is more likely to be able to walk in with little orientation and know what they are doing. Employers take risks on employees and hope that they can deliver. Thus, with more education and more experience, you are able to apply for higher-level jobs, which usually come with higher salaries.
What skills stand out on Sales Development Manager resumes?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: Resumes are hard. It is very difficult to predict what any employer is looking for on any resume. The "skills" section of a resume is probably not the first thing most employers are looking at. The first consideration is probably education. Those with a bachelor's degree will be sorted first in fields-such as those who have business degrees, or particularly sales and marketing majors. Those with MBAs will be placed on the top. Those who have MBAs and marketing concentrations will likely be valued the most. The second consideration would probably be experience. Someone with several years of experience in business development or sales and marketing will be moved to the top. Someone with a bachelor's degree who has a lot of experience might beat out a fresh MBA. However, MBA plus experience beats almost everything. Someone with an MBA going for an entry-level position with little experience needed will likely beat out all bachelor challengers. For new graduates, getting some kind of internship in sales and marketing can differentiate them from those who do not.
Most hiring managers will probably assume that somebody who has sales and marketing education and/or experience probably has the skills necessary to do the job. An interviewer may probe on specific skills. I'll comment more specifically on other kinds of skills below, but it's also fair to say that a candidate's soft skills should shine in the interview. Simply saying that you have certain skills on a resume doesn't mean that you actually have them.
I think that the best thing a candidate can do is to research the company they hope to work for and tailor their resume to that employer. What does the business do? What kinds of things do you think that development manager is going to do in that particular industry? How do your skills as a candidate match what you guess they're looking for? The more you customize your resume, the better chances you have of resonating with the company. Employers are impressed when you already know something about the job and the industry.
James Wilkerson Ph.D.
Business Program Coordinator, Project and Supply Chain Management Program CoordinatorThe Pennsylvania State University
Business Department
What skills stand out on Sales Development Manager resumes?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Skills, experience, knowledge, and abilities that matter especially strongly include target market analysis (including market research skills and knowledge), product/service positioning within competitive field, project work or coordination with sales staff, major client relationship management, and enough general business and industry knowledge to be able to relate business development to operational/production realities.
What soft skills should all Sales Development Managers possess?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Verbal skills (both speaking and writing), negotiation skills, unfailing honesty, ability to empathize with clients' wants, and teamwork skills suitable for working collaboratively with sales and operations staff.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Sales Development Managers?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Spreadsheet (Excel) skills (including graph production from data), basic statistical knowledge, and online information search skills.
What skills will help Sales Development Managers earn the most?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Skill at rapidly learning market trends, relating business development to product development, and persuading major prospective clients when brought in to help with closing sales. Bottom line: the business development manager must be on the cutting edge of new market conditions and new business opportunities to help the firm organically grow its sales, especially in new markets or product/service lines.
Andrea Dixon Ph.D.
Executive Director, Center for Professional Selling, Frank and Floy Smith Holloway Endowed Professorship in Marketing, President, University Sales Center Alliance 2019-2021Baylor University
Hankamer School of Business
What skills stand out on Sales Development Manager resumes?
Andrea Dixon Ph.D.: Like salespeople, sales managers must focus their resumes on tangible, objective performance results that are achieved by their teams.
Growth in revenue or quota attainment for the overall team are examples of the types of objective performance results that matter.
High-performing sales managers also highlight long-term performance indicators, which includes both long-term revenue growth by the unit
AND investment metrics that signal the sales manager is building company results for the long run. For example, a high-performance sales manager focuses on building and maintaining a high-performing unit. Such a manager looks to move low performers to other roles where they can be successful.
Another investment metric that a sales manager can signal is the percent of their unit promoted to managerial roles in the organization.
What soft skills should all Sales Development Managers possess?
Andrea Dixon Ph.D.: Since sales professionals have a lot of information available to them today via customer relationship management (CRM) systems, the sales manager's "supervisory" role is less important (especially for experienced sellers). Consequently, the sales manager needs to be more of a coach and enabler of high performance. Having confidence balanced with humility allows the sales manager to engage more effectively with their salespeople.
One of the critical soft skills for sales managers going forward will be the ability to connect members of the sales team to others in the organization - in other words, the sales manager of the future needs to have strong skills in network building for others. Sellers have access to data which helps them build success.
They also need access to the right people to turn to when they need specific expertise or assistance.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Sales Development Managers?
Andrea Dixon Ph.D.: One of the growing technical skill requirements for sales managers is in the area of data analytics. Our performance and customer systems provide a myriad of data, and the role of the sales manager is to be a sense-maker of that mound of data. What are the implications for changes in strategy or behavior evident in last quarter's activity? How can the sales manager help a specific seller "see" where the data suggest new approaches?
What skills will help Sales Development Managers earn the most?
Andrea Dixon Ph.D.: People who can recognize patterns (in data, in people), build connections with and across others, create a focus on high-performance behaviors, and lead with a confident humility are those who will win today and in the future business environment.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Sales Development Manager job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Miguel Olivas-Luján Ph.D.: As the economy "reopens" (thanks to appeased fears of contagion driven by vaccination, herd immunity, people worn out by the lockdowns, warmer weather, etc.), we should see workforce adjustments across industries and occupations. Already in March, unemployment was returning to 6% (from a high of 14.8% in April 2020, but after a low of 3.5 in February 2020; https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000). Barring unexpected resistance in the virus variants or other influences, the summer and fall months should give us better job market numbers, but this recovery seems to be benefitting some population segments more than others. The unemployed rate for teenagers was at 13%, followed by Blacks (9.6%), Hispanics (7.9%), Asians (6%), adult men (5.8%), and adult women (5.7%; more detail is available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm).
Felicia Hodges
InstructorSUNY New Paltz
Deptment of Digital Media and Journalism
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Sales Development Managers?
Felicia Hodges: I think there will definitely be fallout from the pandemic for soon-to-be graduates simply because it has been such a difficult year - and it ain't over yet. Maybe the hard, fast, "deadlines are sacrosanct!" imprints that were par for the non-COVID course haven't been so much lately, as a bulk of pandemic life has been about accounting for what students might have been/are dealing with due necessary COVID-induced work or lifestyle changes. And because many of the "real world" training/trial outlets weren't available (i.e. school print publications had to shift schedules or halt publishing altogether as staffs weren't able to meet in person; internships were non-existent or done almost entirely virtually, etc.), there weren't concrete ways to help students put the theories of what they learned in the classroom to practical use. It may be a steep learning curve for the newly-degreed journalism (as well as other media) practitioners.
Eric Bostwick Ph.D.
Professor of AccountingThe University of West Florida
Department of Accounting and Finance
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Sales Development Managers?
Eric Bostwick Ph.D.: In a word, yes. The adjustments that both individuals and businesses have made during this time have shifted our expectations for life and work. For a generation of students who were already tech-natives, the shift to more technology-enabled interactions has reinforced the "click-to-do" mentality. And for non-tech-natives, the roll-out of intuitive, easy-to-use apps has overcome much of their resistance to these types of interactions. These shifts have affected everything from business meetings to family reunions and from buying lunch to meeting with your doctor. However, graduates will need to grow beyond being technology consumers. They must be able to effectively use technology to deliver a company's value proposition, especially in service-oriented fields such as accounting, finance, law, medicine, and consulting.
Todd Lee Goen
Instructor & Internship DirectorChristopher Newport University
Department of Communication
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Sales Development Manager job market given the pandemic?
Todd Lee Goen: The pandemic is demonstrating that employees can be productive working remotely and with flexible schedules, so we're likely to see more flexible and remote positions emerge in the job market. This will be industry/company/position specific, but these options give employers access to a larger applicant pool (which means a more talented workforce) and allows them to reduce overhead costs of maintaining physical office space.
Relatedly, hiring processes will become more technology-driven. In-person interviews (especially if there are multiple rounds) will be significantly less likely and more organizations will opt for pre-recorded interviews. This started pre-pandemic, but the pandemic will accelerate it. The good news is that as the technology improves the application process should become more efficient and streamlined (e.g., applying with LinkedIn profiles has the potential to become more of a norm).
The job market in recession-proof industries will remain strong, but wages will likely stagnate and may even decrease. Many recession-proof jobs are connected to state and local governments. The pandemic and its associated recession brought decreased tax revenues and increased demands for public expenditures, and state and local governments won't have the funds to support wage growth for the next few years. The job market in recession-intolerant industries will fluctuate for several years and will only stabilize once the economy begins to recover.
One of the key take-aways from the pandemic is that public health systems are inadequate. One possible outcome is that in the next few years there will be a greater number of jobs in the public health sector. Whether or not this happens will largely depend on the length and severity of the current recession as well as funding allocations of governments post-pandemic. Given the US federal government ceded much of the responsibility for responding to the pandemic, expect many of these positions to be with state and local governments. Also, expect many of these will be community/public engagement type positions that focus on communication and relationship building.
Lucile Sabas
Associate Professor of Finance & EconomicsAndrews University
School of Business Administration
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Sales Development Manager job market given the pandemic?
Lucile Sabas: Several features will characterize the labor market hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Among them we can underline the five major following ones according to our analysis of the current situation:
1.A decrease in the job creation annual growth rate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), foresees that over the next decade, this rate will be 0.4%, way below the 1.3% of the past decade 2009-2019. Even though the BLS projections data do not include the pandemic impacts, we assert that the trend mentioned could be maintained due to the changes that we can observe in the economy. It's also important to notice that this is a long run trend, and therefore, the projection remains valid.
2.A decrease in the labor force participation (LFP). The major factors that explain the decrease in the LFP can be mentioned as follows:
- An increase in retirements and early retirements. Many aged workers who had the possibility chose to leave the labor force due to the risks of virus contamination.
- In the category of young workers, some have seized the opportunity of distance learning for further education in the midst of a changing labor market.
- The number of discouraged workers increased because of the shifting skills requirements in the labor market and the fear of the contamination risks.
3.The emergence or reinforcement of some sectors at the expense of others. Yet, the unemployment rate increased significantly between April and June and remained higher than the 5.3% natural unemployment rate of the country; however, many sectors are still hiring and are performing very well. We'll see a conformation of this trend over the next years. For examples, the technology and NTIC sectors, as well as the e-commerce along with the transportation activities that come with it, the health and lifestyle and pharmaceutical sectors, the entertainment sector, and online education are the ones that experienced a revitalization and are expected to continue growing.
4.Due to this sectoral restructuration of our economy, the disparity between the skills requirements of the labor market and the skills currently available is increasingly visible.
5.The new organization of the workplace and the professional relations due to the COVID-19, led to a series of new activities or reinforcement of some exiting ones that still were low or experimental. More and more businesses are moving online and therefore, are moving global through the internet. This will lead to an increase in demand for a series of competencies that international business graduates will be able to find their way in. We can mention for example, foreign and internal market analysts, market trends analysts, bilingualism, e-managers and e-commerce specialists, international marketers, specialists in international finance and payments, specialists in International sales and negotiation (International marketing), approach to foreign markets and commercial communication specialists. Graduates with high competencies and skills in all these domains, will easily find their way in this new environment.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Sales Development Managers to find work opportunities?
Dr. Mark Owens Ph.D.: Historically, the greatest number of jobs in international business have been located in the major trade areas like New York, Los Angeles, and Houston. However, the work from anywhere trend could open more opportunities for international business in areas outside traditional trade centers.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Sales Development Manager job market given the pandemic?
Annemarie Franczyk: Workplaces will be shifting to remote formats as businesses discover how much money is to be saved by not having to pay rent, a mortgage, WiFi, utilities and other expenses of a brick-and-mortar location. Workers will need to continue to prove to bosses that they can work independently and be productive and responsive from their home offices. Today's students and tomorrow's workers will have had that experience in spades for more than a year as the majority of courses and many activities moved online. Therefore, they and will be poised to do quite well the new and evolving remote employment environment.
What Sales Development Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Annemarie Franczyk: Every industry is looking for professionals who can write and communicate visually, so any activity, extra course or private tutor who can help graduates keep up or build these skills will be to their advantage professionally. Additionally, data analysis has application across all disciplines, so a course or two in that area will be of value. And if the graduate can put these two areas of study together and communicate data effectively, he or she will be in demand.
What general advice would you give to a Sales Development Manager?
Annemarie Franczyk: Never settle and never settle down. Both notions suggest dropping where you are and staying put and being hopelessly stuck. When you're hopelessly stuck, you're not learning, growing and advancing. Always look for the next opportunity to do something interesting. Take chances. If you do, you will have a lifetime of no regrets.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Sales Development Managers to find work opportunities?
Dr. David Lehr: Most job growth will continue to be in urban centers and the surrounding suburbs. Rural areas will continue to struggle (remote work notwithstanding).
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Sales Development Manager job market given the pandemic?
Dr. David Lehr: A premium on flexibility and having a variety of skillsets. Continued weakness across the board in labor markets.
What skills stand out on Sales Development Manager resumes?
Dr. David Lehr: Information flow skills, particularly surrounding data analytics.
Kerri Orders
Assistant Professor of BusinessAquinas College
Business Administration Department
What Sales Development Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Kerri Orders: In terms of a gap year, I recommend that international business students acquire tangible skills, relevant experience and/or certifications which will enhance their success in their desired area of interest. For example, a gap year could consist of gaining technical or digital training overseas, which would also further the students' cultural intelligence and language proficiency. These types of enriching gap year experiences will assist students to distinguish themselves in a highly competitive market. Furthermore, students should focus on broadening and maintaining their global network during a gap year in order to be ready for the job market once the gap year is concluded.
What general advice would you give to a Sales Development Manager?
Kerri Orders: There is more than one path to any given career, therefore students will benefit from being curious, creative, and collaborative as they embark upon their international business careers. More than ever, employers will be looking for students who are adaptable, flexible, and proactive. In this tighter job market, students should be more open-minded about opportunities and willing to work in a range of sectors and different sizes of companies. The pandemic has impacted businesses around the world, so this advice will apply to graduates from all regions of the world.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Sales Development Manager job market given the pandemic?
Kerri Orders: In 2020, companies of all sizes rapidly changed the way they were organized and conducted business daily, both internally and externally, with customers and suppliers. COVID has accelerated the potential and opportunity for remote work, both domestically and within the international business environment. Consequently, the future trends for international business will be a decrease in business travel and an increase in collaboration and communication via remote modalities. Many companies have now realized the ability for employees to conduct international business via remote networks, which are both effective and economically efficient. Increasingly, employers are looking for candidates with a global mindset, a culturally diverse range of experiences, and a broad skill set. In addition, employers will expect candidates to have a high level of technical and communication skills in order to thrive and have a shorter learning curve at the entry level. It is important for students entering the job market to highlight and promote their specific skills and value added to a potential employer.
What skills stand out on Sales Development Manager resumes?
Dr. Angela Woodland Ph.D.: Skills that are immediately useful stand out on resumes. Right now, data analytics skills are in hot demand. A desirable job candidate should be able to import large data sets in various formats, clean data, manipulate data, interrogate data, and draw conclusions from the data. Additionally, the job candidate should be able to prepare informative and easy-to-follow data visualizations of the results. This skill set allows a job candidate to be immediately useful in an organization. It is the new way of analyzing and communicating.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Sales Development Managers to find work opportunities?
Dr. Angela Woodland Ph.D.: There are pockets of opportunity in most communities. The savvy student will meet and make connections with local businesses through internships, student clubs, guest lectures, and other college events. With a little effort, students can learn to speak the vernacular of local industries and tailor their resumes and skill sets accordingly.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Sales Development Manager job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Angela Woodland Ph.D.: There is still work that needs to be done. Those jobs that are necessary for the economy to continue and for the protection and service of the public will continue to need willing and able employees. The field I know most about is accounting. Publicly-traded companies are required to have audits of their financial statements. This is for the protection of all who use financial statements to make investing decisions. Think about your retirement savings plans, 401(k) plans, etc. So, every year there is a need to hire students who are ready to take the CPA exam and ready to become auditors. The same goes for students who are trained and ready to prepare income tax returns for corporations and individuals. Pandemic or no pandemic, we still need accountants. In fact, we now need accountants who are prepared to make certain that loans and grants related to pandemic relief have been used for their intended purposes and have been distributed appropriately.
Wyatt Schrock Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of MarketingMichigan State University
Broad College of Business
What type of skills will young Sales Development Managers need?
Wyatt Schrock Ph.D.: For graduates entering careers in sales, two skills that come to my mind are (1) listening skills and (2) analytical skills. First, I think listening is indeed a skill that can be developed with techniques and practice. Importantly, and for several reasons (e.g., building rapport, overcoming objections), I do not think you can be a good salesperson and be a bad listener. Second, I think analytical skills may be overlooked in terms of importance for salespeople. Certainly, selling is about relationship-building. However, and simultaneously, selling is also about delivering quantifiable value. It may be increasingly important for salespeople to have the ability to demonstrate exactly how or where they intend to help their customers grow revenue or reduce expenses.
What experience really stands out on Sales Development Manager resumes?
Wyatt Schrock Ph.D.: Based on my experience and discussions with recruiters, at least two things stand out for applicants looking for sales jobs. First, I think transferrable skills are important to signal on a resume. For example, working as a hostess or waiter at a restaurant could signal to recruiters certain interpersonal skills that are important in sales. Second, I think any experience that allows the applicant to quantify their success will help applicants to stand out. If a person did well at work, I think it is worth spending some time thinking about how to tell that story with numbers. I think numbers can be just as important as words on a resume, especially when applying for a sales position.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Sales Development Managers?
Wyatt Schrock Ph.D.: For graduates entering careers in sales, I expect the coronavirus pandemic to have at least one enduring impact. That is, I think the pandemic has changed the way that people think about the nature of buyer-seller interactions. In particular, I think we now know that a lot of relationship-building, problem-solving, etc., can be accomplished remotely with video meeting applications. This development might, for example, ultimately lead to lower levels of business travel for salespeople.
Dr. Karla Gavin
Director of the Master of Sport Administration Program, Associate Professor of Sport Administration (2010)Upper Iowa University
School of Business and Professional Studies
What skills stand out on Sales Development Manager resumes?
Dr. Karla Gavin: College students who graduate and move into the workforce need to think of themselves as independent contractors. They need to articulate their abilities to be flexible and adaptable, and to communicate very clearly in written and verbal communication. Job candidates will benefit from viewing issues as challenges instead of problems and using out-of-the-box thinking to resolve those issues.
They need to share their ability to work with diverse groups of people in team settings. Their willingness to be lifelong learners is important and they should reflect their desire to attend professional development activities and to pursue advanced degrees or certifications. Examples of leadership positions and opportunities need to be indicated on the resume.
Each of the areas mentioned above requires related examples to be stated concisely to reiterate their accomplishments and future goals.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Sales Development Manager job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Karla Gavin: At this time, it appears that individuals will continue to be interviewed and hired virtually without meeting their employer face-to-face. To retain these new hires, employers need to have stellar orientation programs to be completed remotely and onboarding that engages them before Day 1 of employment. Constant communication is critical, especially in the hiring process.
Work is very likely to be conducted in a virtual format for many employees in at least the first six months of 2021. Candidates with experience working with multiple virtual communication platforms will stand out during this time frame.
Employers may require employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19 before returning to face-to-face work with colleagues and clients. Depending on what happens as this vaccine is more widely administered, it could impact employee and new hire decisions to stay or to leave.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Sales Development Managers to find work opportunities?
Dr. Karla Gavin: The world of work is in great flux right now. Willingness to relocate and to learn the field from the bottom up is very important, wherever that might be. Too many students have unrealistic expectations for salary and job title upon graduation.
They also need to know themselves well enough to understand how their personal purpose and passion match that of their chosen field and of their specific employer.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Sales Development Managers to find work opportunities?
Christopher Sippel Ed.D.: A silver lining to the pandemic may be that the location of an individual in many industries no longer dictates which company or organization someone can work for. When travel restrictions begin to ease, successful candidates will be willing to go wherever they are asked to go. In these challenging times, organizations will need people that are open to working where they are needed.
What experience really stands out on Sales Development Manager resumes?
Anthony DeFrancesco: Knowledge and experience with sales technology tools and effectively navigating Omnichannel hybrid sales environments. Social selling and analytical skills are also highly important. Product and industry knowledge for the targeted verticals also stands out. Experience with specific industry vertical prospecting tools can be a major differentiator. Finally, important to complement the aforementioned ATS keywords are leadership and team collaboration.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Sales Development Managers?
Anthony DeFrancesco: Yes, there will. Many businesses are changing their headquarters, operational infrastructure and buying communications protocols. Effective vertical prospecting, networking and selling skills will still be as important as ever as sales engagements will continue to become more complex. According to McKinsey sales engagements of course have moved mostly to digital and remote which is a trend that started before the pandemic. A McKinsey survey of B2B companies finds that, "Almost 90 percent of sales have moved to a videoconferencing(VC)/phone/web sales model, and while some skepticism remains, more than half believe this is equally or more effective than sales models used before COVID-19." (The B2B digital inflection point: How sales have changed during COVID-19) April 30, 2020 McKinsey Article)