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Sales manager vs finance manager

The differences between sales managers and finance managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a sales manager and a finance manager. Additionally, a finance manager has an average salary of $101,374, which is higher than the $73,952 average annual salary of a sales manager.

The top three skills for a sales manager include product knowledge, customer satisfaction and sales performance. The most important skills for a finance manager are financial analysis, CPA, and customer service.

Sales manager vs finance manager overview

Sales ManagerFinance Manager
Yearly salary$73,952$101,374
Hourly rate$35.55$48.74
Growth rate5%17%
Number of jobs119,066125,345
Job satisfaction55
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age4646
Years of experience88

What does a sales manager do?

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.

What does a finance manager do?

A finance manager is responsible for monitoring the financial system of a company. Their tasks include handling their organization's financial status, generating cost estimates and budget goals, identifying business opportunities to increase revenues and profitability, improving financial strategies, reducing costs, analyzing account statements, processing invoice as needed, analyzing market trends, searching potential partnerships, and presenting reports. A finance manager must have excellent analytical skills and knowledge of the accounting and financial industry. They are responsible for providing the best recommendations for the organization's growth.

Sales manager vs finance manager salary

Sales managers and finance managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Sales ManagerFinance Manager
Average salary$73,952$101,374
Salary rangeBetween $42,000 And $129,000Between $71,000 And $144,000
Highest paying CityJersey City, NJNew York, NY
Highest paying stateNew JerseyNew York
Best paying companyCapgeminiBarclays
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between sales manager and finance manager education

There are a few differences between a sales manager and a finance manager in terms of educational background:

Sales ManagerFinance Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Sales manager vs finance manager demographics

Here are the differences between sales managers' and finance managers' demographics:

Sales ManagerFinance Manager
Average age4646
Gender ratioMale, 68.7% Female, 31.3%Male, 60.0% Female, 40.0%
Race ratioBlack 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, 7.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 10.2% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage7%11%

Differences between sales manager and finance manager duties and responsibilities

Sales manager example responsibilities.

  • Achieve proficiency in multitasking by performing multiple duties and managing differing responsibilities periodically.
  • Manage discount contracts, write up of add-ons, renewals, transfers of equities.
  • Manage and support one of the largest portfolios within the division and the largest in the Americas.
  • Manage website, updating product listings, enhancing SEO positioning, and maintaining overall site appearance and functionality.
  • Launch and manage the Americas outsourcing lead generation and qualification process.
  • Set all promotional activity, introduce new items and manage distributors in select markets.
  • Show more

Finance manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage the preparation of monthly reporting packs and board presentations with robust variance analysis, commentaries and forward looking KPIs.
  • Manage a team of sales persons, business managers, sales manager, A/R, A/P, and general managers.
  • Lead successful sales team and provide direct oversight on overall dealership business profitability.
  • Manage accounts payable/receivable, deposits, payroll preparation, purchasing and inventory management, liaison to accountant.
  • Oversee financial analysis, financial audits, G/L, A/R, A/P and fixed-asset accounting in accordance with GAAP standards.
  • Execute simple SQL queries to validate data in tables.
  • Show more

Sales manager vs finance manager skills

Common sales manager skills
  • Product Knowledge, 12%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 7%
  • Sales Performance, 6%
  • CRM, 5%
  • Sales Process, 4%
  • Work Ethic, 4%
Common finance manager skills
  • Financial Analysis, 7%
  • CPA, 7%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Hyperion, 4%
  • Financial Models, 4%
  • Strong Analytical, 4%

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