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The differences between sales managers and inside sales 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 an inside sales manager. Additionally, an inside sales manager has an average salary of $78,425, 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 an inside sales manager are customer service, CRM, and salesforce.
| Sales Manager | Inside Sales Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $73,952 | $78,425 |
| Hourly rate | $35.55 | $37.70 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 119,066 | 129,882 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
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.
An inside sales manager is the one who leads the sales team to meet the organization's sales targets. The sales managers recruit, handle, and train the professional development of the sales team. It is their duty to set the goals of the company, provide sales reports, set departmental budgets, and track sales. They collaborate with the marketing department to make sure that the sales staff receives quality leads. Also, they address and resolve complaints from customers.
Sales managers and inside sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Manager | Inside Sales Manager | |
| Average salary | $73,952 | $78,425 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $129,000 | Between $49,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | Jersey City, NJ | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Capgemini | Accenture |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a sales manager and an inside sales manager in terms of educational background:
| Sales Manager | Inside Sales Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between sales managers' and inside sales managers' demographics:
| Sales Manager | Inside Sales Manager | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.7% Female, 31.3% | Male, 63.3% Female, 36.7% |
| 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% |