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The differences between sales managers and outside 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 outside sales manager. Additionally, an outside sales manager has an average salary of $84,408, 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 outside sales manager are product knowledge, CRM, and customer service.
| Sales Manager | Outside Sales Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $73,952 | $84,408 |
| Hourly rate | $35.55 | $40.58 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 119,066 | 138,054 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| 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 outside sales manager is responsible for monitoring the sales staff performance in selling goods and services to existing and potential clients and ensuring that the team meets sales objectives. Outside sales managers set reasonable sales targets and establish techniques to maximize the staff's efficiency and productivity. They regularly connect with the clients to determine their needs and make any adjustments to business plans as needed. An outside sales manager should have excellent knowledge of the current market trends to identify business opportunities that would generate more revenues and resources.
Sales managers and outside sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Manager | Outside Sales Manager | |
| Average salary | $73,952 | $84,408 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $129,000 | Between $51,000 And $138,000 |
| Highest paying City | Jersey City, NJ | Albany, NY |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Capgemini | Dominion Enterprises |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a sales manager and an outside sales manager in terms of educational background:
| Sales Manager | Outside Sales Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between sales managers' and outside sales managers' demographics:
| Sales Manager | Outside Sales Manager | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.7% Female, 31.3% | Male, 79.1% Female, 20.9% |
| 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% |