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The differences between sales managers and sales leaders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a sales manager, becoming a sales leader takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a sales manager has an average salary of $73,952, which is higher than the $68,699 average annual salary of a sales leader.
The top three skills for a sales manager include product knowledge, customer satisfaction and sales performance. The most important skills for a sales leader are product knowledge, customer service, and sales floor.
| Sales Manager | Sales Leader | |
| Yearly salary | $73,952 | $68,699 |
| Hourly rate | $35.55 | $33.03 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 119,066 | 458,558 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 46 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 6 |
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.
A Sales Leader's responsibility is more than just leading. Most of the tasks involve monitoring the progress of sales, creating strategies to attain financial gains, managing the workforce, and as well as suggesting and enforcing particular options that would be beneficial for the sales and the company. All while making sure that all actions adhere to the policies and standards of the company. Above all, a Sale's Leader must have the passion and determination to drive a team towards the company's goal.
Sales managers and sales leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Manager | Sales Leader | |
| Average salary | $73,952 | $68,699 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $129,000 | Between $33,000 And $139,000 |
| Highest paying City | Jersey City, NJ | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Capgemini | ZS |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a sales manager and a sales leader in terms of educational background:
| Sales Manager | Sales Leader | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | SUNY College of Technology at Delhi |
Here are the differences between sales managers' and sales leaders' demographics:
| Sales Manager | Sales Leader | |
| Average age | 46 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.7% Female, 31.3% | Male, 40.7% Female, 59.3% |
| 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, 8.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 6.9% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 9% |