How To Become A Strategic Sales Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a strategic sales manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Bill Thorne

The strategic sales manager is charged with increasing business and account base by working with the area directors, regional managers, and the sales force. He/She acts as the primary contact for assigned accounts. He/She negotiates with clients on behalf of the assigned business units. Asides from that, he/she works with marketing, sales, and operations departments to develop and implement sales strategies. Furthermore, he/she may train and provide relevant materials to aid the implementation and enforcement of contracts across the business. Also, he/she compiles market data and provides industry analysis as necessary.

Employers seek candidates with a minimum of a bachelor's degree in a related discipline. Candidates must have at least five years of relevant work experience. You must possess interpersonal, multitasking, problem-solving, communication, and time management skills. You must have extensive knowledge about SaaS. Strategic sales managers earn an average salary of $76,929 per year. It falls between $43,000 and $136,000.

What general advice would you give to a strategic sales manager?

Bill Thorne

Executive Director of the NRF Foundation and Senior Vice President of Communication and Public Affairs of NRF, National Retail Federation

Retail is the largest private-sector employer in the country, directly employing 32 million people and supporting 52 million jobs overall - roughly one-quarter of the U.S. workforce. While COVID-19 has presented new and unexpected challenges, retailers have continued to showcase the industry's resilience and adaptability time and again. The safety and security of customers and employees remains our greatest priority. It is no doubt that the professional environment has changed this year, but retail continues to offer a plethora of career opportunities for graduates and seasoned veterans alike.

ScoreStrategic Sales ManagerUS Average

Salary

8.1

Avg. Salary $117,151

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.24%

Asian 4.07%

Black or African American 3.24%

Hispanic or Latino 9.82%

Unknown 4.41%

White 78.23%

Gender

female 25.57%

male 74.43%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a strategic sales manager

Explore strategic sales manager education requirements

Most common strategic sales manager degrees

Bachelor's

77.9 %

Master's

11.2 %

Associate

6.7 %

Start to develop specific strategic sales manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Business Development	10.85%
Cloud	9.47%
Salesforce	7.70%
ERP	6.91%
Sales Pipeline	6.17%

Complete relevant strategic sales manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New strategic sales managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a strategic sales manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real strategic sales manager resumes.

Research strategic sales manager duties and responsibilities

Leverage in-depth knowledge of complex manage security solutions as well as extensive technical knowledge of security hardware and software.
Co-Le product team that create custom CRM.
Design and develop CRM system, pipeline reports and management reports for both firms.
Partner with field sales to lead pre-sale install base licensing discussions, create new license proposals and generate ROI presentations.

Apply for strategic sales manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a strategic sales manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do strategic sales managers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Strategic sales manager reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2020

Pros

Motivating people and helping to create success in each person's day. Honor God serve people in rich people's lives, pursue excellence in service.

Cons

Not enough time in each day to get everything accomplished.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Pros

Coming in contact with people, motivating staff, making the numbers, profitability for everyone

Cons

I like everything

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019

Pros

Working and meeting new people. Helping customers with their purchases. Helping employees better themselves and their sales processes.

Cons

Nothing

What is a strategic sales manager and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a strategic sales manager?

Strategic sales manager career paths

Key steps to become a strategic sales manager

Explore strategic sales manager education requirements

Most common strategic sales manager degrees

Start to develop specific strategic sales manager skills

Complete relevant strategic sales manager training and internships

Research strategic sales manager duties and responsibilities

Apply for strategic sales manager jobs

How did you land your first strategic sales manager job

Average strategic sales manager salary

How do strategic sales managers rate their job?

Strategic sales manager reviews