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The differences between territory managers and 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 territory manager and a sales manager. Additionally, a sales manager has an average salary of $73,952, which is higher than the $73,728 average annual salary of a territory manager.
The top three skills for a territory manager include customer service, patients and product knowledge. The most important skills for a sales manager are product knowledge, customer satisfaction, and sales performance.
| Territory Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $73,728 | $73,952 |
| Hourly rate | $35.45 | $35.55 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 106,325 | 119,066 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
A territory manager is responsible for monitoring the sales operations of the different sales team of an organization. One of the most crucial duties of a territory manager is to encourage the sales team to provide the best results for increasing the company's profitability. Territory managers are conducting sales training, improving marketing strategies and approach, reviewing sales pitches, analyzing current market trends, and reaching sales goals. Territory managers must display exceptional leadership and customer service skills to manage customers' needs and identify more business opportunities.
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.
Territory managers and sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Territory Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Average salary | $73,728 | $73,952 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $117,000 | Between $42,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies | Capgemini |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | - |
There are a few differences between a territory manager and a sales manager in terms of educational background:
| Territory Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | 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 territory managers' and sales managers' demographics:
| Territory Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.3% Female, 28.7% | Male, 68.7% Female, 31.3% |
| 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, 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% |