Sales Managers

What Sales Managers Do

Plan, direct, or coordinate the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer. Coordinate sales distribution by establishing sales territories, quotas, and goals and establish training programs for sales representatives. Analyze sales statistics gathered by staff to determine sales potential and inventory requirements and monitor the preferences of customers.

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience

Less than 5 years

On-the-job training

None

Self-employed

0.9%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

• Sales and Marketingimportance 4.8/5
• Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.3/5
• English Languageimportance 4.1/5
• Administration and Managementimportance 4.0/5
• Personnel and Human Resourcesimportance 3.4/5
• Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.2/5
• Education and Trainingimportance 3.2/5
• Economics and Accountingimportance 3.0/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

• Telephone Conversations5.0/5
• E-Mail5.0/5
• Contact With Others4.9/5
• Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.7/5
• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.7/5
• Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.7/5

Related Careers

• Marketing Managers
• Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel
• Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
• Advertising and Promotions Managers
• Purchasing Managers
• First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers
• First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers
• General and Operations Managers

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

• Financial Managers98% skill match
• First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers98% skill match
• Human Resources Managers98% skill match
• Advertising and Promotions Managers98% skill match
• Marketing Managers98% skill match
• First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers97% skill match
• Social and Community Service Managers97% skill match
• Education Administrators, Postsecondary97% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

• Negotiationimportance 4.0/5
• Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.9/5
• Persuasionimportance 3.9/5
• Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.9/5
• Management of Personnel Resourcesimportance 3.9/5
• Coordinationimportance 3.8/5
• Instructingimportance 3.8/5
• Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.8/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

• Leadership Orientation
• Social Orientation
• Dependability
• Perseverance
• Achievement Orientation
• Self-Confidence
• Initiative

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

• EnterprisingHigh
• ConventionalHigh
• SocialMedium
• InvestigativeLow
• RealisticLow
• ArtisticLow

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where sales managers make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

1. 1San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA1.92× national avg
2. 2Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX1.86× national avg
3. 3San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA1.83× national avg
4. 4Napa, CA1.63× national avg
5. 5Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA1.62× national avg

Possible Career Moves

A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.

• Marketing ManagersLateral Move
• Advertising and Promotions ManagersLateral Move
• Purchasing ManagersLateral Move
• Chief ExecutivesAdvancement

See the full career path from Sales Managers →

Related Education Programs

Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.