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Role hub · Sales Managers

Sales Manager: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of sales managers earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$148,270
Hourly
$71.28
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Sales Managers plan, direct, or coordinate the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer. The median pay is $148,270 a year ($71.28 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a bachelor's degree (71% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$148,270
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
637,080
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 4 of 5
considerable preparation
Most common education
Bachelor's Degree
71% of workers

Data Government data groups this job as Sales Managers (O*NET-SOC 11-2022.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

Explore the role

Every page for Sales Managers

SalarySales Manager salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →ResumeSales Manager resume

Keywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.

Open →Interview questionsSales Manager interview questions

Questions with what they test, plus practice mode.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

Open →
The work

What sales managers do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Oversee regional and local sales managers and their staffs.
  2. Resolve customer complaints regarding sales and service.
  3. Monitor customer preferences to determine focus of sales efforts.
  4. Confer with potential customers regarding equipment needs, and advise customers on types of equipment to purchase.
  5. Review operational records and reports to project sales and determine profitability.
  6. Plan and direct staffing, training, and performance evaluations to develop and control sales and service programs.
  7. Direct and coordinate activities involving sales of manufactured products, services, commodities, real estate, or other subjects of sale.
  8. Determine price schedules and discount rates.
Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

NegotiationcoreActive ListeningcoreSpeakingcoreSocial PerceptivenessPersuasionJudgment and Decision MakingManagement of Personnel ResourcesReading ComprehensionCritical Thinking

Knowledge areas: Sales and Marketing, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Administration and Management, Personnel and Human Resources, Computers and Electronics.

Tools and technology

Software sales managers use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Adobe Creative Cloud softwareGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • Bentley MicroStationComputer aided design CAD softwareHot technology
  • FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
  • Google AnalyticsData mining softwareHot technology
  • HubSpot softwareSales and marketing softwareHot technology
  • IBM SPSS StatisticsAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology
  • Marketo Marketing AutomationSales and marketing softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft VisioProcess mapping and design softwareHot technology
  • SASAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology
  • Splunk EnterpriseCloud-based management softwareHot technology
  • Teradata DatabaseData base management system softwareHot technology
  • Delphi DiscoveryFinancial analysis software

Also called: Sale Manager, District Sales Manager, Fractional Sales Executive, National Sales Manager, Regional Sales Manager, Sales and Marketing VP (Sales and Marketing Vice President), Sales Director.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).