Top Skills for This Career
BLS identifies these as the three highest-rated skills for this detailed occupation. TrustInEd adds the plain-language explanations so visitors understand what each skill means.
Guiding people or projects, setting direction, taking responsibility, and helping others succeed.
Identifying problems, considering possible solutions, and choosing appropriate actions.
Understanding customer needs and providing helpful, professional service.
How Do You Prepare for This Career?
BLS describes the typical preparation for this occupation. Requirements can vary by employer, state, licensing rules and individual circumstances.
How to Become One
How to Become a Sales Manager Most sales managers have a bachelor’s degree and previous work experience as a sales representative. Sales managers typically need a bachelor’s degree and work experience as a sales representative. For some jobs, workers qualify with a high school diploma.
Education
Sales managers typically need a bachelor’s degree, although some positions require a high school diploma. A common field of degree is business, which usually includes courses in management and marketing. Work Experience in a Related Occupation Work experience is typically required to become a sales manager. Employers usually prefer that candidates have several years of sales experience. Sales managers typically enter the occupation from other sales and related occupations, such as retail sales workers, wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives, or purchasing agents.
Your Next Step
Compare colleges and education options that can support the typical entry-level education for this career.
Pay
the median annual wage for all workers was $50,980.
Job Outlook
Job Outlook Employment of sales managers is projected to grow 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as the average for all occupations. About 47,300 openings for sales managers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire. Employment An effective sales team remains crucial for profitability. As the economy grows, organizations will focus on generating new sales and will look to their sales strategy as a way to increase competitiveness. Online shopping is expected to continue to increase, meaning more sales will be completed without a sales worker involved in the transaction. However, brick-and-mortar retail stores also are expected to increase their emphasis on customer service as a way to compete with online sellers. Because sales managers will be needed to direct and navigate this mix between online and brick-and-mortar sales, sustained demand is expected for these workers. Sales Managers Percent change in employment, projected 2025–35 Advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations, and sales managers 5% Sales managers 4% Total, all occupations 3% Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy.
What They Do
What Sales Managers Do
Sales managers plan, direct, or coordinate the delivery of a product or service to the customer. They set sales goals, analyze data, and develop training programs for organizations’ sales representatives.
Duties
Sales managers typically do the following:
- Prepare budgets and approve expenditures
- Monitor customer preferences to determine the focus of sales efforts
- Analyze sales data
- Project sales and determine the profitability of products and services
- Develop plans to acquire new customers through techniques such as direct sales, cold calling, and business-to-business marketing
- Set sales goals for staff and monitor staff progress toward those goals
- Resolve customer complaints, especially those escalated by sales staff
- Plan and coordinate training programs for sales staff
Sales managers’ responsibilities vary with the size of their organization. However, most of these managers direct the selling of goods and services by assigning territories, setting goals, and establishing training programs for the organization’s sales representatives.
Sales managers typically focus on either business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. B2B sales managers may work for a manufacturer selling to a wholesaler or for a wholesaler selling to a retailer. B2C sales managers oversee direct sales to individuals.
Sales managers recruit, hire, and train new members of the sales staff, including retail sales workers and wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives. They also may assist staff members with presentations, with closing sales, and on ways to improve performance to meet their goals.
In large multiproduct organizations, sales managers may oversee regional and local sales managers and their staffs. They communicate with dealers, manufacturers, and distributors; analyze sales data generated from their staff; and determine the sales potential of products or services for inventory purposes and to monitor customers' preferences.
Sales managers also work closely with managers from other departments within an organization. These departments may include marketing and sales, which identify and target new customers; research and design, which study customers’ preferences; and warehousing, which tracks inventory.
Work Environment
Work Environment
Sales managers held about 650,100 jobs in 2025. The largest employers of sales managers were as follows:
| Wholesale trade | 21% |
| Retail trade | 16 |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 13 |
| Finance and insurance | 10 |
| Manufacturing | 10 |
Sales managers typically work in an office or retail setting. Their work may be stressful, as their job security often is tied to metrics such as reaching sales goals within specified deadlines. They may be required to travel, such as to meet with sales staff, customers, or distributors.
Work Schedules
Most sales managers work full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week. Working evenings or weekends may be required.
Important Qualities
The following are examples of qualities that are important for these workers to perform their duties. For more information, visit the Employment Projections (EP) skills data page. Analytical skills. Sales managers must track and interpret data to evaluate trends, develop goals, and determine sales strategies. Communication skills. Sales managers need to convey ideas clearly to a wide range of people. Computer skills. Sales managers must be able to use a variety of programs and applications, such as customer relationship management (CRM) and spreadsheet software, to track sales and build forecasting models. Customer-service skills. Sales managers must listen and respond to customers’ needs in order to help make a sale. Interpersonal skills. Sales managers must be able to build a rapport with colleagues and customers to be successful in their work. Leadership skills. Sales managers must develop strategies for meeting sales goals and be able to motivate their sales staff to reach those goals. Organizational skills. Sales managers must create and maintain order to manage their time, track the performance of sales representatives, and develop sales strategies.
More Information
More Information, Including Links to O*NET
Learn more about sales managers by visiting additional resources, including O*NET, a source on key characteristics of workers and occupations.
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Start with ED →Career data and occupational profile text are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections program. Education requirements are typical entry-level requirements and may vary by employer, state, occupation or individual circumstance. View the official BLS profile.