Occupations · Management
Sales Managers
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.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 11-2022.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 72% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $211,670 | 40,990 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $126,790 | 37,030 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $137,130 | 27,600 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $147,940 | 24,390 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $174,610 | 17,890 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $131,040 | 17,400 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $156,950 | 12,540 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $175,360 | 11,110 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $128,320 | 10,780 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | $131,410 | 10,700 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $200,450 | 9,170 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $144,910 | 9,020 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: Bachelor's degree · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Oversee regional and local sales managers and their staffs.
- Resolve customer complaints regarding sales and service.
- Monitor customer preferences to determine focus of sales efforts.
- Confer with potential customers regarding equipment needs, and advise customers on types of equipment to purchase.
- Review operational records and reports to project sales and determine profitability.
- Plan and direct staffing, training, and performance evaluations to develop and control sales and service programs.
- Direct and coordinate activities involving sales of manufactured products, services, commodities, real estate, or other subjects of sale.
- Determine price schedules and discount rates.
- Prepare budgets and approve budget expenditures.
- Confer or consult with department heads to plan advertising services and to secure information on equipment and customer specifications.
- Visit franchised dealers to stimulate interest in establishment or expansion of leasing programs.
- Represent company at trade association meetings to promote products.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2025-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2025-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
Tasks O*NET flags as emerging
- Coach staff on sales tactics.
- Establish and monitor staff's sales goals.
O*NET 30.3 emerging tasks
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 8 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 62
No longer listed 10
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| sales manager | 1221.3.2.1 | exact |
| promotion manager | 1221.3.3 | close |
| online sales channel manager | 1221.3.2.1.4 | close |
| sales account manager | 1420.3 | close |
| trade regional manager | 1420.6 | broader |
| auction house manager | 1221.1 | broader |
| category manager | 1221.3.2.1.1 | broader |
| motor vehicle aftersales manager | 1221.3.2.1.3 | broader |
| movie distributor | 1324.5 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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