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Sales | Director of Sales

Director of Sales

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

A Director of Sales directs and is responsible for performance of sales for an entire organization. May manage sales managers. Plans and directs sale of products or services to customers. Coordinates sales distribution. Establishes sales territories, quotas and/or goals for staff, and provides training for sales representatives.

Job Outlook

There were 1486 Director of Sales job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 48851 in the United States.

In combination with other careers in the Business Development / Sales Manager industry, which includes the Director of Sales career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:

Salary

Many new Director of Sales jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.

National

The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $176,223.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $173,293.

Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Director of Sales postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $140,219.

Education and Experience

Posted Director of Sales jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.

Education LevelPercentage
Associate's Degree0%
Bachelor's Degree60.49%
Master's Degree19.13%
Doctoral Degree1.18%
Other6.81%

Posted Director of Sales jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.

Years of ExperiencePercentage
0 to 2 years10%
3 to 5 years36.4%
6 to 8 years19.07%
9+ years34.53%

Skills

Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Director of Sales positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.

Baseline Skills

A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.

  • Sales (91.68%)
  • Leadership (53.85%)
  • Communication (48.89%)
  • Management (46.39%)
  • Customer Service (30.45%)
  • Presentations (27.64%)
  • Operations (26.34%)
  • Forecasting (22.23%)
  • Negotiation (21.12%)
  • Planning (19.45%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

  • Marketing (56.09%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

  • Sales Strategy (30.69%)
  • Sales Forecasting (9.33%)
  • Go-to-Market Strategy (10.13%)
  • Account Management (10.23%)
  • Business To Business (10.46%)
  • Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (9.93%)
  • Market Trend (11.31%)
  • Sales Operations (9.84%)
  • Salesforce (16.73%)
  • Business Development (18.17%)
  • Sales Process (18.98%)
  • Direct Selling (10.75%)
  • Customer Relationship Management (22.9%)
  • Business Strategies (8.01%)
  • Market Share (11.25%)
  • Selling Techniques (38.57%)
  • Finance (13.31%)
  • Sales Prospecting (27.64%)
  • Project Management (8.67%)
  • New Product Development (8.38%)
  • Sales Management (16.31%)
  • Value Propositions (9.78%)
  • Revenue Growth (14.68%)

Distinguishing Skills

A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.

  • Catering Sales (3.6%)
  • Enterprise Sales (5.33%)

Salary Boosting Skills

A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.

  • Enterprise Sales (9.1%)
  • Marketing (95.82%)

Alternative Job Titles

Sometimes employers post jobs with Director of Sales skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:

  • Vice President of Sales
  • Director of Sales and Marketing
  • Sales Director
  • Sales Executive
  • Enterprise Sales Director
  • Director of Sales Enablement
  • Area Sales Director
  • Area Director of Sales
  • Director of Sales Operations

Similar Occupations

If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.

Common Employers

Here are the employers that have posted the most Director of Sales jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.

United States

  • Marriott International (1522)
  • Lumen Technologies (1143)
  • Hilton (602)
  • Wolters Kluwer (535)
  • Aimbridge Hospitality (498)
  • Fisher Investments (388)
  • Realty Connect USA (386)
  • Sunrise Senior Living (377)
  • Concentrix (336)
  • Accenture (333)

North Carolina

  • Marriott International (32)
  • Realty Connect USA (32)
  • Lumen Technologies (26)
  • Windstream (26)
  • Lenovo (22)
  • Hilton (22)
  • Consulate Health Care (16)
  • Compass Group (15)
  • Carstar Franchise Systems (13)
  • Sunrise Senior Living (12)

NC State Programs Relevant to this Career

If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!