If you want to oversee and direct sales policies within an organization, you’re likely interested in becoming a sales director. A sales director holds an important title with many responsibilities–so how much does a sales director make? It is important to be comfortable with the potential salary that you could earn with this job title before you set any goals. As you start scoping out open positions, you will find that many employers have both educational requirements and professional experience requirements for candidates who are interested in applying. If you want to know if earning your degree is worth the money and the time to become a sales director, read on and learn about the earning potential.
What is the Average Salary for a Sales Director?
One of the first steps you can take to learn about salaries of sales directors is to research the most recently reported national average in the field. An average salary is calculated by surveying all employers throughout the nation that employ sales directors and summing the average total. Based on the survey data that was collected by Certified Compensation Professionals at Salary.com, the national average for all professionals with the job title Sales Director is $140,989 per year. This includes organizations of all sizes and in all industries. If you are looking for more specific salary ranges, you will need to narrow your search based on the factors that can shift salaries upwards or downwards.
What Factors Can Affect Your Salary as a Sales Director?
You must consider all of the different factors that can affect your salary as a sales director before you can determine what your earning potential will be when you are qualified to be a director of sales. One factor that can really affect your salary is the years of experience that you have. Most positions require that you have 10 years of experience in the field to be a director, but more supervisory and management experience leads to higher pay. If you have a Master’s degree rather than a Bachelor’s degree, you are not guaranteed to earn more, but you have more negotiating power during the recruiting process. Earning your graduate degree with an appropriate major will have an influence on pay in the long run.
The size of a sales team can have an affect on pay as well. You must consider the size of the organization that you are applying with before you expect the highest possible salary. For example, a larger firm has a larger budget to pay the sales team salaries and bonuses. If an organization has higher revenues, they have more money to utilize as incentives to the sales teams. Also consider the industry and how that industry is flourishing before you start the recruiting process anywhere. Sometimes, choosing an industry where sales teams are the most important staff will earn you the largest salary.
You need extensive experience as a sales team member and as a sales manager before you will be ready to become a director. Once you are a director, you will be in charge of setting policies and objectives and measuring the performance of the initiatives. Make sure that earning your degree and gaining experience in the field of sales is what you want to do before you decide to pursue a career as a sales director.