Description

Sales managers are heads of entire sales teams, supervising and directing all activities related to selling products and services.

Excellent communication, customer service, and analytical skills are necessary for sales managers to effectively build trusting relationships with customers and understand their preferences and needs. Sales managers listen to feedback from their clients, apply technical product knowledge to solve problems that customers raise, and analyze sales data – information that they use to develop pricing plans and overall sales strategies and goals to increase their organization’s market share – as well as to set sales targets for the individuals they manage. Sales managers may also conduct market analysis and help develop and implement their employer’s marketing strategy.

Sales managers need to be strong leaders who coach and motivate their team to meet sales goals. They may use their own sales experience (e.g., presenting product demonstrations and recommendations, negotiating contracts and prices, influencing design choices) to guide more junior sales personnel. Organizational skills are necessary to effectively execute management duties, which include coordinating internal training, tracking and reporting the sales team’s performance, and handling the department’s budget. Sales managers need to be comfortable using computers as their duties may require working in word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and customer relationship management software programs.

Sales managers not only need to establish effective working relationships with the individuals who report to them and customers, they may collaborate with other department leaders in their organization (e.g., marketing or engineering) to develop new business and grow sales, so teamwork skills are essential.

Working as a sales manager often requires traveling to meet with vendors and clients. The job is stressful at times, requiring working additional hours at night and on weekends, beyond a sales manager’s typical full-time schedule.

Job Outlook

According to the New York State Department of Labor, there are approximately 23,200 sales managers in New York State and opportunities for employment are expected to be favorable through 2028 – the Department projects this occupation to grow by 1,530 jobs across all industries between 2018 and 2028.

Entering the Field

Sales managers typically need to have a bachelor’s degree in marketing, business administration, or management, along with at least several years of relevant experience in sales, and many employers seek to hire candidates who have worked in a related job for three to five years. Workers often build experience in roles as sales representatives or sales engineers before advancing to become managers. Some candidates without a bachelor’s degree, but with considerable work experience such as home improvement consultants, may also qualify for the job. In the HVAC/R field, employers value sales managers with knowledge of the systems and products – expertise that can be used to establish trusting relationships and provide superior customer service.

Sales managers who must travel to in-person meetings may need a valid driver’s license.

Wages

In New York State, the median wage for sales managers is approximately $190,800. Entry-level workers earn about $113,500 and experienced workers earn about $249,100.

Annual Wage (Q1 2021 dollars, rounded to 100s) – Statewide and by Labor Market Region

Region	Entry	Median	Experienced
New York State	$113,500	$190,800	$249,100
Capital Region	$70,700	$138,600	$182,000
Central New York	$78,300	$127,200	$163,900
Finger Lakes	$92,100	$140,000	$175,600
Hudson Valley	$80,700	$155,400	$215,700
Long Island	$97,100	$166,600	$214,800
Mohawk Valley	$69,100	$129,400	$187,600
New York City	$135,200	$211,400	$270,600
North Country	$70,200	$102,200	$144,700
Southern Tier	$76,600	$136,000	$183,800
Western New York	$83,500	$145,400	$187,000

Source: New York State Department of Labor, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Survey, SOC Code 11-2022 (Sales Managers)

Employers

Sales managers are employed by companies that sell HVAC/R products and related services, which includes manufacturers, wholesale distributors, and retailers. Contractors whose work focuses on building equipment systems, such as boilers and HVAC/R systems, may also hire sales managers to build and support their client base.

The top three employers with the most online job advertisements in each region in 2020 are listed below. The most common job titles across these postings were sales manager, territory manager, and sales director.

Capital Region (All ads posted in 2020 were from two employers.)

• Janitronics Incorporated
• Johnson Controls Incorporated

Central New York

• Carrier Corporation
• Penn Power
• Victaulic

Finger Lakes

• Calvary Robotics
• Isaac Heating & Air Conditioning
• Rinnai America Corporation

Hudson Valley

• T. Webber Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric
• Altech Services
• Hudson Technologies Incorporated

Long Island (All ads posted in 2020 were from two employers.)

• Honeywell
• Johnson Controls Incorporated

Mohawk Valley (Employers did not post any job ads online in 2020.)

New York City

• ABM Industries
• Emerson Electric Company
• Nexus Valve, Inc.

North Country (Employers did not post any job ads online in 2020.)

Southern Tier (Employers did not post any job ads online in 2020.)

Western New York

• Motivair Corporation
• Howden
• Rinnai America Corporation

Source: Burning Glass Technologies: Labor Insight™. 2021.

Labor Unions

Sales managers are typically not members of unions.

Education and Training Programs

Colleges and universities throughout New York State offer degree programs in business administration, marketing, and management. Institutions with some of the largest bachelor’s and master’s programs (based on the number of degrees awarded) that can prepare people to work as sales managers are listed in the table below. Other schools, including community colleges, offer associate degrees in these areas of study and the credits earned may be eligible to be applied toward a bachelor’s degree. Check with local educational institutions for additional program availability.

Educational Institution	Department	Certificate	Associate	Bachelor	Master	PhD
Capital Region
Excelsior College	Business		•	•	•
Siena College	School of Business			•	•
SUNY at Albany	School of Business			•	•
SUNY Empire State College	School of Business		•	•	•
Central New York
Le Moyne College	Madden School of Business			•	•
SUNY College at Oswego	School of Business			•	•
Syracuse University	Whitman School of Management			•	•	•
Finger Lakes
Keuka College	Business			•	•
Rochester Institute of Technology	Saunders College of Business			•	•
Saint John Fisher College	School of Business			•	•
SUNY College at Brockport	School of Business & Management			•	•
SUNY College at Geneseo	School of Business			•
University of Rochester	Simon Business School			•	•	•
Hudson Valley
Iona College	LaPenta School of Business			•	•
Marist College	School of Management			•	•
Mercy College	School of Business			•	•
Long Island
Adelphi University	School of Business			•	•
Farmingdale State College	Business Management			•
Hofstra University	Zarb School of Business			•	•
Long Island University	School of Business			•	•
New York Institute of Technology	School of Management			•	•
Stony Brook University	College of Business			•	•
Mohawk Valley
Hartwick College	Business Administration			•
SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill	Business Administration		•	•
SUNY Polytechnic Institute	Business			•	•
Utica College	Business and Economics			•	•
New York City
Columbia University in the City of New York	Columbia Business School				•	•
CUNY Brooklyn College	Business Management			•	•
New York University	School of Professional Studies & Stern School of Business		•	•	•	•
Pace University	Lubin School of Business			•	•	•
St. John’s University	Professional Studies and Business Colleges		•	•	•
North Country
Clarkson University	David D. Reh School of Business				•
St. Lawrence University	Business in the Liberal Arts			•
SUNY College at Plattsburgh	School of Business & Economics			•
SUNY College at Potsdam	Business Administration			•	•
Southern Tier
Binghamton University	School of Management			•	•	•
Cornell University	Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management				•	•
Ithaca College	School of Business			•	•
SUNY at Delhi	School of Business and Hospitality Management		•	•
Western New York
Buffalo State College	Business			•	•
Niagara University	College of Business Administration		•	•	•
St. Bonaventure University	School of Business			•	•
University at Buffalo	School of Management			•	•	•

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