Sales Manager skills employers ask for

The most-asked skills

Share of Sales Manager postings that mention each skill.

1. Sales88%
2. Marketingdistinctive40%
3. Leadership35%
4. Customer successdistinctive26%
5. Stakeholder management25%
6. Contract negotiationdistinctive25%
7. Communication24%
8. Forecastingdistinctive23%
9. CRMdistinctive20%
10. Training and coaching19%
11. Salesforcedistinctive15%
12. B2B salesdistinctive15%
13. Lead generationdistinctive14%
14. Customer service14%
15. Microsoft Office12%

“Distinctive” means Sales Manager postings ask for it at least three times as often as jobs overall.

Prove it with a free skill badge:Stakeholder management

Where Sales Manager skills carry over

Roles whose postings ask for the most similar skills. Overlap counts the skills that define each role most.

• Sales Engineer91% overlapShared: Sales, Customer success, Forecasting, Contract negotiationHow to switch
• Sales Representative90% overlapShared: Sales, Marketing, Contract negotiation, CRMHow to switch
• Wholesale Sales Representative88% overlapShared: Sales, Marketing, CRM, Lead generationHow to switch
• Account Executive88% overlapShared: Sales, Marketing, Customer success, Contract negotiationHow to switch

Questions

What skills does a Sales Manager need?

In 5,104 current Sales Manager job postings, the skills asked for most often are Sales (88%), Marketing (40%), Leadership (35%), Customer success (26%), Stakeholder management (25%). Percentages are the share of postings that mention each skill.

What jobs can a Sales Manager move into?

Measured by shared skill demand, the closest roles are Sales Engineer, Sales Representative, Wholesale Sales Representative, Account Executive. Sales Engineer shares skills such as Sales, Customer success, Forecasting.