What is a senior sales director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
5 min read
Quoted Expert
Bill Thorne
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A senior sales director leads a team of sales professionals to achieve revenue targets and create new business opportunities. The director develops sales strategies, manages budgets, and collaborates across departments. The role requires communication and leadership skills, as well as a deep understanding of market trends and customer needs. Senior sales directors possess extensive experience in sales, marketing, and business development. They motivate and inspire their teams to drive sales growth while fostering a positive company culture.

What general advice would you give to a Senior Sales Director?

Bill ThorneBill Thorne LinkedIn Profile

Executive Director of the NRF Foundation and Senior Vice President of Communication and Public Affairs of NRF, National Retail Federation

Retail is the largest private-sector employer in the country, directly employing 32 million people and supporting 52 million jobs overall - roughly one-quarter of the U.S. workforce. While COVID-19 has presented new and unexpected challenges, retailers have continued to showcase the industry's resilience and adaptability time and again. The safety and security of customers and employees remains our greatest priority. It is no doubt that the professional environment has changed this year, but retail continues to offer a plethora of career opportunities for graduates and seasoned veterans alike.
ScoreSenior Sales DirectorUS Average
Salary
8.2

Avg. Salary $124,597

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
6.4

Growth Rate 5%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
2.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.24%

Asian 4.07%

Black or African American 3.24%

Hispanic or Latino 9.82%

Unknown 4.41%

White 78.23%

Gender

female 35.00%

male 65.00%

Age - 46
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46
Stress Level
6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
8.7

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
4.4

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a Senior Sales Director?

Pros

  • High earning potential

  • Leadership and management opportunities

  • Varied day-to-day responsibilities and challenges

  • Opportunity to work with a talented team

  • Flexibility in work schedule

Cons

  • High-pressure environment with demanding targets

  • Long hours, including nights and weekends

  • Need to always be available and responsive to clients and team members

  • High stress levels due to performance expectations

  • Travel can be frequent and tiring

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Senior Sales Director career paths

Key steps to become a senior sales director

  1. Explore senior sales director education requirements

    Most common senior sales director degrees

    Bachelor's

    77.9 %

    Master's

    12.0 %

    Associate

    6.8 %
  2. Start to develop specific senior sales director skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Sales Process13.36%
    Customer Satisfaction12.10%
    Cloud5.31%
    Sales Management4.35%
    Product Knowledge4.07%
  3. Complete relevant senior sales director training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior sales directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a senior sales director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior sales director resumes.
  4. Research senior sales director duties and responsibilities

    • Develop and manage a partnership with a Korean company to outsource medical device manufacturing on OEM basis.
    • Manage relationships with toll manufacturers and logistics providers to exceed cost reduction and inventory turn targets.
    • Halve response time and triple RFP reply rates for both domestic and international clientele.
    • Prepare written proposals for RFP s, client presentations, cross-selling audio and video capabilities.
  5. Get senior sales director experience

    Generally, it takes 6-8 years to become a senior sales director. The most common roles before becoming a senior sales director include director of sales, account executive team lead and regional sales manager.
  6. Prepare your senior sales director resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior sales director resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a senior sales director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Senior Sales Director Resume templates

    Build a professional Senior Sales Director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Senior Sales Director resume.
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    Senior Sales Director Resume
    Senior Sales Director Resume
  7. Apply for senior sales director jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a senior sales director job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Senior Sales Director Job

Zippi

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Average senior sales director salary

The average Senior Sales Director salary in the United States is $124,597 per year or $60 per hour. Senior sales director salaries range between $80,000 and $192,000 per year.

Average Senior Sales Director Salary
$124,597 Yearly
$59.90 hourly

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How do senior sales directors rate their job?

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Senior Sales Director reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2020
Pros

Motivating people and helping to create success in each person's day. Honor God serve people in rich people's lives, pursue excellence in service.

Cons

Not enough time in each day to get everything accomplished.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020
Pros

Coming in contact with people, motivating staff, making the numbers, profitability for everyone

Cons

I like everything


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A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019
Cons

Politics, toxic work environment, having to work with real sob.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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