highest paying sales jobs 2020

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highest paying sales jobs 2020

More than 15 million people work in the sales industry within the United States, or about 5% of the total population, doing everything from informing your doctor about new medications to bringing you a different size of pants in the dressing room at your favorite clothing store.

And while the overall median salary for a role in this field is low, $41,790, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are a plenty of sales jobs that will earn you well over double that.

The trick is to know which sales careers lead to salaries in the six-digits. To determine the most financially rewarding roles, jobs site Glassdoor analyzed its extensive user database and found that wholesale and manufacturing sales gigs as well as those in property were the best.

In Glassdoor calculations, salaries include flat base compensation as well as typical commission rates for each role — an important note, as base pay accounts for only 67% of a sales professionals’ total pay, while commission accounts for around 32%, according to Glassdoor.

Below are the seven highest paying jobs you can land in the sales industry:

14 Sales Jobs That Pay Well

By Indeed Editorial Team

November 25, 2020

Sales professionals are responsible for educating customers on products and services, building relationships, closing deals, ensuring ongoing customer satisfaction and other duties that directly impact a company’s revenue. Working in this field can help you develop transferable skills like communication and relationship building. In this article, we explore 14 career paths in sales that tend to have higher than average salaries.

Sales jobs that pay well

To help you determine which sales position is best for you, consider these 14 well-paying sales jobs ranked from lowest to highest pay rates across a wide range of experience levels.

1. Sales assistant

National average salary: $13.55 per hour

Primary duties: Sales assistants support sales teams by maintaining databases. This involves updating contact records and invoice data, communicating promotions and pricing changes, preparing sales tracking reports, placing product orders, arranging shipment, resolving inventory problems and organizing and scheduling sales education. They may also assist with administrative tasks such as filing and data entry.

Companies with this position: Rent-A-Center, Enlivant, Sinclair Broadcast Group

2. Inside sales representative

National average salary: $48,717 per year

Primary duties: An inside sales representative is responsible for finding and cold calling new sales leads through directories, web tools or client referrals. They build relationships with prospects to earn new business and maintain relationships with existing customers. Most of an inside sales representative’s job is done remotely rather than through face-to-face meetings.

Companies with this position: Finish Line, Ferguson Enterprises, Inc., Rexel

3. Business development representative

National average salary: $57,466 per year

Primary duties: A business development representative helps seek out new business opportunities and leads, and researches new leads and markets to determine whether the sales team should pursue them. They help build relationships with new prospects and clients to grow the business and increase the likelihood of future sales.

Companies with this position: Cintas, Oracle, ADT Security Services

4. Account manager

National average salary: $61,791 per year

Primary duties: An account manager is responsible for maintaining relationships with existing clients or groups of clients to ensure the company is meeting their needs and goals. They schedule regular meetings and check-ins, suggest additional products or services, answer client questions and concerns, share performance reports and work to ensure ongoing client satisfaction.

Companies with this position: State Farm, Aaron’s, Verizon

5. Account executive

National average salary: $65,632 per year

Primary duties: Account executives generally work for marketing and advertising agencies or media companies and act as the liaison between the company and its clients. They manage day-to-day communication, ensure campaigns are running according to plan, present performance and progress reports, and provide suggestions for improvement. They may also be responsible for selling additional services and ensuring contract renewals.

Companies with this position: Comcast, Spectrum, AT&T

6. Car sales executive

National average salary: $66,376 per year

Primary duties: A car sales executive works for an auto dealership and is responsible for helping customers find and purchase new and used vehicles. They show and demo cars, and help customers make purchase decisions by discussing model types, features, warranties and financing options. They also negotiate pricing and may be responsible for up-selling additional products and services.

Companies with this position: AutoNation, Toyota, Honda

7. Pharmaceutical sales representative

National average salary: $68,158 per year

Primary duties: Pharmaceutical sales representatives work on behalf of drug manufacturers to meet with physicians and other primary decision-makers at healthcare organizations to educate them on products and treatments. They provide marketing materials and samples to increase awareness of pharmaceutical products and answer questions to ensure doctors have the information they need to prescribe those products.

Companies with this position: Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer Inc., Avion Pharmaceuticals

8. Sales manager

National average salary: $69,553 per year

Primary duties: A sales manager is someone who develops and implements strategic sales plans to help a company meet revenue goals. They set team objectives, monitor progress and report performance to senior management. They may also be responsible for hiring, training, coaching and supervising sales staff including sales representatives and account managers.

Companies with this position: Macy’s, Comcast, Staples

9. Territory sales professional

National average salary: $69,571 per year

Primary duties: Territory salespeople are responsible for all sales activity within a defined geographic territory. They identify potential opportunities, arrange face-to-face meetings with prospects and customers, educate customers on products and services and help them make a purchase decision. They are usually responsible for managing ongoing client relationships.

Companies with this position: US Foods, Altria, American Greetings

10. Outside sales representative

National average salary: $69,849 per year

Primary duties: An outside sales representative helps find new sales leads and sets up meetings to pitch products and services. They also educate customers and answer questions to help drive purchase decisions. They negotiate pricing and ensure customer satisfaction through regular communication. Unlike inside sales representatives, outside sales representatives work with customers face-to-face at their clients’ place of business.

Companies with this position: Sysco, Builders FirstSource, ADP

11. Medical device sales executive

National average salary: $81,230 per year

Primary duties: Medical sales executives work on behalf of medical device manufacturers to promote and educate healthcare professionals on a variety of medical products, such as tongue depressors, stethoscopes, thermometers, gloves, medical implants and prosthetics. They answer questions, offer advice, provide samples and place orders on behalf of customers. They’re also responsible for maintaining ongoing relationships with physicians and other decision-makers at healthcare organizations.

Companies with this position: Cyberonics, Abbott Laboratories, Medline Industries

12. Real estate agent

National average salary: $83,126 per year

Primary duties: A real estate agent is someone who helps people or businesses buy or sell properties, such as houses, apartments, condos, office space and more. They accompany clients on property tours, answer questions, communicate buyer concerns to sellers, discuss sale conditions, negotiate pricing on behalf of clients, schedule property inspections and draw up contracts.

Companies with this position: Keller Williams Realty, Coldwell Banker, Redfin

13. Sales engineer

National average salary: $92,040 per year

Primary duties: Sales engineers use technical product knowledge to translate complicated information into easy-to-understand product pitches. They attend meetings with prospects and existing clients to answer questions, negotiate sales and make suggestions to improve results from product or service usage. They may also be responsible for representing their employer at trade shows, conferences and corporate events.

Companies with this position: DXC Technology, Eaton, Siemens AG

14. Sales director

National average salary: $109,261 per year

Primary duties: A sales director generally works for larger organizations and is responsible for overseeing all sales efforts and ensuring the sales department is adhering to company objectives. They motivate sales teams, assist with the rollout of new processes, procedures and new product or service launches. Depending on the hierarchy of the organization, they may be responsible for supervising sales managers or directly managing all sales staff.

As the salary range indicates this job largely depends on the kind of properties you deal in as well your commission rate. Becoming a real estate broker or someone who is licensed to manage their own real estate business, as opposed to a real estate agent who must work with a broker, typically results in the highest earnings in this industry, according to the BLS. Each state has slightly different processes for earning a real estate license, which is necessary to qualify for this job. No formal schooling is needed but most realtors work their way up to a solo operation after training under an established agent, according to Glassdoor.

Pharmaceutical sales

Glassdoor salary range: $52,000-$84,000

To land this gig, you’ll typically need a bachelor’s degree, though it doesn’t necessarily need to be in scientific field (though a background in chemistry, biology, or pharmaceutical science would be a plus.) Workers in this field educate healthcare professionals on new medications or other pharmaceutical goods, keeping them up to date on new industry developments while also trying to convince them to purchase such items for their hospitals or clinics or prescribe such medications to patients.

Major gifts officer

Glassdoor salary range: $45,000-$95,000

Among the highest-paid workers in the non-profit sector, these professionals specialize in fundraising and drawing in donations. Major gifts officers sell the mission of their institution, whether it be a museum, zoo, hospital or the Red Cross, to current and prospective donors who are looking to use their money and resources to help make a difference or solve a problem, according to Glassdoor. To become one, you’ll typically need a bachelor’s degree as well as fundraising experience.

1. Amazon Web Services – Principal Account Manager L7

  • Total Compensation: $422,500
  • Base salary: $175,000
  • Commission at 100% of Quota: $116,500
  • Signing + Stock Bonus ($ Value / Year): $131,000

Amazon Web Services, based in Seattle, WA, pays their Principal L7 Account Managers the highest average total compensation as well as the highest average base salary out of all sales jobs.

Amazon Web Services Principal Account Managers are responsible for selling Amazon Web Services, which is the most popular cloud technology platform. You’ll have IaaS, AI, ML, managed DB, and several other cloud products in your toolbag to sell to the largest enterprises in the United States.

You’ll be competing with other tech giants like Microsoft, Google Cloud, Oracle, and IBM in this space. AWS reported 32% revenue growth in Q1 2021, so there is still room for rapid growth.

2. Google Cloud – Key Account Executive

  • Total Compensation: $401,056
  • Base salary: $151,000
  • Commission at 100% of Quota: $172,056
  • Signing + Stock Bonus ($ Value / Year): $78,000

The Mountain View, CA headquartered Google Cloud offers one of the highest base salaries and signing and stock packages, putting them at number 2 on our list with an average total compensation of $401,056.

Google Cloud Key Account Executives, typically level L6, partner with the largest Fortune 500 companies to enable their digital transformation. You’ll work to get companies on Google Cloud’s cloud infrastructure, cloud database, and cloud analytics products.

Google Cloud competes with seasoned tech companies like IBM, AWS, Microsoft, and Oracle. Google Cloud recently shared a 47% YoY growth rate, representing a strong potential for reps to continue to convert customers to GCP.

3. Splunk – Strategic Regional Sales Manager

  • Total Compensation: $386,583
  • Base salary: $154,167
  • Commission at 100% of Quota: $154,167
  • Signing + Stock Bonus ($ Value / Year): $78,250

Splunk Strategic Regional Sales Managers’ third place ranking comes from earning the second highest average base salary and the highest average stock and signing bonus package.

Splunk, headquartered in San Francisco, CA, focuses on driving digital transformation by revolutionizing machine data accessibility. The software platform makes machine data from websites, applications, and more accessible. Account executives at Splunk work with companies to use the Splunk platform to improve their application management, analytics, and security.

Splunk competes with Datadog, Elastic, AppDynamics, and Dynatrace. Splunk has a ton of potential to grow as ARR was up 41% YoY per March 2021.

4. Asana – Strategic Account Executive

  • Total Compensation: $330,000
  • Base salary: $150,000
  • Commission at 100% of Quota: $150,000
  • Signing + Stock Bonus ($ Value / Year): $30,000

Asana Strategic Account Executives rank fourth, thanks to an even $150k/150k base/commission split, with an average total compensation package at $330,000

Asana, headquartered in San Francisco, CA, offers one of the top solutions in the work management and productivity space. Their work management software enables large enterprises to easily manage and collaborate on small daily tasks to enterprise scale projects.

Airtable, Monday, Trello, and Smartsheet all compete with Asana. Their recent 2021 quarterly revenues were up 59% and the company added 500 new employees in 2020, which indicates the company is still hyper-scaling.

5. Salesforce – Strategic Account Executive

  • Total Compensation: $329,444
  • Base salary: $153,056
  • Commission at 100% of Quota: $153,056
  • Signing + Stock Bonus ($ Value / Year): $23,333

Salesforce Strategic Account Executives, with an average total compensation package that nearly touches $330,000, rank fifth on our list of the top paid sales reps in the US.

The San Francisco, CA based technology behemoth, best known for their sales CRM, competes in several sectors of the tech industry, including CRM, CX, MarTech, Analytics, and more. They have a very complex corporate structure (read our Salesforce guide to learn more) so you might end up selling their core offerings or a specialty product.

Salesforce competes with several companies depending on the industry, including Oracle, HubSpot, Outreach, Microsoft, and SAP. They recently posted a 24% YoY revenue growth, so aspiring Salesforce sales reps do not need to worry that Salesforce has fully tapped its customer base.

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