A sales team lead is responsible for providing day-to-day guidance and direction to a small group of sales representatives. They are hands-on with their team, coaching them on sales processes, motivating them to achieve quota, and helping them develop skills. A sales team lead is focused on the performance and development of the individuals on their team.
A sales manager oversees the operations and strategy of the broader sales organization. They manage multiple sales teams, set goals and quotas at the team and organization level, analyze sales data to identify opportunities, and work cross-functionally with other departments. A sales manager is focused on achieving the overarching sales objectives for the company.
Some of the core responsibilities of a sales team lead include:
Sales managers are responsible for:
Sales team leads have an on-the-ground perspective, engaging daily with reps and intimately understanding their challenges, skills gaps, and motivations. This helps them coach and develop team members for success. Sales managers take a big-picture view, looking at sales results across the organization, competitor activity, market conditions, and organizational priorities to set strategies.
A sales team lead is focused on helping their team members grow in their careers. A sales manager is focused on growing revenues and achieving sales objectives for the overall sales organization. Both perspectives are critical.
Sales team leads are individual contributors who still carry quotas. There is typically one sales team lead per team in an organization. Sales managers are people managers who no longer carry a quota. There are different types of sales managers, including division managers, regional managers, and national sales managers, depending on the structure of the sales organization.
As frontline sales leaders, sales team leads need excellent interpersonal skills to motivate team members and develop relationships. Sales managers need strong analytical abilities to interpret data and strategic thinking skills to develop sales plans.
Key skills for sales team leads include:
Key skills for sales managers include:
The typical career path is for a top performing sales rep to be promoted to sales team lead, and an experienced sales team lead to be promoted to sales manager. However, external candidates may also be brought in at the sales manager level for specific skills or experience. Some key steps along a typical sales career path are:
Sales Development Rep → Account Executive → Senior Account Executive → Sales Team Lead → Sales Manager → Sales Director → VP Sales
The sales team lead role is a transition from player to coach. It involves developing leadership skills while still remaining an individual contributor. The sales manager role is a shift into pure sales leadership and people management. It provides experience managing sales processes, teams, and strategy.
Sales team leads usually earn more than individual contributor sales reps but less than sales managers. According to PayScale, average national salaries are:
The increased compensation reflects the greater responsibilities and complexity of the sales team lead and sales manager roles. Geographic location, industry, company size, experience level, and other factors also impact average salaries. Sales managers earn the highest pay as they take on the most responsibility for overall sales organization performance.
The sales team lead and sales manager positions play integral yet distinct roles in driving sales success. Understanding the differences in focus, responsibilities, perspectives, and skills helps organizations optimize their sales leadership structure and build high-performing sales teams. With clear definitions, expectations, and career paths, companies can develop top sales talent and promote into sales leadership roles effectively.