Business Development Manager to Sales Manager

Summary: 1 of the 6 core skills listed for Sales Manager carry over directly from Business Development Manager, and 2 more build on related experience. The US median salary changes by +14% ($105K → $120K). Difficulty: Challenging, typically around 9 months of focused upskilling.

The two roles

Business Development Manager: Identify and pursue new business opportunities and partnerships.

Sales Manager: Lead and manage sales teams to achieve revenue targets. Growth outlook +4%; AI-augmented (AI changes how the work is done, not whether it exists). Typical education: bachelor. Typical experience: 5-8 years.

Skills that carry over

• Strategy

Builds on related experience

• Sales Leadership — builds on Business Development
• CRM — builds on Business Development

Skills to learn for Sales Manager

• Team Management
• Forecasting
• Coaching

Salary comparison (median, estimated)

Salary figures are estimates benchmarked against public compensation data — see methodology.

Next steps

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Related

Business Development Manager career guide | Sales Manager career guide

Other transitions to consider

• Business Development Manager to Enterprise Sales Executive — 3 of the core skills carry over
• Business Development Manager to Account Executive — 3 of the core skills carry over
• Business Development Manager to Marketing Manager — 2 of the core skills carry over
• Business Development Manager to Account Manager — 3 of the core skills carry over
• Account Executive to Sales Manager — 2 of the core skills carry over
• Enterprise Sales Executive to Sales Manager — 2 of the core skills carry over