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How exposed to AI is a Sales Manager?

Of the 17 tasks O*NET lists for sales managers, 2 could be done in half the time with a chat window today. 2 cannot be sped up at all. Here is which.

Exposure means published research judged an AI could halve the time a task takes, at the same quality. It does not mean the task stops needing a person. How to read this

Also called
District Sales ManagerFractional Sales ExecutiveNational Sales ManagerRegional Sales ManagerSales and Marketing VP (Sales and Marketing Vice President)Sales DirectorSales ManagerSales Operations Manager (Sales Ops Manager)Sales SupervisorSales VP (Sales Vice President)
Reachable today Needs software built first Cannot be sped up
17
tasks rated for this occupation
76%
hold a degree, from a survey of 21
454k
people do this job in the US
6 of 56
least protected in management

Every task, and what AI can do with it

These are O*NET's task statements for this occupation, exactly as written, sorted into the three bands by the ratings behind this report. Nothing has been reworded.

Reachable with a chat window today

2
  • Resolve customer complaints regarding sales and service
  • Confer with potential customers regarding equipment needs, and advise customers on types of equipment to purchase

Only with software built on top

13
  • Direct and coordinate activities involving sales of manufactured products, services, commodities, real estate, or other subjects of sale
  • Review operational records and reports to project sales and determine profitability
  • Oversee regional and local sales managers and their staffs
  • Determine price schedules and discount rates
  • Prepare budgets and approve budget expenditures
  • Monitor customer preferences to determine focus of sales efforts
  • Direct, coordinate, and review sales and service accounting and record-keeping, as well as receiving and shipping
  • Direct clerical staff to keep records of export correspondence, bid requests, and credit collections, and to maintain current information on tariffs, licenses, and restrictions
  • Advise dealers and distributors on policies and operating procedures to ensure functional effectiveness of business
  • Confer or consult with department heads to plan advertising services and to secure information on equipment and customer specifications
  • Assess marketing potential of new and existing store locations, considering statistics and expenditures
  • Visit franchised dealers to stimulate interest in establishment or expansion of leasing programs
  • Direct foreign sales and service outlets of an organization

Cannot be sped up

2
  • Plan and direct staffing, training, and performance evaluations to develop and control sales and service programs
  • Represent company at trade association meetings to promote products
What this does not say

This is not a prediction about your job

Nobody surveyed an employer. Tasks are counted equally, so a percentage here is a share of the list rather than a share of your week. And the ratings were made in 2023, which makes every figure a floor rather than a ceiling.

It must never be used to select anyone for redundancy. The full limits are here.

Where to go next

This is the standard task list for the title. The useful next question is which of the tasks you actually do should go near AI, and which should not.

Sort your own tasks Read the full report

Exposure ratings from Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs, Science 384, 1306–1308, 2024, used under the MIT licence. This page includes information from the O*NET Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. People Team AI has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Employment figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.