Sales Salaries
The average Sales salary is
£35,279.
Working in Sales you can earn between
£21,499 and
£64,959.
The starting salary for junior Sales jobs is £21,499.
The hourly pay range for Sales jobs is £10.34 to £31.23.
Quick Links
- Sales Overview
- Core responsibilities in Sales
- Core Sales skills
- What to expect from a career in Sales
- How to earn more in Sales roles
- Sales FAQs
Sales jobs offer a range of opportunities when it comes to industries. Sales roles are usually grouped into business-to-business sales jobs and business-to-customer sales. The jobs can vary from general sales to specialist roles in medical sales or pharmaceuticals.
A job in sales opens up a vast choice of companies you can work for, including telecommunications, IT companies, electronics sales, or car sales. Telesales jobs, media, and advertising sales, and many more are available, so you can find a sales job in an area you are interested in and apply your sales skills.
It’s a highly competitive industry, so having some proven sales experience can give you a higher salary when starting a new job. A sales account manager job will provide you with a salary of around £40,500.
Specialist sales roles can allow you the opportunity to earn some of the highest salaries in the industry. A medical sales representative’s salary can be around £43,500 with significantly higher earnings with large companies and more complex sales duties.
Experienced sales directors can expect to earn circa £84,500, but there is no ceiling once you reach a high management level.
Core responsibilities in Sales
In sales roles, you will need to create and build customer relationships. You will work to sales targets and be responsible for bringing new clients and maintaining good relationships with existing customers.
Depending on the company you are working for, you may have to travel to visit clients, or your role may be office-based if you are working in telesales, for example. You will usually need to generate your own leads by identifying potential new clients and reaching out to them as prospective customers. There are many opportunities for sales professionals and sales jobs for graduates across some of the biggest and most well-known organisations.
Core Sales skills
A general sales role does not usually require a degree, but some graduate sales jobs do, in the medical or pharmaceutical fields, for example. Further training, as you work through your career, is usually part of the progression from entry-level sales to sales management jobs. You will need to be a great communicator and problem-solver to help you close deals
If this sounds like you, then a sales career is certainly worth investigating.
What to expect from a career in Sales
The world of sales opens up a lot of choices and an exciting and varied career. There will be lots of opportunities to move up the career ladder, and you will have a choice of industries or speciality sales jobs.
You will have contact with a wide variety of people, so you will need good communication skills and the confidence to deal with rejection. The career is very target driven, so you will be judged by your results and need to build profitable customer relationships.
Sales Representative Average Salary
Your average salary as a sales representative depends on many factors, which we highlight next.
Average sales salary
The average sales salary in the UK is approximately £33,000 per year. You can search for salaries by region. Complete the form on this page of our website, including the job title and location, to make a search and uncover the insight you are seeking.
Where Are The Best Sales Jobs?
Our industry research shows the best sales salaries are offered by employers operating in automotive, social care, science, recruitment, HR services, legal, professional services, manufacturing, media, and agriculture. A job selling products with a London company will see you earn the highest pay.
How To Secure A High-Paying Sales Role
Register for job alerts
You can register for sales executive job alerts on this page by providing your email address and clicking submit. Whenever a company advertises a role, we will contact you by email, helping you apply to the company ahead of other candidates. You can also view sales jobs here.
Create a killer CV
Registering for a job alert is only part of our career advice. While weighing up your career options, you should create or update your resume, using our sales CV template.
Use a CV template
The template will help you highlight your selling experience, training, qualifications, and other relevant information that will help you secure a role, such as when you worked well in a team, exceeded your targets, or pulled in a large client over the phone.
Read the job description
When you search and find a role of interest, review the job description to uncover what employers are seeking from members who join their team. When the employer contacts you, you will be primed to make a good impression and increase your odds of securing a role on the team.
Read our sales career advice
Whether you are getting your career started or aiming for a top positions, read our sales career advice to advance your position.
Sales Salaries FAQs
Here we answer your sales salary questions. Remember, to secure the best wage in this career you will need to commit to hitting targets and improving your skills through relevant training.
What is a good salary for sales?
Good UK sales salaries are above the average salary, and if your job pays more than £35,000, you can consider your pay as in the good range. Of course, how much you are paid in a position depends on the business and its location. The city and region, such as London, would command higher salaries than employers based in the North East. If you are a sales executive looking for a new job, view the salary information on our website and compare this to the salary offer made by the employer.
How much do you earn in sales UK?
Sales is a fast paced business and depending on the business sector, such as technology, and the market, you should expect a salary of between £21,500 and £65,000. Sales executives who have the ability to sell and increase a company’s revenue, will have a bright future and the chance to earn even more.
What is the highest paying sales industry?
The highest paying sales salaries exceed £65,000. These sales salaries are often attained by an experienced sales executive, account manager, or an employee that excels in field sales and exceeds their targets. The top sales industry is automotive.
How much do sales representatives earn UK?
Sales executives in the UK, from telesales executive to account manager, earn between £21,500 and £65,000.
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Sales Salaries by Region
Compare Sales salaries across different regions
| Region | Salary |
|---|---|
| East Midlands | £42,273.99 |
| Eastern | £35,041.90 |
| Isle of Man | £19,149.17 |
| London | £40,021.25 |
| North East | £34,143.18 |
| North West | £33,841.55 |
| Northern Ireland | £31,469.77 |
| Scotland | £33,521.44 |
| South East | £35,043.88 |
| South West | £33,785.36 |
| Wales | £35,609.64 |
| West Midlands | £38,789.47 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £39,483.22 |
Top Paying Locations for Sales Jobs in the UK
The average salary for Sales professionals in the United Kingdom is significantly influenced by location. The general region and area will affect your base salary in Sales jobs. However, you are not alone if relocating is not something you want to consider, and it doesn't mean that you can't make a higher income.
For example, you could choose to work for a Sales business that is city-based. While London leads the way, working for employers located in cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Reading, Leeds, and Cardiff will help you earn higher wages per year, compared to companies situated in smaller villages and towns.
Sales Professional Development
The answer to 'how much do Sales professionals earn?' can only be answered by considering where along the career path the individual and job title sit. The total year's experience in the Sales sector will change what the employer is prepared to offer. An entry-level Sales salary will be the lowest, followed by fully qualified workers, senior-level staff, and management.
While you can expect a starting salary for Sales workers to be at the bottom of the pay scale, graduates with a relevant qualification have a higher worth, commanding a better starting salary. UK training opportunities are plentiful, so even if attaining a university degree is out of the question, increasing your skills through workshops and online courses will help you raise the money you can earn a year in your chosen role.
How much are Sales professionals paid? Our data and graphs give you guidance on the wage range and earning per annum for junior, intermediate, and senior roles.
Sales Work Experience
Gaining Sales pre-entry work experience can be crucial in helping you secure employment and a decent rate per hour. Work placements, internships, apprenticeships, shadowing, and vacation work can all help you gain the experience you need. If you cannot find work experience in the Sales industry, you might be able to show potential employers that you have acquired transferable skills elsewhere.
Sales Working Hours
As with all business sectors, the working hours in Sales will affect what you earned during the month. Small, medium, and larger firms may pay a higher overtime rate or offer more money if you work unsociable hours, such as evenings, nights, weekends, and national holidays.
Salaries of part-time, full-time, permanent, temporary, and contract staff all differ and will affect your decision on whether you are earning fair compensation.
Sales Salary Negotiations
Before you enter salary negotiations with employers, hiring managers, or the head of HR, it pays to get prepared. Compare the salaries for the Sales sector on this page to help determine what you are worth. You can perform a salary search for different job titles and locations.
It is worth remembering that you can profit from more than just financial benefits and performance-related commission. Is a high salary in the UK worth more than the freedom to work from home, have more paid holiday, a gym membership, or have private healthcare benefits?
Sales Job Search
Are you looking to start your new career today or find a better paying job? Make a job search or set up job alerts and get notified the moment employers list their vacancy.
