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Copier Careers: Average Sales Manager Salary is $152,227, MPS ‘Bringing New Life’ to Industry

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Copier Careers has published its 2016 Sales Manager Salary Survey that reflects the responses of 1,199 copier-channel sales managers across the United States. Copier Careers uses these annual surveys to provide a year-by-year snapshot of how well industry professionals are compensated, how satisfied they are in their careers, and how closely their needs are aligning with the needs of their employers.

Highlights of the survey include:

  • This year, the average total compensation for sales managers reached $152,557, an increase of less than 2 percent from 2015.
  • Over the past few years, sales manager compensation has “risen steeply,” increasingly more than 50 percent since Copier Careers conducted its first salary survey in 2002. The largest increases have occurred since 2010, when managed print services (MPS) began to overtake traditional equipment sales as the industry’s predominant service offering.
  • The average hours worked per week reached a new high of 62 hours for sales managers this year.
  • Nearly 60 percent of sales managers reported that they are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs on the whole.
  • One of a sales manager’s biggest obstacles in 2016 is recruiting sales representatives with a “true hunter mentality,” especially within MPS.
  • In addition to cash compensation, 99 percent of respondents receive health benefits from their employers, 98 percent receive a company car or car allowance, 34 percent receive compensation for certification reimbursements, and 27 percent are reimbursed by their companies for further education or training.
  • 48 percent of respondents said they were actively looking for a new job; 42 percent said they are somewhat looking for a new job; and 10 percent said they are not looking for a new job.

According to Copier Careers, overall, “The past few years have been good to the independent dealer channel. MPS has brought new revenue streams and, for some dealers, a new lease on life.”

Paul Schwartz, president of Copier Careers, a recruiting firm that works exclusively with copier-channel employers and candidates. commented in the report: “During our 30 years in business, people have repeatedly predicted the death of the independent dealer. When the recession hit in ’08, it looked like those predictions might finally come true. But MPS came along at just the right time, and today the independent dealer channel is booming.”

According to the report: “For copier-channel sales managers, this is as close as it gets to a golden age. Compensation is excellent, satisfaction is high, and optimism has permeated the industry. Naturally, there are challenges. Hiring experienced sales reps has become extremely difficult, and the time commitment required to recruit, mentor, and motivate inexperienced reps can take its toll. But if you ask most sales managers, they would tell you the rewards are worth the struggle.

However, Copier Careers’ Schwartz also noted in the report: “The copier channel has an image problem. It is almost always necessary to explain to people from outside the industry that this business isn’t about selling copiers  – it’s about selling a huge variety of solutions that happen to be delivered through copiers and MFPs. General perceptions about the industry have not kept pace with the reality of how technologically sophisticated it has become. Which means it takes a lot of effort on the part of sales managers to get good candidates in the door, and to sell them on the idea of working in the industry.”

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