MBA in Marketing or Sales: Comparison, Career Opportunities, Industry Trends

MBA in Marketing or Sales: Comparison, Career Opportunities, Industry Trends

Updated on 10 Oct 2024, 11:28 AM IST

Choosing between an MBA in Marketing or Sales? can be slightly tricky as candidates often get confused between the two. The two specializations being closely related to each other can create a sense of confusion. But an MBA in marketing is different from an MBA in Sales. Each has its own unique skill set and learning curve. Candidates from both specializations contribute differently to the success of an organization. To be able to choose between the two candidates should understand the impact of factors like career opportunities, job roles, pay scale, and work-life balance.

MBA in Marketing or Sales?

MBA in Marketing or Sales: Comparison, Career Opportunities, Industry Trends
MBA in Marketing or Sales

An MBA in marketing is significantly different from an MBA in sales. Both might seem to be related but focus on different aspects of business. The candidates can refer to the different points discussed below to understand the key differences between the two. Understanding the impact of each of these factors on the overall career can help in deciding which specialization to choose for pursuing an MBA.

MBA in Marketing or Sales? Skillset Comparison

The skillset after an MBA in marketing is somewhat similar to that of sales but only a few. There are major skills that a candidate gets equipped with after an MBA in either marketing or sales. The skillset that one gets equipped with for both these MBA specializations are listed in the table given below.

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MBA Marketing Skills

MBA Sales Skills

Market Research

Sales Strategy

Consumer Behaviour Analysis

Client Relationship Management

Brand Management

Sales Forecasting

Digital Marketing

Team Leadership

Strategic Marketing

Negotiation

Event Marketing

Cold Calling/E-mail

Communication Strategies


MBA in Marketing or Sales? Career Opportunities

Both an MBA in marketing and an MBA in sales have widespread career opportunities in various industries as sales and marketing are the requirements of possibly every business that exists on the planet. The marketing department deals with an outreach of the products and services offered by the organization whereas the sales department is responsible for closing in the sale of the products and services offered to the potential customers or clients. The different potential career roles for sales and marketing are given in the table below.

MBA Marketing Career Roles

MBA Sales Career Roles

Marketing Manager

Account Executive

Brand Manager

Sales Manager

Market Research Analyst

Business Development Associate

Product Manager

Sales Direct

Chief Marketing Officer

Vice President Sales

Marketing Executive

Sales Professional

Digital Marketer


Product Marketing Manager


MBA in Marketing or Sales? Industry Trends

The industry trends for both marketing and sales appear to be on a positive note. The marketing roles often involve working with broader strategies and can be more varied across different industries and sectors. Sales roles are crucial for organizations to derive revenue and often involve more direct client engagement and sales strategy. The marketing and sales industry keeps on evolving in the ways the consumption of goods and services changes. With growing consumer demands companies are always on the lookout for talented candidates for marketing and sales roles. Candidates need to keep themselves updated with trends and strategies.

MBA in Marketing or Sales? Longterm Goals

Candidates need to realize long-term goals associated with their careers. Knowing it helps decide what specialization should be pursued for an MBA. Marketing requires candidates to stay on top of trends, get creative, and never miss out on opportunities. Therefore, candidates with a creative outlook are more likely to deal with marketing in the long run. However, something like sales can have great incentives associated but comes with great pressure to meet set targets and tight deadlines. To establish a long-term career in sales candidate must be extraordinarily good at handling pressure and meeting targets. Candidates can also seek advice from professionals in both fields to understand the long-term consequences of each work field.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Which is better marketing or sales?
A:

An MBA in marketing is different from an MBA in Sales. Each has its own unique skill set and learning curve. Candidates from both specializations contribute differently to the success of an organization.

Q: What is the difference between marketing and sales?
A:

The marketing department deals with an outreach of the products and services offered by the organization whereas the sales department is responsible for closing in the sale of the products and services offered to the potential customers or clients.

Q: Which pays more, MBA marketing or MBA sales?
A:

Both the specializations pay well. Marketing roles have good overall compensation. The sales role has great incentives associated with them. The more a candidate does well in a sales role more is the incentive achieved.

Q: Which job is best after an MBA in marketing?
A:

A job related to product marketing can be considered best after an MBA in marketing. The job involves the candidate being responsible for the overall effective marketing of a product being released by the company.

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Questions related to CAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CAT ?

Hello there,

Yes, you should surely give a try. Your score and being Non-Engineer gives you an edge. The previous trends shows that cutoff typically hovers around 75-84 for EWS category. Therefore you must give a try.

NIBM  gives proper weightage to academics as well, therefore your 8\8\8 would work

HELLO,

With an overall 98.54 percentile ( QA/DILR 97.55, VARC 94.89) and strong academics 9/9/0, you have a good profile. As a B.Tech candidate you can expect calls from :-

  • IIM Shillong
  • IIM Udaipur
  • IIM Trichy
  • IIM Ranchi
  • IIM Raipur
  • IIM Kashipur
  • IIM Nagpur
  • IIM Indore is Boderline

Hope this

Hello there,

The IIMs you should expect are listed below:

  • A 90-100% chance: IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Shillong, IIM Mumbai, and all CAP IIMs( Udaipur, Trichy, Ranchi, etc.).
  • A 50-70% CHANCE: IIM Calcutta and SPJIMR.
  • A very competitive chance, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore

Your biotech background

Hello there,

With a 70 percentile it is not easy to make it in the IMT Hyderabad because the cutoff usually reaches 85-90+ for general category, even IMT Nagpur has low chances since the cutoff usually reaches 75-85. However, IMI Kolkata, is your safe option, since the cutoff is around

Hello aspirant,

Your kid has a good profile even in the general category with a BTech from IIT Delhi, three years of excellent job experience in a leading industry, and a 96 percentile in the CAT. He has a strong chance at reputable MBA schools like IIM Shillong, IIM Udaipur,