Sales and marketing managers who work for U.S. lubricant manufacturing companies earn an average of $114,826 a year, about 34 percent higher than the $85,524 average reported by their counterparts working for lube distributors, according to the latest Lubricants Industry Salary Survey conducted by LubesnGreases magazine.
The average sales and marketing manager responding to the 2006 survey is 49.5 years old and has amassed 20.2 years of relevant work experience. He or she supervises an average of 9.1 other people, and has 10.6 years of tenure with the current employer, the magazine reported in its November issue. Only 5 percent of the 248 sales and marketing executives who replied to the survey are women.
About 68 percent of the respondents work for lubricant manufacturers, while the others work at lube distributors. The high-water mark for earnings among all respondents was $250,000, reported by both an executive with a lube manufacturer and one at a lube distributor. The lowest pay overall-$10,000 – was reported at a lube manufacturer.
In the prior survey, conducted in 2004, the average pay for sales and marketing execs at lube manufacturers reached $104,953, and at lube distributors it was $76,866. The highest pay seen that year was $250,000 and the lowest was $20,000, both reported by sales/marketing managers working for lube manufacturers.
LubesnGreases Lubricants Industry Salary Survey also looks at how compensation varies by type and size of company, geographic region, length of time in the job and number of people supervised. It illustrates how pay increases steadily with the size of the staff supervised, probably because larger turf signals an increasing burden. Managers with lube distributors reported earning an average $77,744 for supervising fewer than five people, and $105,889 for supervising six to 12 people. Those overseeing a staff larger than 12 saw that average go to $110,222.
A steeper progression was seen among those working for lube manufacturers, where the supervisor of five or fewer earned an average $114,155; of six to 12 earned $129,189; and the average for supervising more than 12 people reached $149,727.
In terms of added benefits that sweeten the take-home packet for sales executives – commissions, bonuses, raises – a gap remains between lube manufacturers and distributors, although the gap narrowed in comparison to the previous survey in some cases. For example, almost 67 percent of respondents from lube manufacturers said they got a raise in the past year, compared to 57 percent of those at distributors. In 2004, the percentage from lube manufacturers was the same while the percentage for those at distributors was only 43 percent.
Seventy-four percent of sales/marketing execs at lube manufacturers expect a bonus this year,compared to 62 percent at lube distributors. And 22 percent of sales/marketing respondents at lube manufacturers expect to earn a commission, while 50 percent of those with lube distributors do.
Sales and marketing managers who answered the survey were divided almost equally between those who held their management position for fewer than five years and those had been in place for five years or more. The difference in pay was relatively minor. The average pay for those in their job less than five years was $95,416,3 percent higher than those with greater longevity.
This is the fifth time LubesnGreases has directly surveyed key lubricant industry personnel about their compensation. Other executives surveyed include lubricant plant managers and laboratory/R&D/technical managers.
The detailed 46-page 2006 salary survey report is now available from LNG Publishing Co. for $75. For an order form, click here.