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The differences between area sales representatives and sales specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an area sales representative and a sales specialist. Additionally, an area sales representative has an average salary of $58,355, which is higher than the $53,004 average annual salary of a sales specialist.
The top three skills for an area sales representative include customer service, business development and sales process. The most important skills for a sales specialist are building relationships, customer complaints, and customer orders.
| Area Sales Representative | Sales Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $58,355 | $53,004 |
| Hourly rate | $28.06 | $25.48 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 199,212 | 324,069 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
The primary role of an area sales representative is to sell the company's products and services within a specified region or territory. You will be responsible for attracting new clients, increase profitability, and win new accounts. Other duties typically include building and maintaining relationships with both new and existing customers, traveling across the region to visit customers, and maintaining records of customer accounts and sales leads. As an area sales representative, it is also your duty to close deals and negotiate service agreements, prices, and terms of sale.
A sales specialist is responsible for offering the best goods and services to customers in order to boost the company's sales. Sales specialists also promote strategies and solutions to contribute to the company's growth and profitability. A sales specialist must have extensive knowledge of the current market trends and the best sales skills to perform marketing tasks. Sales specialists should have excellent communication and customer service skills to assist existing and potential clients with their inquiries and concerns.
Area sales representatives and sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Area Sales Representative | Sales Specialist | |
| Average salary | $58,355 | $53,004 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $80,000 | Between $30,000 And $91,000 |
| Highest paying City | Syracuse, NY | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Maine | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | VMware |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between an area sales representative and a sales specialist in terms of educational background:
| Area Sales Representative | Sales Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between area sales representatives' and sales specialists' demographics:
| Area Sales Representative | Sales Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.0% Female, 34.0% | Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 72.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |