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The differences between business representatives and sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a business representative, becoming a sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a sales representative has an average salary of $56,591, which is higher than the $51,604 average annual salary of a business representative.
The top three skills for a business representative include customer service, patients and powerpoint. The most important skills for a sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.
| Business Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $51,604 | $56,591 |
| Hourly rate | $24.81 | $27.21 |
| Growth rate | -4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 197,264 | 205,456 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.33 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
Typically working as a member of a company's sales team, a business representative offers products and services to customers through appointments or calls and correspondence, securing sales and customer satisfaction. Among their responsibilities include answering inquiries, processing payments, assisting clients in filling out forms, negotiating contracts, developing sales strategies, researching new business and client opportunities, and producing sales reports. Furthermore, as a business representative, it is essential to have a great understanding of the company's vision and mission, including its policies and regulations.
Sales representatives primarily sell the company's products and services to businesses or organizations. They should be adept at closing out sales, negotiating, and providing customer service. They should be knowledgeable about the products or services of the manufacturer or producer they represent. They must also have strong analytical skills that would help them in coming up with cost-benefit analysis in assessing the current roster of clients and even prospective ones. Sales representatives should also be able to maintain good working relationships with all involved stakeholders, especially clients.
Business representatives and sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Business Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $51,604 | $56,591 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $73,000 | Between $33,000 And $94,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Marathon Oil | |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a business representative and a sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Business Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between business representatives' and sales representatives' demographics:
| Business Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 45.5% Female, 54.5% | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 21.2% Asian, 6.8% White, 54.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |