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Clinical specialist vs sales representative

The differences between clinical specialists and sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a clinical specialist and a sales representative. Additionally, a clinical specialist has an average salary of $67,002, which is higher than the $56,591 average annual salary of a sales representative.

The top three skills for a clinical specialist include patients, excellent interpersonal and patient care. The most important skills for a sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.

Clinical specialist vs sales representative overview

Clinical SpecialistSales Representative
Yearly salary$67,002$56,591
Hourly rate$32.21$27.21
Growth rate6%4%
Number of jobs55,670205,456
Job satisfaction-4.33
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age4447
Years of experience44

What does a clinical specialist do?

A Clinical Specialists role is to assist in the selling of particular medical devices that need more detailed and complex knowledge. They work in laboratories as part of a team of technologists, technicians, and supervisors.

What does a sales representative do?

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.

Clinical specialist vs sales representative salary

Clinical specialists and sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

Clinical SpecialistSales Representative
Average salary$67,002$56,591
Salary rangeBetween $39,000 And $113,000Between $33,000 And $94,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CABoston, MA
Highest paying stateConnecticutMassachusetts
Best paying companyGenentechGoogle
Best paying industryPharmaceuticalPharmaceutical

Differences between clinical specialist and sales representative education

There are a few differences between a clinical specialist and a sales representative in terms of educational background:

Clinical SpecialistSales Representative
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common majorNursingBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaSUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Clinical specialist vs sales representative demographics

Here are the differences between clinical specialists' and sales representatives' demographics:

Clinical SpecialistSales Representative
Average age4447
Gender ratioMale, 29.6% Female, 70.4%Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 9.0% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%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 Percentage9%6%

Differences between clinical specialist and sales representative duties and responsibilities

Clinical specialist example responsibilities.

  • Collaborate with teams managing Medicare / Medicaid (CMS) requirements to increase care access for all patients.
  • Manage CNS supervise hospital base cardiac surgery clinic.
  • Collaborate with ambulatory practice managers as lead patient scheduler to develop back office scheduler position to manage all disease group patients.
  • Monitor patients with implant devices and provide ongoing programming recommendations to cardiologists and surgical staff.
  • Monitor documentation to ensure compliance with ICH GCP guidelines and interact with regulatory team members.
  • Serve as NRP and BLS instructor.
  • Show more

Sales representative example responsibilities.

  • Manage prospective leads and existing accounts through a CRM platform to accurately forecast revenue and develop long-term business partnerships.
  • Manage and create all content distribute via various social media outlets: Facebook, twitter, feedback blogs, etc.
  • Search for procurement contracts, attend trade shows, design flyers, postcards, etc.
  • Utilize POS sales software to maintain monetary sales information produce reports for organizational review.
  • Develop and maintain business relationships with businesses and policyholders using establish methods such as customer relationship management CRM.
  • Handle administrative and sales duties as Jr.
  • Show more

Clinical specialist vs sales representative skills

Common clinical specialist skills
  • Patients, 21%
  • Excellent Interpersonal, 7%
  • Patient Care, 6%
  • Clinical Support, 6%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Technical Support, 4%
Common sales representative skills
  • Sales Process, 9%
  • Product Knowledge, 9%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • CRM, 6%
  • Business Development, 6%
  • Sales REP, 5%

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