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The differences between commercial sales associates and inside 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 a commercial sales associate and an inside sales specialist. Additionally, a commercial sales associate has an average salary of $55,859, which is higher than the $50,944 average annual salary of an inside sales specialist.
The top three skills for a commercial sales associate include cash handling, financial statements and treasury. The most important skills for an inside sales specialist are customer service, CRM, and sales process.
| Commercial Sales Associate | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $55,859 | $50,944 |
| Hourly rate | $26.86 | $24.49 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 261,436 | 251,423 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A commercial sales associate specializes in representing a company to offer products and services to businesses and organizations, ensuring efficiency and client satisfaction. Their responsibilities include performing research and analysis to identify business and client opportunities, pursuing leads, reaching out through calls and correspondence, arranging appointments, explaining or demonstrating products, and negotiating contracts. Aside from securing sales with businesses, a commercial sales associate must also perform clerical tasks such as producing progress reports and presentations, arranging schedules, and maintaining records of all transactions, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
An inside sales specialist is primarily responsible for securing sales by reaching out to clients to sell products and services. They may communicate with customers through calls and correspondence or personally recommend products in a retail store setting. Moreover, they are also responsible for responding to inquiries or concerns, identifying the customers' needs, devising strategies to find sales opportunities, and discussing products to customers. An inside sales specialist is often required to meet sales goals and report to managers should there be any issues or problems.
Commercial sales associates and inside sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Commercial Sales Associate | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Average salary | $55,859 | $50,944 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $111,000 | Between $34,000 And $75,000 |
| Highest paying City | Glen Cove, NY | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Maine | Washington |
| Best paying company | AstraZeneca | Keller Williams Greater Seattle |
| Best paying industry | - | Real Estate |
There are a few differences between a commercial sales associate and an inside sales specialist in terms of educational background:
| Commercial Sales Associate | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| 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 commercial sales associates' and inside sales specialists' demographics:
| Commercial Sales Associate | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.0% Female, 29.0% | Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% 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, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |