Consumer sales associate vs inside sales associate

The differences between consumer sales associates and inside sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a consumer sales associate has an average salary of $79,429, which is higher than the $40,687 average annual salary of an inside sales associate.

The top three skills for a consumer sales associate include product knowledge, customer service and outbound calls. The most important skills for an inside sales associate are inside sales, sales associates, and strong customer service.

Consumer sales associate vs inside sales associate overview

	Consumer Sales Associate	Inside Sales Associate
Yearly salary	$79,429	$40,687
Hourly rate	$38.19	$19.56
Growth rate	-	4%
Number of jobs	350,686	320,863
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	41	47
Years of experience	-	4

What does a consumer sales associate do?

A Consumer Sales Associate works on the sales floor to assist customers so that they can have a positive shopping experience. Their responsibilities include greeting customers, identifying their needs and preferences, answering inquiries, helping locate items, and offering promotions. There are instances when they must discuss product specifications, conduct product demonstrations, and produce sales reports. There are instances when they may also participate in arranging products on shelves, resolving issues, and maintaining the cleanliness of the sales floor.

What does an inside sales associate do?

An inside sales associate is responsible for selling the company's goods and services through remote communication. Inside sales associates make calls to potential customers, demonstrate the products' features, take orders, process payments, and inform the customers of the delivery details. They strategize the most effective sales pitches to attract the customers on purchasing more services that would generate revenues and increase the company's profitability and brand image. An inside sales associate also supports the marketing team in developing marketing campaigns and promotional offers depending on customer demands and requests.

Consumer sales associate vs inside sales associate salary

Consumer sales associates and inside sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Consumer Sales Associate	Inside Sales Associate
Average salary	$79,429	$40,687
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $128,000	Between $30,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	New York	Washington
Best paying company	The Citadel	MSCI
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between consumer sales associate and inside sales associate education

There are a few differences between a consumer sales associate and an inside sales associate in terms of educational background:

	Consumer Sales Associate	Inside Sales Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Consumer sales associate vs inside sales associate demographics

Here are the differences between consumer sales associates' and inside sales associates' demographics:

	Consumer Sales Associate	Inside Sales Associate
Average age	41	47
Gender ratio	Male, 52.1% Female, 47.9%	Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 7.6% White, 58.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	7%	6%

Differences between consumer sales associate and inside sales associate duties and responsibilities

Consumer sales associate example responsibilities.

Manage call center productivity levels by maintaining CSR schedule adherence.
Require multitasking, responding appropriately to customer questions and concerns, and negotiating sales for additional products and services.
Recognize opportunities to up-sell and often take the opportunity to do so to create a better Marriott experience and event.

Inside sales associate example responsibilities.

Manage individual sales activities by developing highly effective, communications focuse relationship with multiple sales channels.
Provide awareness to customers of the benefits of moving to a cloud platform for intra/customer facing web applications.
Develop a standardize, customize CRM system to track sales and marketing ROI that link into operational and financial ERP systems.
Calculate roofing amounts/square footage etc.
Maintain cleanliness and organization of stockroom shelves.
Conduct effective outbound telemarketing calls to potential and existing clients.

Consumer sales associate vs inside sales associate skills

Common consumer sales associate skills

Product Knowledge, 17%
Customer Service, 14%
Outbound Calls, 13%
Sales Floor, 8%
Inbound Calls, 7%
Technical Support, 7%

Common inside sales associate skills

Inside Sales, 13%
Sales Associates, 7%
Strong Customer Service, 6%
Sales Process, 5%
Customer Satisfaction, 5%
Sales Floor, 5%

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Consumer Sales Associate
Consumer Sales Associate vs Inside Sales Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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