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The differences between customer relationship specialists and customer sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a customer relationship specialist and a customer sales representative. Additionally, a customer relationship specialist has an average salary of $65,947, which is higher than the $38,744 average annual salary of a customer sales representative.
The top three skills for a customer relationship specialist include CRM, salesforce and digital marketing. The most important skills for a customer sales representative are customer service, product knowledge, and customer sales.
A customer relationship specialist is responsible for providing the highest quality services for the customers by responding to their inquiries and concerns and resolving their complaints. Customer relationship specialists document calls, update the account information of the customers on the database, and coordinate with the sales team in developing promotional techniques to sell goods and services for the customers. These specialists process orders, post payments, and confirm details with the customers. A customer relationship specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in achieving customer satisfaction for business goals and objectives.
The primary role of customer service representatives is to help customers with questions and complaints. It is also their duties and responsibilities to provide customers with information about services and products, take and process orders, and process returns and modifications. They also store records of customer transactions and interactions and provide feedback on customer service efficacy. Customer service representatives must also ensure that they can give customer satisfaction and offer the best professional support.
Customer relationship specialists and customer sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Relationship Specialist | Customer Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $65,947 | $38,744 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $108,000 | Between $27,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Santa Rosa, CA |
| Highest paying state | North Carolina | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Pace University | Merck |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer relationship specialist and a customer sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Customer Relationship Specialist | Customer Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 37% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer relationship specialists' and customer sales representatives' demographics:
| Customer Relationship Specialist | Customer Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.7% Female, 62.3% | Male, 44.9% Female, 55.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 6.8% White, 54.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 24.4% Asian, 6.8% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |