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The differences between customer sales associates and commercial sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a customer sales associate, becoming a commercial sales associate takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a commercial sales associate has an average salary of $55,859, which is higher than the $37,024 average annual salary of a customer sales associate.
The top three skills for a customer sales associate include sales floor, customer satisfaction and customer service. The most important skills for a commercial sales associate are cash handling, financial statements, and treasury.
| Customer Sales Associate | Commercial Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $37,024 | $55,859 |
| Hourly rate | $17.80 | $26.86 |
| Growth rate | -4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 415,981 | 261,436 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 4 |
A customer sales associate specializes in handling and communicating with customers to secure sales in a retail store. Their primary responsibilities revolve around greeting clients, responding to inquiries, providing assistance, and even offering suggestions when necessary. Aside from ensuring customer satisfaction, it is also their responsibility to maintain the cleanliness and order on the sales floor by re-stocking shelves and arranging them to look presentable. Furthermore, a customer sales associate must coordinate with other sales floor members and report to a manager or supervisor.
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.
Customer sales associates and commercial sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Sales Associate | Commercial Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $37,024 | $55,859 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $49,000 | Between $28,000 And $111,000 |
| Highest paying City | Odenton, MD | Glen Cove, NY |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | Maine |
| Best paying company | Johnson Controls | AstraZeneca |
| Best paying industry | Real Estate | - |
There are a few differences between a customer sales associate and a commercial sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Customer Sales Associate | Commercial Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between customer sales associates' and commercial sales associates' demographics:
| Customer Sales Associate | Commercial Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.6% Female, 49.4% | Male, 71.0% Female, 29.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.5% Asian, 7.0% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |