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The differences between customer sales associates and inside 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 an inside sales associate takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an inside sales associate has an average salary of $40,687, 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 an inside sales associate are inside sales, sales associates, and strong customer service.
| Customer Sales Associate | Inside Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $37,024 | $40,687 |
| Hourly rate | $17.80 | $19.56 |
| Growth rate | -4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 415,981 | 320,863 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| 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.
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.
Customer sales associates and inside sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Sales Associate | Inside Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $37,024 | $40,687 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $49,000 | Between $30,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | Odenton, MD | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | Washington |
| Best paying company | Johnson Controls | MSCI |
| Best paying industry | Real Estate | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a customer sales associate and an inside sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Customer Sales Associate | Inside Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between customer sales associates' and inside sales associates' demographics:
| Customer Sales Associate | Inside Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.6% Female, 49.4% | Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7% |
| 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, 3.8% 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% |