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The differences between customer sales specialists and customer relations specialists 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 sales specialist and a customer relations specialist. Additionally, a customer sales specialist has an average salary of $44,173, which is higher than the $37,827 average annual salary of a customer relations specialist.
The top three skills for a customer sales specialist include product knowledge, sales floor and customer service. The most important skills for a customer relations specialist are customer relations, data entry, and work ethic.
| Customer Sales Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $44,173 | $37,827 |
| Hourly rate | $21.24 | $18.19 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 417,148 | 215,862 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A customer sales specialist aims to secure sales and reach sales targets. To make this possible, they conduct extensive market research and analysis, generate leads for clients and business opportunities, develop sales pitches, create marketing materials and strategies, and reach out to clients to offer services and products. In some businesses, a customer sales specialist may also engage directly with customers to demonstrate products or to assist them with their needs.
A customer relations specialist is responsible for providing high-quality services for customers by responding to their inquiries and concerns and resolving complaints about the company's goods and services. Customer relations specialists update customer accounts on the database, recording their transactions accurately, and posting their payments timely. They may also sell new products and services to the clients, demonstrating features and usability, processing orders, and confirming delivery details. A customer relations specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills to ensure customer satisfaction and maintain healthy business relationships with the customers.
Customer sales specialists and customer relations specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Sales Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Average salary | $44,173 | $37,827 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $55,000 | Between $27,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Columbia, MD |
| Highest paying state | - | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | - | Deloitte |
| Best paying industry | - | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a customer sales specialist and a customer relations specialist in terms of educational background:
| Customer Sales Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer sales specialists' and customer relations specialists' demographics:
| Customer Sales Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.3% Female, 49.7% | Male, 31.8% Female, 68.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 6.6% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 7.5% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |