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Customer specialist vs customer sales representative

The differences between customer 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 specialist and a customer sales representative. Additionally, a customer sales representative has an average salary of $38,744, which is higher than the $38,371 average annual salary of a customer specialist.

The top three skills for a customer specialist include customer transactions, client facing and phone calls. The most important skills for a customer sales representative are customer service, product knowledge, and customer sales.

Customer specialist vs customer sales representative overview

Customer SpecialistCustomer Sales Representative
Yearly salary$38,371$38,744
Hourly rate$18.45$18.63
Growth rate-4%-4%
Number of jobs202,965303,801
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Average age4040
Years of experience1212

What does a customer specialist do?

A customer specialist is responsible for assisting customers with their needs and concerns about the products and services offered by the company, addressing their inquiries timely and accurately. Customer specialists evaluate the customers' issues and provide immediate solutions through remote communication. In some cases, a customer specialist may send technical staff to the customer's location for problems that cannot be resolved over the phone or e-mail. They also take orders from the customers, process their payments, and explain the features and functions of the product.

What does a customer sales representative do?

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 specialist vs customer sales representative salary

Customer specialists and customer sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

Customer SpecialistCustomer Sales Representative
Average salary$38,371$38,744
Salary rangeBetween $22,000 And $66,000Between $27,000 And $54,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYSanta Rosa, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkHawaii
Best paying companyAbbVieMerck
Best paying industry-Finance

Differences between customer specialist and customer sales representative education

There are a few differences between a customer specialist and a customer sales representative in terms of educational background:

Customer SpecialistCustomer Sales Representative
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Customer specialist vs customer sales representative demographics

Here are the differences between customer specialists' and customer sales representatives' demographics:

Customer SpecialistCustomer Sales Representative
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 42.5% Female, 57.5%Male, 44.9% Female, 55.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 7.5% White, 55.3% 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 Percentage7%7%

Differences between customer specialist and customer sales representative duties and responsibilities

Customer specialist example responsibilities.

  • Create powerpoint presentations as well as presented.
  • Used a CRM tool effectively to track all customer interactions and setup follow up.
  • Identify or create customer wants and needs and offer solutions/benefits to upsell new or additional services.
  • Install, remove, rearrange, program, test, troubleshoot and maintain fiber and copper network services.
  • Process all new patient referrals as assigned and verifying that all the necessary requirements are meet according to Medicare s guidelines.
  • Prepare and process documents and correspondence for Medicare audit.
  • Show more

Customer sales representative example responsibilities.

  • Manage call center productivity levels by maintaining CSR schedule adherence.
  • Help customers if internet are running slow, if phone are not working, and also help to troubleshoot with them.
  • Practice good housekeeping methods and overall cleanliness.
  • Maintain cleanliness and organization of inventory within the assigned department.
  • Require to troubleshoot products and instruct customers on their proper use/warranty/options.
  • Work closely with sales director on scheduling, motivation of representations and setting up promotional events.
  • Show more

Customer specialist vs customer sales representative skills

Common customer specialist skills
  • Customer Transactions, 11%
  • Client Facing, 8%
  • Phone Calls, 7%
  • Customer Loyalty, 6%
  • Related Training, 6%
  • Customer Service, 5%
Common customer sales representative skills
  • Customer Service, 19%
  • Product Knowledge, 13%
  • Customer Sales, 9%
  • Cleanliness, 8%
  • Excellent Interpersonal, 6%
  • Social Media Marketing, 5%

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