Direct sales agent vs inside sales representative

The differences between direct sales agents and inside sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a direct sales agent, becoming an inside sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a direct sales agent has an average salary of $57,712, which is higher than the $44,413 average annual salary of an inside sales representative.

The top three skills for a direct sales agent include customer service, medicare and health insurance. The most important skills for an inside sales representative are customer service, CRM, and outbound calls.

Direct sales agent vs inside sales representative overview

	Direct Sales Agent	Inside Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$57,712	$44,413
Hourly rate	$27.75	$21.35
Growth rate	10%	4%
Number of jobs	225,552	244,168
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	43	47
Years of experience	6	4

What does a direct sales agent do?

A direct sales agent is primarily responsible for introducing and selling products or services to clients in a particular area. Aiming to reach sales quotas, they typically conduct market research and analysis, generate leads, and develop sales strategies to build positive client relationships. They reach out directly to clients through calls or face-to-face interactions, discuss product specifications or promos, negotiate contracts, and demonstrate products when necessary. They are also responsible for processing client orders and payments, ensuring efficiency and client satisfaction.

What does an inside sales representative do?

An inside sales representative is responsible for selling services and products to clients, driving the company's revenues and increase sales profitability. Duties of an inside sales representative include developing strategic sales pitches, responding to customer's inquiries and requests, offering promotional products and discounts, researching potential clients, creating sales reports, and managing customer's possible complaints. An inside sales representative also provides strategic solutions to share with the sales team to improve their sales performance. Inside sales representatives must have excellent communication and negotiation skills to deal with customers' needs.

Direct sales agent vs inside sales representative salary

Direct sales agents and inside sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Direct Sales Agent	Inside Sales Representative
Average salary	$57,712	$44,413
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $107,000	Between $28,000 And $69,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	New York	Wyoming
Best paying company	TechnipFMC	Berkshire Hathaway
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between direct sales agent and inside sales representative education

There are a few differences between a direct sales agent and an inside sales representative in terms of educational background:

	Direct Sales Agent	Inside Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Direct sales agent vs inside sales representative demographics

Here are the differences between direct sales agents' and inside sales representatives' demographics:

	Direct Sales Agent	Inside Sales Representative
Average age	43	47
Gender ratio	Male, 58.0% Female, 42.0%	Male, 54.7% Female, 45.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 9.3% White, 68.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	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	6%	6%

Differences between direct sales agent and inside sales representative duties and responsibilities

Direct sales agent example responsibilities.

Increase customer understanding of Comcast products and pricing models as well as competitive advantage over other service providers.
Produce call reports and CRM dashboards.
Demonstrate strong understanding of Comcast products, promoting and selling offerings to individual customers by knocking every door within assign territories.
Contact new and existing customers to discuss how TWC products can meet their needs.
Maintain a professional, respectful, and helpful demeanor as a representative of TWC.
Communicate ongoing contact activity utilizing Salesforce.com.

Inside sales representative example responsibilities.

Coordinate commercial sales and manage projects with HVAC contractors for Georgia district.
Accomplish tasks in a timely manner.Skills UsedComputer, math, reading wiring schematics.
Generate leads through the use of Linkedin, firm websites and legal magazines.
Manage and develop a nationwide territory through cold calling utilizing LinkedIn?, DiscoverOrg.
Manage help desk support for company ERP system as well as employee hardware and software issues.
Manage a team of 15-25 ISE's through effective sales coaching, call monitoring and creating sales spiff programs.

Direct sales agent vs inside sales representative skills

Common direct sales agent skills

Customer Service, 25%
Medicare, 15%
Health Insurance, 12%
Direct Sales, 11%
Underwriting Process, 6%
Product Knowledge, 5%

Common inside sales representative skills

Customer Service, 22%
CRM, 6%
Outbound Calls, 5%
Product Knowledge, 4%
Work Ethic, 4%
Sales Process, 3%

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Direct Sales Agent
Direct Sales Agent vs Inside Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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