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The differences between direct sales representatives and business sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a direct sales representative and a business sales representative. Additionally, a business sales representative has an average salary of $58,288, which is higher than the $43,527 average annual salary of a direct sales representative.
The top three skills for a direct sales representative include customer service, direct sales and TV. The most important skills for a business sales representative are business sales, customer accounts, and customer service.
| Direct Sales Representative | Business Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $43,527 | $58,288 |
| Hourly rate | $20.93 | $28.02 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 159,668 | 226,438 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
As a direct sales representative, you are responsible for creating customer awareness of a company's products and services and closing sales. You will perform varied tasks that include assisting in developing and executing marketing and sales plans, conducting research on competing products, and identifying opportunities to improve sales. Additionally, you are expected to answer inquiries about product features, availability, benefits, and pricing. Other tasks that you are likely to perform include attending trade shows, preparing sales proposals for prospective buyers, and preparing sales reports.
A business sales representative's role is to develop strategies in identifying leads and opportunities to secure sales. Their responsibilities revolve around reaching out to clients to offer products and services, discussing the pricing and specifications of products, processing payments, and gathering necessary client information. They may also arrange appointments with clients to negotiate and sign contracts. Furthermore, as a business sales representative, it is essential to produce progress reports and presentations, handle issues and complaints, maintain records of all transactions, and regularly update databases.
Direct sales representatives and business sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Direct Sales Representative | Business Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $43,527 | $58,288 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $69,000 | Between $31,000 And $108,000 |
| Highest paying City | Salem, OR | Bothell, WA |
| Highest paying state | Maine | Washington |
| Best paying company | Amazon | |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a direct sales representative and a business sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Direct Sales Representative | Business Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between direct sales representatives' and business sales representatives' demographics:
| Direct Sales Representative | Business Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.4% Female, 31.6% | Male, 61.4% Female, 38.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 72.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |