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Distributor vs sales specialist

The differences between distributors and sales specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a distributor and a sales specialist. Additionally, a sales specialist has an average salary of $53,004, which is higher than the $40,606 average annual salary of a distributor.

The top three skills for a distributor include distributors, customer service and delivery truck. The most important skills for a sales specialist are building relationships, customer complaints, and customer orders.

Distributor vs sales specialist overview

DistributorSales Specialist
Yearly salary$40,606$53,004
Hourly rate$19.52$25.48
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs89,197324,069
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 45%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age4747
Years of experience44

Distributor vs sales specialist salary

Distributors and sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

DistributorSales Specialist
Average salary$40,606$53,004
Salary rangeBetween $31,000 And $52,000Between $30,000 And $91,000
Highest paying CityClifton, NJBoston, MA
Highest paying stateNew JerseyMassachusetts
Best paying companyABBVMware
Best paying industryHealth Care-

Differences between distributor and sales specialist education

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

DistributorSales Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 45%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeSUNY College of Technology at AlfredSUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Distributor vs sales specialist demographics

Here are the differences between distributors' and sales specialists' demographics:

DistributorSales Specialist
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 56.3% Female, 43.7%Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%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%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between distributor and sales specialist duties and responsibilities

Distributor example responsibilities.

  • Generate leads for outside sales representatives including organizing, monitoring and updating Microsoft CRM program.
  • Train in OSHA safety standards and maintain compliances.
  • Use an RF scanner to produce labels identifying repack case contents.
  • Use Facebook as a great social media outlet, as well as twitter.
  • Operate forklift and stand up forklift, used RF scanner guns to track items
  • Install new valves, water meters, taps for water meters, and fire hydrants.
  • Show more

Sales specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage a Salesforce database comprise of customer information, leads and potential sales opportunities.
  • Manage Pardot (marketing database), and Zuora (online billing and payment gateway).
  • Manage territory retail accounts, category management, install POS, sell of manufacturer programs and implementation of sales programs.
  • Manage planning parameters in ERP via the item master (lead times, min/max, safety stock, pay terms).
  • Master delivering technical product information to doctors on training and teaching proper injection technique to achieve optimal results for patients.
  • Lead on sales order reporting for Americas.
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Distributor vs sales specialist skills

Common distributor skills
  • Distributors, 28%
  • Customer Service, 23%
  • Delivery Truck, 7%
  • Customer Relations, 7%
  • Product Line, 4%
  • Wellness Products, 4%
Common sales specialist skills
  • Building Relationships, 10%
  • Customer Complaints, 9%
  • Customer Orders, 9%
  • Product Knowledge, 6%
  • Patients, 6%
  • Sales Process, 5%