General agent vs direct sales agent

The differences between general agents and direct sales agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a direct sales agent has an average salary of $57,712, which is higher than the $39,307 average annual salary of a general agent.

The top three skills for a general agent include health insurance products, life insurance policies and life insurance. The most important skills for a direct sales agent are customer service, medicare, and health insurance.

General agent vs direct sales agent overview

	General Agent	Direct Sales Agent
Yearly salary	$39,307	$57,712
Hourly rate	$18.90	$27.75
Growth rate	6%	10%
Number of jobs	94,740	225,552
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	46	43
Years of experience	-	6

General agent vs direct sales agent salary

General agents and direct sales agents have different pay scales, as shown below.

	General Agent	Direct Sales Agent
Average salary	$39,307	$57,712
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $55,000	Between $30,000 And $107,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	TechnipFMC
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between general agent and direct sales agent education

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

	General Agent	Direct Sales Agent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

General agent vs direct sales agent demographics

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

	General Agent	Direct Sales Agent
Average age	46	43
Gender ratio	Male, 73.5% Female, 26.5%	Male, 58.0% Female, 42.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 4.9% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%	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%
LGBT Percentage	7%	6%

Differences between general agent and direct sales agent duties and responsibilities

General agent example responsibilities.

Increase sales of life, annuities, disability and securities from [] to []
Operate remote telecommunications using applications and secure computer communications to troubleshoot and resolve issues on customer Samsung devices.
Help maintain Primerica as the number one source for insurance needs by directly switching accounts over to the company.

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.

General agent vs direct sales agent skills

Common general agent skills

Health Insurance Products, 11%
Life Insurance Policies, 10%
Life Insurance, 8%
Life Insurance Products, 7%
Long-Term Care, 7%
Disability Insurance, 6%

Common direct sales agent skills

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

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General Agent
General Agent vs Direct Sales Agent

Updated January 8, 2025

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