Hospital sales representative vs field sales representative

The differences between hospital sales representatives and field sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a hospital sales representative, becoming a field sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a hospital sales representative has an average salary of $93,625, which is higher than the $48,460 average annual salary of a field sales representative.

The top three skills for a hospital sales representative include patients, territory sales and healthcare professionals. The most important skills for a field sales representative are excellent time management, customer service, and powerpoint.

Hospital sales representative vs field sales representative overview

	Hospital Sales Representative	Field Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$93,625	$48,460
Hourly rate	$45.01	$23.30
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	165,793	228,254
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 85%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	4

What does a hospital sales representative do?

Hospital sales representatives sell medical supplies to clinics, hospitals, doctors, and facilities. The representatives promote their company's products like medical equipment and/or pharmaceutical products. They increase product awareness, provide advice, introduce new products, and answer queries. It is also part of their job to explain the benefits and features of the products. They are expected to be responsive, keep their patient in mind, communicative, have good customer service, and should be knowledgeable in medicine.

What does a field sales representative do?

A field sales representative is an employee who is employed by business-to-business (B2B) and wholesale organizations to visit leads and sell products or services to their customers in person. Field sales representatives must attract new customers and win new accounts so that they can maximize profitability within their territory. They travel around their assigned territory and visit their customers regularly to educate them on how their products can benefit them. Field sales representatives must also maintain records of all sales leads and monitor the organization's competitor, new products, and market conditions.

Hospital sales representative vs field sales representative salary

Hospital sales representatives and field sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Hospital Sales Representative	Field Sales Representative
Average salary	$93,625	$48,460
Salary range	Between $62,000 And $141,000	Between $26,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	VMware
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between hospital sales representative and field sales representative education

There are a few differences between a hospital sales representative and a field sales representative in terms of educational background:

	Hospital Sales Representative	Field Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 85%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Hospital sales representative vs field sales representative demographics

Here are the differences between hospital sales representatives' and field sales representatives' demographics:

	Hospital Sales Representative	Field Sales Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 58.9% Female, 41.1%	Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between hospital sales representative and field sales representative duties and responsibilities

Hospital sales representative example responsibilities.

Manage products in gastroenterology, cardiology, endocrinology, psychiatry, rheumatology, and OB-GYN categories.
Educate clinicians at top teaching institutions across the southeast on appropriate care and therapies for critically ill patients.
Promote Genoptix Oncology/Hematology diagnostic services in the private oncology clinic and hospital laboratory.
Trained/developed influential physician advocates for product lines, including top gastroenterology practices and recruiting top physicians as regional speakers.
Acquire knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, and diseases to sell respiratory equipment and nebulizer medication.

Field sales representative example responsibilities.

Train and manage new DSR's.
Lead seminars for the CPA community for CPE credits.
Develop and manage sales in major retail accounts in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Manage and assist a vast customer base in the market for new roofing needs after a large hail storm in Lubbock.
Manage merchandising and POS materials at the retail store level ensuring meticulous compliance with all current corporate initiative regulations.
Conduct effective group Medicare HMO/PPO presentations/seminars, as well as one-on-one field sales presentations.

Hospital sales representative vs field sales representative skills

Common hospital sales representative skills

Patients, 19%
Territory Sales, 7%
Healthcare Professionals, 6%
Medical Sales, 6%
Sales Quota, 6%
Sales Growth, 5%

Common field sales representative skills

Excellent Time Management, 17%
Customer Service, 8%
PowerPoint, 6%
Medicare, 6%
Account Management, 6%
Sales Presentations, 5%

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Hospital Sales Representative
Hospital Sales Representative vs Field Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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