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The differences between inside product specialists and inside 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 an inside product specialist and an inside sales representative. Additionally, an inside sales representative has an average salary of $44,413, which is higher than the $34,230 average annual salary of an inside product specialist.
The top three skills for an inside product specialist include sales process, service offerings and customer relationships. The most important skills for an inside sales representative are customer service, CRM, and outbound calls.
| Inside Product Specialist | Inside Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $34,230 | $44,413 |
| Hourly rate | $16.46 | $21.35 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 79,599 | 244,168 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An Inside Product Specialist is typically in charge of securing product sales by reaching out to potential customers and businesses through calls and correspondence, building positive client relationships along the way. They offer products and services, discuss product specifications, introduce promotions, answer inquiries, arrange payment plans, and even process payments. Their responsibilities also include conducting research and analysis to find client and business opportunities, generating leads, and maintaining transaction records. Inside Product Specialists may perform follow-up calls, negotiate contracts, and address issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and efficiently.
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.
Inside product specialists and inside sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Inside Product Specialist | Inside Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $34,230 | $44,413 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $49,000 | Between $28,000 And $69,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | - | Wyoming |
| Best paying company | - | Berkshire Hathaway |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between an inside product specialist and an inside sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Inside Product Specialist | Inside Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between inside product specialists' and inside sales representatives' demographics:
| Inside Product Specialist | Inside Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 72.7% Female, 27.3% | Male, 54.7% Female, 45.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.3% 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% |