Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between inside sales account executives and outside 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 sales account executive and an outside sales representative. Additionally, an inside sales account executive has an average salary of $63,049, which is higher than the $60,443 average annual salary of an outside sales representative.
The top three skills for an inside sales account executive include strong work ethic, customer service and CRM. The most important skills for an outside sales representative are customer service, work ethic, and sales process.
| Inside Sales Account Executive | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $63,049 | $60,443 |
| Hourly rate | $30.31 | $29.06 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 262,582 | 218,034 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An inside sales account executive is responsible for handling the sales performance of multiple client accounts, ensuring that the project management processes reach target sales goals and business objectives. Inside sales account executives work with the sales and marketing team to develop effective marketing strategies and promotional techniques to boost brand awareness to the market and target audience. They also analyze the current industry trends, identifying business opportunities to generate resources for revenues, and improve project plans according to clients' specifications and budget limitations.
An Outside Sales Representative specializes in customer service and relations, focusing on reaching sales targets through selling and networking with clients. Among the duties revolve around reaching out to customers through calls, email, or even arranging appointments, monitoring and keeping an organized record of sales, communicating with managers or supervisors, adhering to the company's policies and regulations, and keeping extensive knowledge about the brand and the trends. Besides building rapport with customers, it is also essential for an Outside Sales Representative to be proactive and create strategies to help meet the sales target.
Inside sales account executives and outside sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Inside Sales Account Executive | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $63,049 | $60,443 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $104,000 | Between $41,000 And $87,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Minneapolis, MN |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an inside sales account executive and an outside sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Inside Sales Account Executive | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between inside sales account executives' and outside sales representatives' demographics:
| Inside Sales Account Executive | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.4% Female, 40.6% | Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |