Inside sales associate vs outside sales consultant

The differences between inside sales associates and outside sales consultants 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 associate and an outside sales consultant. Additionally, an outside sales consultant has an average salary of $76,601, which is higher than the $40,687 average annual salary of an inside sales associate.

The top three skills for an inside sales associate include inside sales, sales associates and strong customer service. The most important skills for an outside sales consultant are customer service, in-home, and CRM.

Inside sales associate vs outside sales consultant overview

	Inside Sales Associate	Outside Sales Consultant
Yearly salary	$40,687	$76,601
Hourly rate	$19.56	$36.83
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	320,863	230,853
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

What does an inside sales associate do?

An inside sales associate is responsible for selling the company's goods and services through remote communication. Inside sales associates make calls to potential customers, demonstrate the products' features, take orders, process payments, and inform the customers of the delivery details. They strategize the most effective sales pitches to attract the customers on purchasing more services that would generate revenues and increase the company's profitability and brand image. An inside sales associate also supports the marketing team in developing marketing campaigns and promotional offers depending on customer demands and requests.

What does an outside sales consultant do?

An outside sales consultant is responsible for conducting sales for both prospective and existing customers. Your duties may vary, but common tasks include traveling to meet potential and existing customers, organizing meetings with customers regularly, and educating customers on the benefits of products and services. As an outside sales representative, you are responsible for monitoring the new products, market conditions and competitors, and assisting in building the brand with the help of the marketing department.

Inside sales associate vs outside sales consultant salary

Inside sales associates and outside sales consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Inside Sales Associate	Outside Sales Consultant
Average salary	$40,687	$76,601
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $54,000	Between $48,000 And $120,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	Delaware
Best paying company	MSCI	Current TV
Best paying industry	Health Care	Energy

Differences between inside sales associate and outside sales consultant education

There are a few differences between an inside sales associate and an outside sales consultant in terms of educational background:

	Inside Sales Associate	Outside Sales Consultant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Inside sales associate vs outside sales consultant demographics

Here are the differences between inside sales associates' and outside sales consultants' demographics:

	Inside Sales Associate	Outside Sales Consultant
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7%	Male, 63.5% Female, 36.5%
Race ratio	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%	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 Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between inside sales associate and outside sales consultant duties and responsibilities

Inside sales associate example responsibilities.

Manage individual sales activities by developing highly effective, communications focuse relationship with multiple sales channels.
Provide awareness to customers of the benefits of moving to a cloud platform for intra/customer facing web applications.
Develop a standardize, customize CRM system to track sales and marketing ROI that link into operational and financial ERP systems.
Calculate roofing amounts/square footage etc.
Maintain cleanliness and organization of stockroom shelves.
Conduct effective outbound telemarketing calls to potential and existing clients.

Outside sales consultant example responsibilities.

Utilize CRM data to deliver critical insights into product trends and manage leads for new product offerings.
Manage individual sales activities by developing highly effective, communications focuse relationship with multiple sales channels.
Perform data entry or require customer information into company CRM system in order to create and maintain an ongoing sales base.
Develop special reports, publications, spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations.
Cultivate strategic relationships and maximize sales volume by identifying fast ROI projects, seizing market opportunities and aggressively pursuing new business.
Create a zip code analysis tool to identify Medicaid recipients' target areas for strategic marketing penetration.

Inside sales associate vs outside sales consultant skills

Common inside sales associate skills

Inside Sales, 13%
Sales Associates, 7%
Strong Customer Service, 6%
Sales Process, 5%
Customer Satisfaction, 5%
Sales Floor, 5%

Common outside sales consultant skills

Customer Service, 14%
In-Home, 9%
CRM, 8%
Sales Presentations, 7%
Lead Generation, 6%
Excellent Presentation, 5%

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Inside Sales Associate
Inside Sales Associate vs Outside Sales Consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

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