Inside sales consultant vs outside sales representative

The differences between inside sales consultants 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 consultant and an outside sales representative. Additionally, an outside sales representative has an average salary of $60,443, which is higher than the $55,517 average annual salary of an inside sales consultant.

The top three skills for an inside sales consultant include CRM, salesforce and outbound calls. The most important skills for an outside sales representative are customer service, work ethic, and sales process.

Inside sales consultant vs outside sales representative overview

	Inside Sales Consultant	Outside Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$55,517	$60,443
Hourly rate	$26.69	$29.06
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	189,389	218,034
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

What does an inside sales consultant do?

An inside sales consultant is responsible for selling goods and services of the company to the business customers and clients. Inside sales consultants assist the marketing and sales team in strategizing techniques to promote the products and attract consumers, generating more revenue resources for the business. They also handle client accounts and resolve sales discrepancies. An inside sales consultant respond to customers' inquiries and concerns about the services of the company, facilitating sales distribution and handling complaints accordingly.

What does an outside sales representative do?

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 consultant vs outside sales representative salary

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

	Inside Sales Consultant	Outside Sales Representative
Average salary	$55,517	$60,443
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $88,000	Between $41,000 And $87,000
Highest paying City	Phoenix, AZ	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	Alaska	New Jersey
Best paying company	PayPal	Microsoft
Best paying industry	Media	Manufacturing

Differences between inside sales consultant and outside sales representative education

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

	Inside Sales Consultant	Outside Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Inside sales consultant vs outside sales representative demographics

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

	Inside Sales Consultant	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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 72.9% 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%

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

Inside sales consultant example responsibilities.

Manage individual sales activities by developing highly effective, communications focuse relationship with multiple sales channels.
Operate as inside sales consultant, primarily in areas of customer relations, sales/service support, coordinating production and transportation scheduling
Present ADT security systems presentations to those businesses by reviewing their needs for security.

Outside sales representative example responsibilities.

Manage and maintain a weekly quota for broadband, and other wireless products.
Utilize CRM database to manage and track prospect interaction to ensure accurate documentation of window requirements and ongoing communication.
Web dev, SEO, PPC etc . )
Participate in the launching and marketing of broadband internet in Orlando with great success.
Provide care, materials, and essential tools for doctors and nurses working on patients in the E.R.
Create and maintain successful business partnerships with customers by analyzing, meeting and understanding their needs and patients needs.

Inside sales consultant vs outside sales representative skills

Common inside sales consultant skills

CRM, 10%
Salesforce, 6%
Outbound Calls, 6%
Telemarketing, 5%
Customer Orders, 5%
Product Knowledge, 4%

Common outside sales representative skills

Customer Service, 17%
Work Ethic, 8%
Sales Process, 4%
Business Sales, 4%
Cold Calls, 4%
Product Knowledge, 4%

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Inside Sales Consultant
Inside Sales Consultant vs Outside Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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