Inside sales representative vs customer sales representative

The differences between inside sales representatives and customer sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an inside sales representative, becoming a customer sales representative takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an inside sales representative has an average salary of $44,413, which is higher than the $38,744 average annual salary of a customer sales representative.

The top three skills for an inside sales representative include customer service, CRM and outbound calls. The most important skills for a customer sales representative are customer service, product knowledge, and customer sales.

Inside sales representative vs customer sales representative overview

	Inside Sales Representative	Customer Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$44,413	$38,744
Hourly rate	$21.35	$18.63
Growth rate	4%	-4%
Number of jobs	244,168	303,801
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Average age	47	40
Years of experience	4	12

What does an inside sales representative do?

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.

What does a customer sales representative do?

The primary role of customer service representatives is to help customers with questions and complaints. It is also their duties and responsibilities to provide customers with information about services and products, take and process orders, and process returns and modifications. They also store records of customer transactions and interactions and provide feedback on customer service efficacy. Customer service representatives must also ensure that they can give customer satisfaction and offer the best professional support.

Inside sales representative vs customer sales representative salary

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

	Inside Sales Representative	Customer Sales Representative
Average salary	$44,413	$38,744
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $69,000	Between $27,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	Wyoming	Hawaii
Best paying company	Berkshire Hathaway	Merck
Best paying industry	Technology	Finance

Differences between inside sales representative and customer sales representative education

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

	Inside Sales Representative	Customer Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	-

Inside sales representative vs customer sales representative demographics

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

	Inside Sales Representative	Customer Sales Representative
Average age	47	40
Gender ratio	Male, 54.7% Female, 45.3%	Male, 44.9% Female, 55.1%
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, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 24.4% Asian, 6.8% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	7%

Differences between inside sales representative and customer sales representative duties and responsibilities

Inside sales representative example responsibilities.

Coordinate commercial sales and manage projects with HVAC contractors for Georgia district.
Accomplish tasks in a timely manner.Skills UsedComputer, math, reading wiring schematics.
Generate leads through the use of Linkedin, firm websites and legal magazines.
Manage and develop a nationwide territory through cold calling utilizing LinkedIn?, DiscoverOrg.
Manage help desk support for company ERP system as well as employee hardware and software issues.
Manage a team of 15-25 ISE's through effective sales coaching, call monitoring and creating sales spiff programs.

Customer sales representative example responsibilities.

Manage call center productivity levels by maintaining CSR schedule adherence.
Help customers if internet are running slow, if phone are not working, and also help to troubleshoot with them.
Practice good housekeeping methods and overall cleanliness.
Maintain cleanliness and organization of inventory within the assigned department.
Require to troubleshoot products and instruct customers on their proper use/warranty/options.
Work closely with sales director on scheduling, motivation of representations and setting up promotional events.

Inside sales representative vs customer sales representative skills

Common inside sales representative skills

Customer Service, 22%
CRM, 6%
Outbound Calls, 5%
Product Knowledge, 4%
Work Ethic, 4%
Sales Process, 3%

Common customer sales representative skills

Customer Service, 19%
Product Knowledge, 13%
Customer Sales, 9%
Cleanliness, 8%
Excellent Interpersonal, 6%
Social Media Marketing, 5%

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Inside Sales Representative
Inside Sales Representative vs Customer Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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