Inside sales representative vs inside sales specialist

The differences between inside sales representatives and inside sales specialists 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 representative and an inside sales specialist. Additionally, an inside sales specialist has an average salary of $50,944, which is higher than the $44,413 average annual salary of an inside sales representative.

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

Inside sales representative vs inside sales specialist overview

	Inside Sales Representative	Inside Sales Specialist
Yearly salary	$44,413	$50,944
Hourly rate	$21.35	$24.49
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	244,168	251,423
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

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 an inside sales specialist do?

An inside sales specialist is primarily responsible for securing sales by reaching out to clients to sell products and services. They may communicate with customers through calls and correspondence or personally recommend products in a retail store setting. Moreover, they are also responsible for responding to inquiries or concerns, identifying the customers' needs, devising strategies to find sales opportunities, and discussing products to customers. An inside sales specialist is often required to meet sales goals and report to managers should there be any issues or problems.

Inside sales representative vs inside sales specialist salary

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

	Inside Sales Representative	Inside Sales Specialist
Average salary	$44,413	$50,944
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $69,000	Between $34,000 And $75,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Wyoming	Washington
Best paying company	Berkshire Hathaway	Keller Williams Greater Seattle
Best paying industry	Technology	Real Estate

Differences between inside sales representative and inside sales specialist education

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

	Inside Sales Representative	Inside Sales Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	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 representative vs inside sales specialist demographics

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

	Inside Sales Representative	Inside Sales Specialist
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 54.7% Female, 45.3%	Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%
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, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between inside sales representative and inside sales specialist 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.

Inside sales specialist example responsibilities.

Manage individual sales activities by developing highly effective, communications focuse relationship with multiple sales channels.
Present presentations to potential clients through Microsoft PowerPoint.
Maintain and update assigned territory through SalesLogix CRM program.
Revise and update CRM database to ensure accurate customer information.
Operate as inside sales consultant, primarily in areas of customer relations, sales/service support, coordinating production and transportation scheduling
Call on corporate counsel, c-level executives and law firms to sell solutions with traditional litigation support.

Inside sales representative vs inside sales specialist skills

Common inside sales representative skills

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

Common inside sales specialist skills

Customer Service, 13%
CRM, 7%
Sales Process, 5%
Work Ethic, 5%
Product Knowledge, 5%
Outbound Calls, 4%

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Inside Sales Representative vs Inside Sales Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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