Inside sales specialist vs outside sales representative

The differences between inside sales specialists 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 specialist and an outside sales representative. Additionally, an outside sales representative has an average salary of $60,443, which is higher than the $50,944 average annual salary of an inside sales specialist.

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

Inside sales specialist vs outside sales representative overview

	Inside Sales Specialist	Outside Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$50,944	$60,443
Hourly rate	$24.49	$29.06
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	251,423	218,034
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

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.

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 specialist vs outside sales representative salary

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

	Inside Sales Specialist	Outside Sales Representative
Average salary	$50,944	$60,443
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $75,000	Between $41,000 And $87,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	Washington	New Jersey
Best paying company	Keller Williams Greater Seattle	Microsoft
Best paying industry	Real Estate	Manufacturing

Differences between inside sales specialist and outside sales representative education

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

	Inside Sales Specialist	Outside Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Inside sales specialist vs outside sales representative demographics

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

	Inside Sales Specialist	Outside Sales Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%	Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5%
Race ratio	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%	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 specialist and outside sales representative duties and responsibilities

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.

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 specialist vs outside sales representative skills

Common inside sales specialist skills

Customer Service, 13%
CRM, 7%
Sales Process, 5%
Work Ethic, 5%
Product Knowledge, 5%
Outbound Calls, 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 Specialist
Inside Sales Specialist vs Outside Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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