Inside sales specialist vs sales development representative

The differences between inside sales specialists and sales development 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 a sales development representative. Additionally, a sales development representative has an average salary of $51,504, 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 a sales development representative are SDR, lead generation, and customer service.

Inside sales specialist vs sales development representative overview

	Inside Sales Specialist	Sales Development Representative
Yearly salary	$50,944	$51,504
Hourly rate	$24.49	$24.76
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	251,423	199,588
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 83%
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 a sales development representative do?

A sales development representative qualifies leads at the sales funnel's initial stages. Sales development representatives need to conduct research for prospective clients and qualify the leads before handing them to the sales team. They develop sales strategies to attract buyers or solicit potential customers. They need to build relationships with their customers to determine their needs and qualify the viability of interests to drive sales. Also, they collaborate with the sales executives making certain that corporate targets and goals are met.

Inside sales specialist vs sales development representative salary

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

	Inside Sales Specialist	Sales Development Representative
Average salary	$50,944	$51,504
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $75,000	Between $34,000 And $77,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Washington	Alaska
Best paying company	Keller Williams Greater Seattle	PitchBook Data
Best paying industry	Real Estate	Start-up

Differences between inside sales specialist and sales development representative education

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

	Inside Sales Specialist	Sales Development Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	University of Pennsylvania

Inside sales specialist vs sales development representative demographics

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

	Inside Sales Specialist	Sales Development Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0%	Male, 63.1% Female, 36.9%
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, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between inside sales specialist and sales development 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.

Sales development representative example responsibilities.

Manage organization website and Facebook page; writing articles for websites and newsletters.
Develop social media strategies for Facebook, LinkedIn, and emerging social networks, generating leads.
Manage individual sales activities by developing highly effective, communications focuse relationship with multiple sales channels.
supply chain management and procurement software (SaaS).
Handle customer service inquiries, returns, and RMA exchanges.
Develop a strong knowledge of SaaS sales techniques and lead management/generation.

Inside sales specialist vs sales development 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 sales development representative skills

SDR, 11%
Lead Generation, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
Account Executives, 5%
Linkedin, 5%
Outbound Calls, 4%

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Inside Sales Specialist
Inside Sales Specialist vs Sales Development Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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