Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between market development representatives and sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a market development representative has an average salary of $59,685, which is higher than the $56,591 average annual salary of a sales representative.
The top three skills for a market development representative include sales process, product knowledge and salesforce. The most important skills for a sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.
| Market Development Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $59,685 | $56,591 |
| Hourly rate | $28.69 | $27.21 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 187,873 | 205,456 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.33 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
A market development representative is in charge of devising strategies to generate sales leads and identify new business opportunities. They typically reach out to clients through calls and correspondence to offer products and services, securing sales and client satisfaction. They may also arrange appointments to discuss product specifications and even negotiate contracts. Furthermore, as a market development representative, it is essential to address issues and concerns from clients, resolving them promptly and efficiently in adherence to the company's policies and regulations.
Sales representatives primarily sell the company's products and services to businesses or organizations. They should be adept at closing out sales, negotiating, and providing customer service. They should be knowledgeable about the products or services of the manufacturer or producer they represent. They must also have strong analytical skills that would help them in coming up with cost-benefit analysis in assessing the current roster of clients and even prospective ones. Sales representatives should also be able to maintain good working relationships with all involved stakeholders, especially clients.
Market development representatives and sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Market Development Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $59,685 | $56,591 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $82,000 | Between $33,000 And $94,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Cisco | |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a market development representative and a sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Market Development Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between market development representatives' and sales representatives' demographics:
| Market Development Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.8% Female, 40.2% | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 5.6% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 6% |