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The differences between medical sales representatives and specialty sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a medical sales representative and a specialty sales representative. Additionally, a medical sales representative has an average salary of $74,079, which is higher than the $67,605 average annual salary of a specialty sales representative.
The top three skills for a medical sales representative include patients, medical sales and customer service. The most important skills for a specialty sales representative are patients, product knowledge, and territory management.
| Medical Sales Representative | Specialty Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $74,079 | $67,605 |
| Hourly rate | $35.61 | $32.50 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 206,149 | 174,608 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 82% | Bachelor's Degree, 86% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A medical sales representative, also known as a pharmaceutical sales representative, is an individual who is responsible for selling and promoting medications and medical equipment. Medical sales representatives set appointments with doctors, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals so that they can promote their company's medical supplies. They are required to build and maintain relationships with their customers so that they can encourage repeat purchases. Medical sales representatives should obtain a bachelor's degree in nursing, pharmacy, life sciences, or a related field.
Specialty sales representatives are responsible for selling products and services using firm arguments to possible clients. Also, they perform a cost-benefit study of present and prospective clients. These representatives support positive business relationships to guarantee future sales. Their main role is to give complete and correct solutions to clients to enhance top-line revenue progress, profitability, and investment levels. Their duties include reaching out to customer leads through telemarketing as well as maximize customer satisfaction by efficiently providing resolutions to their issues and complaints.
Medical sales representatives and specialty sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Sales Representative | Specialty Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $74,079 | $67,605 |
| Salary range | Between $45,000 And $121,000 | Between $40,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | California | - |
| Best paying company | Intuitive Surgical | - |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | - |
There are a few differences between a medical sales representative and a specialty sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Medical Sales Representative | Specialty Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 82% | Bachelor's Degree, 86% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between medical sales representatives' and specialty sales representatives' demographics:
| Medical Sales Representative | Specialty Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.3% Female, 48.7% | Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.3% 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, 73.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |