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The differences between medical sales specialists and inside sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a medical sales specialist, becoming an inside sales associate takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a medical sales specialist has an average salary of $69,959, which is higher than the $40,687 average annual salary of an inside sales associate.
The top three skills for a medical sales specialist include patients, medical devices and medical sales. The most important skills for an inside sales associate are inside sales, sales associates, and strong customer service.
| Medical Sales Specialist | Inside Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $69,959 | $40,687 |
| Hourly rate | $33.63 | $19.56 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 76,398 | 320,863 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A medical sales specialist is an individual who advertises, markets, and distributes a specific pharmaceutical product or medical equipment to medical establishments. Medical sales specialists must manage a network of independent representatives and maintain relationships with their clients to attain territory-specific sales goals. They develop marketing strategies and business sales plans to identify key growth areas and deliver short and long-term corporate objectives. Medical sales specialists should also conduct analyses on product and market trends to achieve and exceed sales goals.
An inside sales associate is responsible for selling the company's goods and services through remote communication. Inside sales associates make calls to potential customers, demonstrate the products' features, take orders, process payments, and inform the customers of the delivery details. They strategize the most effective sales pitches to attract the customers on purchasing more services that would generate revenues and increase the company's profitability and brand image. An inside sales associate also supports the marketing team in developing marketing campaigns and promotional offers depending on customer demands and requests.
Medical sales specialists and inside sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Medical Sales Specialist | Inside Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $69,959 | $40,687 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $102,000 | Between $30,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Medline | MSCI |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a medical sales specialist and an inside sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Medical Sales Specialist | Inside Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between medical sales specialists' and inside sales associates' demographics:
| Medical Sales Specialist | Inside Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.8% Female, 49.2% | Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 72.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |