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The differences between merchandising representatives 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 a merchandising representative and a sales development representative. Additionally, a sales development representative has an average salary of $51,504, which is higher than the $32,303 average annual salary of a merchandising representative.
The top three skills for a merchandising representative include little supervision, store management and plan-o-grams. The most important skills for a sales development representative are SDR, lead generation, and customer service.
| Merchandising Representative | Sales Development Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $32,303 | $51,504 |
| Hourly rate | $15.53 | $24.76 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 351,931 | 199,588 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 83% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Merchandising representatives are professionals who are responsible for providing point-of-purchase and shelf management services to produce sales. These representatives are required to plan and develop merchandising strategies so that they can balance the expectations of customers and the organization's objectives. They must maintain store shelves and display products appropriately so that they can maximize the interest of customers and sales levels. Merchandising representatives must also analyze sales figures, the reactions of customers, and market trends to anticipate their product needs and plan product stock.
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.
Merchandising representatives and sales development representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Merchandising Representative | Sales Development Representative | |
| Average salary | $32,303 | $51,504 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $40,000 | Between $34,000 And $77,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Maine | Alaska |
| Best paying company | ECMD | PitchBook Data |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a merchandising representative and a sales development representative in terms of educational background:
| Merchandising Representative | Sales Development Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 83% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between merchandising representatives' and sales development representatives' demographics:
| Merchandising Representative | Sales Development Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.2% Female, 52.8% | 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% |