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The differences between national account representatives and outside sales 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 national account representative and an outside sales representative. Additionally, an outside sales representative has an average salary of $60,443, which is higher than the $44,826 average annual salary of a national account representative.
The top three skills for a national account representative include national accounts, customer service and product knowledge. The most important skills for an outside sales representative are customer service, work ethic, and sales process.
| National Account Representative | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $44,826 | $60,443 |
| Hourly rate | $21.55 | $29.06 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 204,509 | 218,034 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A national account representative plays a pivotal role in managing client relationships. These professionals manage relationships for high-value customers, especially those who invest vast amounts in the company or those who have stayed in the organization for an extended period. In general, the national account representative's primary goal is to foster trust. National account representatives identify new business opportunities and make sales calls. To qualify as a national account representative, you must possess a bachelor's degree in this field, primarily in business administration.
An Outside Sales Representative specializes in customer service and relations, focusing on reaching sales targets through selling and networking with clients. Among the duties revolve around reaching out to customers through calls, email, or even arranging appointments, monitoring and keeping an organized record of sales, communicating with managers or supervisors, adhering to the company's policies and regulations, and keeping extensive knowledge about the brand and the trends. Besides building rapport with customers, it is also essential for an Outside Sales Representative to be proactive and create strategies to help meet the sales target.
National account representatives and outside sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| National Account Representative | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $44,826 | $60,443 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $64,000 | Between $41,000 And $87,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Minneapolis, MN |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a national account representative and an outside sales representative in terms of educational background:
| National Account Representative | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between national account representatives' and outside sales representatives' demographics:
| National Account Representative | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5% | Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5% |
| 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, 14.4% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |