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National account specialist vs sales specialist

The differences between national account specialists and sales specialists 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 specialist and a sales specialist. Additionally, a sales specialist has an average salary of $53,004, which is higher than the $44,370 average annual salary of a national account specialist.

The top three skills for a national account specialist include national accounts, business development and customer expectations. The most important skills for a sales specialist are building relationships, customer complaints, and customer orders.

National account specialist vs sales specialist overview

National Account SpecialistSales Specialist
Yearly salary$44,370$53,004
Hourly rate$21.33$25.48
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs102,414324,069
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age4747
Years of experience44

What does a national account specialist do?

A national account specialist is an individual whose specialty is reaching out to potential customers nationally, as well as serving the existing customers and closing sales. Responsibilities of this position include maintaining good relationships with customers, analyzing sales statistics, projecting expected sales, and preparing budgets. They sometimes work only on specific accounts and customers. A national account specialist must work with other departments to define sales strategies and to increase the company's revenue.

What does a sales specialist do?

A sales specialist is responsible for offering the best goods and services to customers in order to boost the company's sales. Sales specialists also promote strategies and solutions to contribute to the company's growth and profitability. A sales specialist must have extensive knowledge of the current market trends and the best sales skills to perform marketing tasks. Sales specialists should have excellent communication and customer service skills to assist existing and potential clients with their inquiries and concerns.

National account specialist vs sales specialist salary

National account specialists and sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

National Account SpecialistSales Specialist
Average salary$44,370$53,004
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $72,000Between $30,000 And $91,000
Highest paying City-Boston, MA
Highest paying state-Massachusetts
Best paying company-VMware
Best paying industry--

Differences between national account specialist and sales specialist education

There are a few differences between a national account specialist and a sales specialist in terms of educational background:

National Account SpecialistSales Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeSUNY College of Technology at AlfredSUNY College of Technology at Alfred

National account specialist vs sales specialist demographics

Here are the differences between national account specialists' and sales specialists' demographics:

National Account SpecialistSales Specialist
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 41.5% Female, 58.5%Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%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%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between national account specialist and sales specialist duties and responsibilities

National account specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage billings to include: communicate and solve issues for bills in error; setup customers for billing EDI and EIP.
  • Manage a portfolio of accounts end to end RFP program execution inclusive of pricing, contracting, process and technology solutions.
  • Administer a high volume of inbound EDI orders for quality and timeliness.
  • Utilize knowledge of state/government funding to implement into the various state-fund and Medicaid contracts.
  • Verify Medicaid eligibility and other health insurance policies, process patient registration, and update patient demographic information.
  • Interview incoming patients, his/her relatives, or other responsible individuals to obtain identifying and biographical information with insurance and financial information
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Sales specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage a Salesforce database comprise of customer information, leads and potential sales opportunities.
  • Manage Pardot (marketing database), and Zuora (online billing and payment gateway).
  • Manage territory retail accounts, category management, install POS, sell of manufacturer programs and implementation of sales programs.
  • Manage planning parameters in ERP via the item master (lead times, min/max, safety stock, pay terms).
  • Master delivering technical product information to doctors on training and teaching proper injection technique to achieve optimal results for patients.
  • Lead on sales order reporting for Americas.
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National account specialist vs sales specialist skills

Common national account specialist skills
  • National Accounts, 33%
  • Business Development, 16%
  • Customer Expectations, 7%
  • Outbound Calls, 6%
  • Account Management, 5%
  • Process Improvement, 4%
Common sales specialist skills
  • Building Relationships, 10%
  • Customer Complaints, 9%
  • Customer Orders, 9%
  • Product Knowledge, 6%
  • Patients, 6%
  • Sales Process, 5%