Outside account executive vs inside sales associate

The differences between outside account executives and inside sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an outside account executive has an average salary of $81,372, which is higher than the $40,687 average annual salary of an inside sales associate.

The top three skills for an outside account executive include marketing campaigns, salesforce and sales presentations. The most important skills for an inside sales associate are inside sales, sales associates, and strong customer service.

Outside account executive vs inside sales associate overview

	Outside Account Executive	Inside Sales Associate
Yearly salary	$81,372	$40,687
Hourly rate	$39.12	$19.56
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	185,399	320,863
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	44	47
Years of experience	-	4

What does an outside account executive do?

An outside account executive is in charge of developing strategies to secure sales in the field, aiming to reach sales targets and client satisfaction. To carry out their duties, they must research client and business opportunities, reach out to clients through face to face interactions, offer products and services, explain product specifications, and process payments. They may also perform product demonstrations, arrange payment plans, and negotiate contracts, building positive relationships with clients along the way. Moreover, an outside account executive must produce regular sales and account reports, updating managers as required.

What does an inside sales associate do?

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.

Outside account executive vs inside sales associate salary

Outside account executives and inside sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Outside Account Executive	Inside Sales Associate
Average salary	$81,372	$40,687
Salary range	Between $51,000 And $127,000	Between $30,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	MSCI
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between outside account executive and inside sales associate education

There are a few differences between an outside account executive and an inside sales associate in terms of educational background:

	Outside Account Executive	Inside Sales Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Outside account executive vs inside sales associate demographics

Here are the differences between outside account executives' and inside sales associates' demographics:

	Outside Account Executive	Inside Sales Associate
Average age	44	47
Gender ratio	Male, 61.7% Female, 38.3%	Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 5.7% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	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	5%	6%

Differences between outside account executive and inside sales associate duties and responsibilities

Outside account executive example responsibilities.

Manage all aspects of tactical implementations, including creative and technical development, measurement, reporting and ROI analysis.
Account analysis and preparation, assessing customer needs, and preparation of professional sales recommendations tailor to each customer s business.
Supervise and coordinate the daily activities of manufacturers representatives engage in promoting and selling roofing products.

Inside sales associate example responsibilities.

Manage individual sales activities by developing highly effective, communications focuse relationship with multiple sales channels.
Provide awareness to customers of the benefits of moving to a cloud platform for intra/customer facing web applications.
Develop a standardize, customize CRM system to track sales and marketing ROI that link into operational and financial ERP systems.
Calculate roofing amounts/square footage etc.
Maintain cleanliness and organization of stockroom shelves.
Conduct effective outbound telemarketing calls to potential and existing clients.

Outside account executive vs inside sales associate skills

Common outside account executive skills

Marketing Campaigns, 24%
Salesforce, 22%
Sales Presentations, 19%
Client Relationships, 17%
Cold Calls, 4%
SEO, 3%

Common inside sales associate skills

Inside Sales, 13%
Sales Associates, 7%
Strong Customer Service, 6%
Sales Process, 5%
Customer Satisfaction, 5%
Sales Floor, 5%

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Sales Industry
Outside Account Executive
Outside Account Executive vs Inside Sales Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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