Outside sales consultant vs field sales representative

The differences between outside sales consultants and field 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 an outside sales consultant and a field sales representative. Additionally, an outside sales consultant has an average salary of $76,601, which is higher than the $48,460 average annual salary of a field sales representative.

The top three skills for an outside sales consultant include customer service, in-home and CRM. The most important skills for a field sales representative are excellent time management, customer service, and powerpoint.

Outside sales consultant vs field sales representative overview

	Outside Sales Consultant	Field Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$76,601	$48,460
Hourly rate	$36.83	$23.30
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	230,853	228,254
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

What does an outside sales consultant do?

An outside sales consultant is responsible for conducting sales for both prospective and existing customers. Your duties may vary, but common tasks include traveling to meet potential and existing customers, organizing meetings with customers regularly, and educating customers on the benefits of products and services. As an outside sales representative, you are responsible for monitoring the new products, market conditions and competitors, and assisting in building the brand with the help of the marketing department.

What does a field sales representative do?

A field sales representative is an employee who is employed by business-to-business (B2B) and wholesale organizations to visit leads and sell products or services to their customers in person. Field sales representatives must attract new customers and win new accounts so that they can maximize profitability within their territory. They travel around their assigned territory and visit their customers regularly to educate them on how their products can benefit them. Field sales representatives must also maintain records of all sales leads and monitor the organization's competitor, new products, and market conditions.

Outside sales consultant vs field sales representative salary

Outside sales consultants and field sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Outside Sales Consultant	Field Sales Representative
Average salary	$76,601	$48,460
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $120,000	Between $26,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Delaware	Washington
Best paying company	Current TV	VMware
Best paying industry	Energy	Technology

Differences between outside sales consultant and field sales representative education

There are a few differences between an outside sales consultant and a field sales representative in terms of educational background:

	Outside Sales Consultant	Field Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Outside sales consultant vs field sales representative demographics

Here are the differences between outside sales consultants' and field sales representatives' demographics:

	Outside Sales Consultant	Field Sales Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 63.5% Female, 36.5%	Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5%
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, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between outside sales consultant and field sales representative duties and responsibilities

Outside sales consultant example responsibilities.

Utilize CRM data to deliver critical insights into product trends and manage leads for new product offerings.
Manage individual sales activities by developing highly effective, communications focuse relationship with multiple sales channels.
Perform data entry or require customer information into company CRM system in order to create and maintain an ongoing sales base.
Develop special reports, publications, spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations.
Cultivate strategic relationships and maximize sales volume by identifying fast ROI projects, seizing market opportunities and aggressively pursuing new business.
Create a zip code analysis tool to identify Medicaid recipients' target areas for strategic marketing penetration.

Field sales representative example responsibilities.

Train and manage new DSR's.
Lead seminars for the CPA community for CPE credits.
Develop and manage sales in major retail accounts in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Manage and assist a vast customer base in the market for new roofing needs after a large hail storm in Lubbock.
Manage merchandising and POS materials at the retail store level ensuring meticulous compliance with all current corporate initiative regulations.
Conduct effective group Medicare HMO/PPO presentations/seminars, as well as one-on-one field sales presentations.

Outside sales consultant vs field sales representative skills

Common outside sales consultant skills

Customer Service, 14%
In-Home, 9%
CRM, 8%
Sales Presentations, 7%
Lead Generation, 6%
Excellent Presentation, 5%

Common field sales representative skills

Excellent Time Management, 17%
Customer Service, 8%
PowerPoint, 6%
Medicare, 6%
Account Management, 6%
Sales Presentations, 5%

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Outside Sales Consultant
Outside Sales Consultant vs Field Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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