Outside sales consultant vs inside sales representative

The differences between outside sales consultants and inside 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 an inside sales representative. Additionally, an outside sales consultant has an average salary of $76,601, which is higher than the $44,413 average annual salary of an inside sales representative.

The top three skills for an outside sales consultant include customer service, in-home and CRM. The most important skills for an inside sales representative are customer service, CRM, and outbound calls.

Outside sales consultant vs inside sales representative overview

	Outside Sales Consultant	Inside Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$76,601	$44,413
Hourly rate	$36.83	$21.35
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	230,853	244,168
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
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 an inside sales representative do?

An inside sales representative is responsible for selling services and products to clients, driving the company's revenues and increase sales profitability. Duties of an inside sales representative include developing strategic sales pitches, responding to customer's inquiries and requests, offering promotional products and discounts, researching potential clients, creating sales reports, and managing customer's possible complaints. An inside sales representative also provides strategic solutions to share with the sales team to improve their sales performance. Inside sales representatives must have excellent communication and negotiation skills to deal with customers' needs.

Outside sales consultant vs inside sales representative salary

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

	Outside Sales Consultant	Inside Sales Representative
Average salary	$76,601	$44,413
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $120,000	Between $28,000 And $69,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Delaware	Wyoming
Best paying company	Current TV	Berkshire Hathaway
Best paying industry	Energy	Technology

Differences between outside sales consultant and inside sales representative education

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

	Outside Sales Consultant	Inside Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Outside sales consultant vs inside sales representative demographics

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

	Outside Sales Consultant	Inside Sales Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 63.5% Female, 36.5%	Male, 54.7% Female, 45.3%
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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between outside sales consultant and inside 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.

Inside sales representative example responsibilities.

Coordinate commercial sales and manage projects with HVAC contractors for Georgia district.
Accomplish tasks in a timely manner.Skills UsedComputer, math, reading wiring schematics.
Generate leads through the use of Linkedin, firm websites and legal magazines.
Manage and develop a nationwide territory through cold calling utilizing LinkedIn?, DiscoverOrg.
Manage help desk support for company ERP system as well as employee hardware and software issues.
Manage a team of 15-25 ISE's through effective sales coaching, call monitoring and creating sales spiff programs.

Outside sales consultant vs inside 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 inside sales representative skills

Customer Service, 22%
CRM, 6%
Outbound Calls, 5%
Product Knowledge, 4%
Work Ethic, 4%
Sales Process, 3%

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Outside Sales Consultant
Outside Sales Consultant vs Inside Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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