Outside sales engineer vs outside sales consultant

The differences between outside sales engineers and outside sales consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an outside sales engineer, becoming an outside sales consultant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an outside sales engineer has an average salary of $79,145, which is higher than the $76,601 average annual salary of an outside sales consultant.

The top three skills for an outside sales engineer include customer relationships, HVAC and product line. The most important skills for an outside sales consultant are customer service, in-home, and CRM.

Outside sales engineer vs outside sales consultant overview

	Outside Sales Engineer	Outside Sales Consultant
Yearly salary	$79,145	$76,601
Hourly rate	$38.05	$36.83
Growth rate	6%	4%
Number of jobs	113,925	230,853
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	44	47
Years of experience	6	4

What does an outside sales engineer do?

An outside sales engineer is both a specialist and a salesperson of scientific and technological products or services to businesses. You have an in-depth knowledge of the products and the engineering processes that make these products work so that you can demonstrate their benefits to customers. Outside sales engineers are technical customer service representatives working for businesses that sell engineering products or the makers - they are out in the field interacting, educating, and selling to potential customers.

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.

Outside sales engineer vs outside sales consultant salary

Outside sales engineers and outside sales consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Outside Sales Engineer	Outside Sales Consultant
Average salary	$79,145	$76,601
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $113,000	Between $48,000 And $120,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Delaware
Best paying company	-	Current TV
Best paying industry	-	Energy

Differences between outside sales engineer and outside sales consultant education

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

	Outside Sales Engineer	Outside Sales Consultant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Outside sales engineer vs outside sales consultant demographics

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

	Outside Sales Engineer	Outside Sales Consultant
Average age	44	47
Gender ratio	Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8%	Male, 63.5% Female, 36.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 1.6% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 5.8% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	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 Percentage	7%	6%

Differences between outside sales engineer and outside sales consultant duties and responsibilities

Outside sales engineer example responsibilities.

Manage inbound domestic and international logistics and domestic shipping with respect to carrier selection, forwarding, brokering and expediting.
Increase sales to existing OEMs and develop new OEM customers.
Develop and implement sales and marketing strategies to aggressively develop new OEM accounts.
Price, sell, and engineer HVAC products and services to contractors and building owners.
Increase revenue by developing better understanding of buying trends and customer decision-makers by instituting CRM and sales tracking software.
Design and maintain corporate CRM, customer quoting and invoicing systems for inside, outside sales teams, including accounting.

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.

Outside sales engineer vs outside sales consultant skills

Common outside sales engineer skills

Customer Relationships, 10%
HVAC, 7%
Product Line, 7%
CRM, 5%
Trade Shows, 5%
Territory Sales, 5%

Common outside sales consultant skills

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

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Outside Sales Engineer
Outside Sales Engineer vs Outside Sales Consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

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