Outside sales engineer vs outside sales manager

The differences between outside sales engineers and outside sales managers 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 manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, an outside sales manager has an average salary of $84,408, which is higher than the $79,145 average annual salary of an outside sales engineer.

The top three skills for an outside sales engineer include customer relationships, HVAC and product line. The most important skills for an outside sales manager are product knowledge, CRM, and customer service.

Outside sales engineer vs outside sales manager overview

	Outside Sales Engineer	Outside Sales Manager
Yearly salary	$79,145	$84,408
Hourly rate	$38.05	$40.58
Growth rate	6%	5%
Number of jobs	113,925	138,054
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	44	46
Years of experience	6	8

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 manager do?

An outside sales manager is responsible for monitoring the sales staff performance in selling goods and services to existing and potential clients and ensuring that the team meets sales objectives. Outside sales managers set reasonable sales targets and establish techniques to maximize the staff's efficiency and productivity. They regularly connect with the clients to determine their needs and make any adjustments to business plans as needed. An outside sales manager should have excellent knowledge of the current market trends to identify business opportunities that would generate more revenues and resources.

Outside sales engineer vs outside sales manager salary

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

	Outside Sales Engineer	Outside Sales Manager
Average salary	$79,145	$84,408
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $113,000	Between $51,000 And $138,000
Highest paying City	-	Albany, NY
Highest paying state	-	Hawaii
Best paying company	-	Dominion Enterprises
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between outside sales engineer and outside sales manager education

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

	Outside Sales Engineer	Outside Sales Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	University of Southern California

Outside sales engineer vs outside sales manager demographics

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

	Outside Sales Engineer	Outside Sales Manager
Average age	44	46
Gender ratio	Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8%	Male, 79.1% Female, 20.9%
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, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between outside sales engineer and outside sales manager 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 manager example responsibilities.

Manage a team of sales executives to establish and maintain professional relationships with healthcare professionals in their prospective territories.
Develop a complete marketing program where none previously exist, now serves as CRM base for company.
Used CRM tools in order to provide current and detail information relate to activities, opportunity pipeline, and close business.
Channele marketing through the establishment of international distributors servicing Mexico (Hermosillo, Mexicali, and Tijuana) and Korea.
Plan and schedule work perform by HVAC technicians.
Educate and present new approach to facility managers and plant managers including ROI analysis.

Outside sales engineer vs outside sales manager 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 manager skills

Product Knowledge, 12%
CRM, 10%
Customer Service, 10%
Sales Territory, 7%
Sales Strategies, 4%
Sales Growth, 3%

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Outside Sales Engineer
Outside Sales Engineer vs Outside Sales Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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