Outside sales executive vs direct sales representative

The differences between outside sales executives and direct 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 executive and a direct sales representative. Additionally, an outside sales executive has an average salary of $71,981, which is higher than the $43,527 average annual salary of a direct sales representative.

The top three skills for an outside sales executive include customer service, CRM and account management. The most important skills for a direct sales representative are customer service, direct sales, and TV.

Outside sales executive vs direct sales representative overview

	Outside Sales Executive	Direct Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$71,981	$43,527
Hourly rate	$34.61	$20.93
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	249,969	159,668
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

What does an outside sales executive do?

An outside sales executive is primarily in charge of spearheading and overseeing the sales procedures in an organization. Their responsibilities typically revolve around setting goals and objectives, establishing guidelines, liaising with key clients, and developing strategies to develop strong business relationships with customers and other external parties. Furthermore, as an outside sales executive, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals while implementing the company's policies and regulations, creating new ones as needed.

What does a direct sales representative do?

As a direct sales representative, you are responsible for creating customer awareness of a company's products and services and closing sales. You will perform varied tasks that include assisting in developing and executing marketing and sales plans, conducting research on competing products, and identifying opportunities to improve sales. Additionally, you are expected to answer inquiries about product features, availability, benefits, and pricing. Other tasks that you are likely to perform include attending trade shows, preparing sales proposals for prospective buyers, and preparing sales reports.

Outside sales executive vs direct sales representative salary

Outside sales executives and direct sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Outside Sales Executive	Direct Sales Representative
Average salary	$71,981	$43,527
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $104,000	Between $27,000 And $69,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Salem, OR
Highest paying state	Washington	Maine
Best paying company	Marshberry	Google
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between outside sales executive and direct sales representative education

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

	Outside Sales Executive	Direct Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Outside sales executive vs direct sales representative demographics

Here are the differences between outside sales executives' and direct sales representatives' demographics:

	Outside Sales Executive	Direct Sales Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 65.4% Female, 34.6%	Male, 68.4% Female, 31.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	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	6%	6%

Differences between outside sales executive and direct sales representative duties and responsibilities

Outside sales executive example responsibilities.

Manage a team of 15-25 ISE's through effective sales coaching, call monitoring and creating sales spiff programs.
Sell SaaS B2B for leading cloud-base expense management provider.
Track all sales activity within the company database and SalesLogix, a CRM software program.
Maintain CRM and provide assistance in customer's needs, including engine, chassis and transmission parts.
Perform regular sales visits throughout assign territory to develop relationship with independent grocery and convenient stores.
Assist MRO organizations in composite shop design and organization.

Direct sales representative example responsibilities.

Manage accounts and create invoices via QuickBooks.
Achieve and maintain high-volume sales output, for cell phones and broadband products to stay employ with company.
Contact medicare eligible recipients to sell medicare advantage plans through in-home meetings, community seminars and direct telesales.
Canvass assigned sales territory and solicit orders for new or upgrade cable, broadband and digital phone services.
Generate revenue by selling and upselling services while developing client base throughout territory.
Prospect and generate sales revenue by adding new program residential customers and cross selling and upselling current residential customers.

Outside sales executive vs direct sales representative skills

Common outside sales executive skills

Customer Service, 16%
CRM, 12%
Account Management, 7%
Business Sales, 6%
Cold Calls, 6%
Business Solutions, 4%

Common direct sales representative skills

Customer Service, 33%
Direct Sales, 20%
TV, 15%
Work Ethic, 4%
Technical Troubleshooting, 3%
Door-To-Door Sales, 3%

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Outside Sales Executive
Outside Sales Executive vs Direct Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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