Outside sales executive vs field sales representative

The differences between outside sales executives 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 executive and a field sales representative. Additionally, an outside sales executive has an average salary of $71,981, which is higher than the $48,460 average annual salary of a field sales representative.

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

Outside sales executive vs field sales representative overview

	Outside Sales Executive	Field Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$71,981	$48,460
Hourly rate	$34.61	$23.30
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	249,969	228,254
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
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 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 executive vs field sales representative salary

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

	Outside Sales Executive	Field Sales Representative
Average salary	$71,981	$48,460
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $104,000	Between $26,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Washington	Washington
Best paying company	Marshberry	VMware
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between outside sales executive and field sales representative education

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

	Outside Sales Executive	Field Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	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 executive vs field sales representative demographics

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

	Outside Sales Executive	Field Sales Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 65.4% Female, 34.6%	Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5%
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, 3.9% 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 executive and field 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.

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 executive vs field 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 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 Executive
Outside Sales Executive vs Field Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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