Outside sales executive vs inside sales associate

The differences between outside sales executives and inside sales associates 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 an inside sales associate. Additionally, an outside sales executive has an average salary of $71,981, which is higher than the $40,687 average annual salary of an inside sales associate.

The top three skills for an outside sales executive include customer service, CRM and account management. The most important skills for an inside sales associate are inside sales, sales associates, and strong customer service.

Outside sales executive vs inside sales associate overview

	Outside Sales Executive	Inside Sales Associate
Yearly salary	$71,981	$40,687
Hourly rate	$34.61	$19.56
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	249,969	320,863
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
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 an inside sales associate do?

An inside sales associate is responsible for selling the company's goods and services through remote communication. Inside sales associates make calls to potential customers, demonstrate the products' features, take orders, process payments, and inform the customers of the delivery details. They strategize the most effective sales pitches to attract the customers on purchasing more services that would generate revenues and increase the company's profitability and brand image. An inside sales associate also supports the marketing team in developing marketing campaigns and promotional offers depending on customer demands and requests.

Outside sales executive vs inside sales associate salary

Outside sales executives and inside sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Outside Sales Executive	Inside Sales Associate
Average salary	$71,981	$40,687
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $104,000	Between $30,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Washington	Washington
Best paying company	Marshberry	MSCI
Best paying industry	Technology	Health Care

Differences between outside sales executive and inside sales associate education

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

	Outside Sales Executive	Inside Sales Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Outside sales executive vs inside sales associate demographics

Here are the differences between outside sales executives' and inside sales associates' demographics:

	Outside Sales Executive	Inside Sales Associate
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 65.4% Female, 34.6%	Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7%
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, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between outside sales executive and inside sales associate 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.

Inside sales associate example responsibilities.

Manage individual sales activities by developing highly effective, communications focuse relationship with multiple sales channels.
Provide awareness to customers of the benefits of moving to a cloud platform for intra/customer facing web applications.
Develop a standardize, customize CRM system to track sales and marketing ROI that link into operational and financial ERP systems.
Calculate roofing amounts/square footage etc.
Maintain cleanliness and organization of stockroom shelves.
Conduct effective outbound telemarketing calls to potential and existing clients.

Outside sales executive vs inside sales associate skills

Common outside sales executive skills

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

Common inside sales associate skills

Inside Sales, 13%
Sales Associates, 7%
Strong Customer Service, 6%
Sales Process, 5%
Customer Satisfaction, 5%
Sales Floor, 5%

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Outside Sales Executive
Outside Sales Executive vs Inside Sales Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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