Outside sales executive vs inside sales representative

The differences between outside sales executives and inside 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 an inside sales representative. Additionally, an outside sales executive has an average salary of $71,981, which is higher than the $44,413 average annual salary of an inside sales representative.

The top three skills for an outside sales executive include customer service, CRM and account management. The most important skills for an inside sales representative are customer service, CRM, and outbound calls.

Outside sales executive vs inside sales representative overview

	Outside Sales Executive	Inside Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$71,981	$44,413
Hourly rate	$34.61	$21.35
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	249,969	244,168
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
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 representative do?

An inside sales representative is responsible for selling services and products to clients, driving the company's revenues and increase sales profitability. Duties of an inside sales representative include developing strategic sales pitches, responding to customer's inquiries and requests, offering promotional products and discounts, researching potential clients, creating sales reports, and managing customer's possible complaints. An inside sales representative also provides strategic solutions to share with the sales team to improve their sales performance. Inside sales representatives must have excellent communication and negotiation skills to deal with customers' needs.

Outside sales executive vs inside sales representative salary

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

	Outside Sales Executive	Inside Sales Representative
Average salary	$71,981	$44,413
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $104,000	Between $28,000 And $69,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Washington	Wyoming
Best paying company	Marshberry	Berkshire Hathaway
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between outside sales executive and inside sales representative education

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

	Outside Sales Executive	Inside Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
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 representative demographics

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

	Outside Sales Executive	Inside Sales Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 65.4% Female, 34.6%	Male, 54.7% Female, 45.3%
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 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.

Inside sales representative example responsibilities.

Coordinate commercial sales and manage projects with HVAC contractors for Georgia district.
Accomplish tasks in a timely manner.Skills UsedComputer, math, reading wiring schematics.
Generate leads through the use of Linkedin, firm websites and legal magazines.
Manage and develop a nationwide territory through cold calling utilizing LinkedIn?, DiscoverOrg.
Manage help desk support for company ERP system as well as employee hardware and software issues.
Manage a team of 15-25 ISE's through effective sales coaching, call monitoring and creating sales spiff programs.

Outside sales executive vs inside 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 inside sales representative skills

Customer Service, 22%
CRM, 6%
Outbound Calls, 5%
Product Knowledge, 4%
Work Ethic, 4%
Sales Process, 3%

Outside Sales Executive vs. similar jobs

Outside Sales Executive related careers

Outside Sales Executive related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Sales Industry
Outside Sales Executive
Outside Sales Executive vs Inside Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse sales jobs