Outside sales executive vs sales specialist

The differences between outside sales executives and sales specialists 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 sales specialist. Additionally, an outside sales executive has an average salary of $71,981, which is higher than the $53,004 average annual salary of a sales specialist.

The top three skills for an outside sales executive include customer service, CRM and account management. The most important skills for a sales specialist are building relationships, customer complaints, and customer orders.

Outside sales executive vs sales specialist overview

	Outside Sales Executive	Sales Specialist
Yearly salary	$71,981	$53,004
Hourly rate	$34.61	$25.48
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	249,969	324,069
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
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 sales specialist do?

A sales specialist is responsible for offering the best goods and services to customers in order to boost the company's sales. Sales specialists also promote strategies and solutions to contribute to the company's growth and profitability. A sales specialist must have extensive knowledge of the current market trends and the best sales skills to perform marketing tasks. Sales specialists should have excellent communication and customer service skills to assist existing and potential clients with their inquiries and concerns.

Outside sales executive vs sales specialist salary

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

	Outside Sales Executive	Sales Specialist
Average salary	$71,981	$53,004
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $104,000	Between $30,000 And $91,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Washington	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Marshberry	VMware
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between outside sales executive and sales specialist education

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

	Outside Sales Executive	Sales Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 75%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Outside sales executive vs sales specialist demographics

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

	Outside Sales Executive	Sales Specialist
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 65.4% Female, 34.6%	Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9%
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 sales specialist 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.

Sales specialist example responsibilities.

Manage a Salesforce database comprise of customer information, leads and potential sales opportunities.
Manage Pardot (marketing database), and Zuora (online billing and payment gateway).
Manage territory retail accounts, category management, install POS, sell of manufacturer programs and implementation of sales programs.
Manage planning parameters in ERP via the item master (lead times, min/max, safety stock, pay terms).
Master delivering technical product information to doctors on training and teaching proper injection technique to achieve optimal results for patients.
Lead on sales order reporting for Americas.

Outside sales executive vs sales specialist skills

Common outside sales executive skills

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

Common sales specialist skills

Building Relationships, 10%
Customer Complaints, 9%
Customer Orders, 9%
Product Knowledge, 6%
Patients, 6%
Sales Process, 5%

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Outside Sales Executive
Outside Sales Executive vs Sales Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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