Outside sales vs business sales representative

The differences between outside sales and business 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 and a business sales representative. Additionally, an outside sales has an average salary of $77,292, which is higher than the $58,288 average annual salary of a business sales representative.

The top three skills for an outside sales include customer service, product knowledge and ongoing support. The most important skills for a business sales representative are business sales, customer accounts, and customer service.

Outside sales vs business sales representative overview

	Outside Sales	Business Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$77,292	$58,288
Hourly rate	$37.16	$28.02
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	333,400	226,438
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

What does an outside sales do?

An outside sales representative is responsible for generating the company's sales and revenues by offering goods and services to existing and potential clients, responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns about the products, and researching on possible leads. Outside sales representatives monitor the current industry trends to identify new business opportunities that would help the business adjust to market changes to achieve profitability goals. An outside sales representative must have excellent communication and customer service skills, immediately resolving complaints and assisting on marketing promotions to gain sales prospects.

What does a business sales representative do?

A business sales representative's role is to develop strategies in identifying leads and opportunities to secure sales. Their responsibilities revolve around reaching out to clients to offer products and services, discussing the pricing and specifications of products, processing payments, and gathering necessary client information. They may also arrange appointments with clients to negotiate and sign contracts. Furthermore, as a business sales representative, it is essential to produce progress reports and presentations, handle issues and complaints, maintain records of all transactions, and regularly update databases.

Outside sales vs business sales representative salary

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

	Outside Sales	Business Sales Representative
Average salary	$77,292	$58,288
Salary range	Between $56,000 And $104,000	Between $31,000 And $108,000
Highest paying City	Arlington, VA	Bothell, WA
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	Washington
Best paying company	Morgan Stanley	Amazon
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	-

Differences between outside sales and business sales representative education

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

	Outside Sales	Business Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	Stanford University

Outside sales vs business sales representative demographics

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

	Outside Sales	Business Sales Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 78.3% Female, 21.7%	Male, 61.4% Female, 38.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between outside sales and business sales representative duties and responsibilities

Outside sales example responsibilities.

Plan logistical outside sales route, planned/schedule sales calls with web-base CRM program, manage various sales cycles.
Manage and create all content distribute via various social media outlets: Facebook, twitter, feedback blogs, etc.
Perfect the craft of upselling customers.
Prepare material estimates/bids for houses, windows, doors, trusses, etc.
Increase existing customer base and generate new dealer and customer relationships within the HVAC equipment and sales.
Estimate, price, bid and follow up to all mechanical HVAC and plumbing plan and spec projects.

Business sales representative example responsibilities.

Lead recruitment and marketing efforts via social media channels such as LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook, etc.
Generate qualify leads through B2B telemarketing services specialize in identifying and nurturing prospects for computer hardware, software and technology services.
Assist with coordinating and organizing marketing projects such as direct mail and team telemarketing initiatives.
Generate qualify leads through B2B telemarketing services specialize in identifying and nurturing prospects for computer hardware, software and technology services.
Assist in the training of newly hire salespeople on technical aspects of CCTV camera systems.
Maintain a neat display kiosk that are up to par with Costco's standards

Outside sales vs business sales representative skills

Common outside sales skills

Customer Service, 30%
Product Knowledge, 9%
Ongoing Support, 4%
Work Ethic, 4%
CRM, 4%
Flyers, 4%

Common business sales representative skills

Business Sales, 13%
Customer Accounts, 12%
Customer Service, 11%
Business Relationships, 11%
Lead Generation, 11%
Security Industry, 6%

Outside Sales vs. similar jobs

Outside Sales related careers

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What similar roles do

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Sales Industry
Outside Sales
Outside Sales vs Business Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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