Outside sales vs direct sales agent

The differences between outside sales and direct sales agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an outside sales, becoming a direct sales agent takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an outside sales has an average salary of $77,292, which is higher than the $57,712 average annual salary of a direct sales agent.

The top three skills for an outside sales include customer service, product knowledge and ongoing support. The most important skills for a direct sales agent are customer service, medicare, and health insurance.

Outside sales vs direct sales agent overview

	Outside Sales	Direct Sales Agent
Yearly salary	$77,292	$57,712
Hourly rate	$37.16	$27.75
Growth rate	4%	10%
Number of jobs	333,400	225,552
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	47	43
Years of experience	4	6

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 direct sales agent do?

A direct sales agent is primarily responsible for introducing and selling products or services to clients in a particular area. Aiming to reach sales quotas, they typically conduct market research and analysis, generate leads, and develop sales strategies to build positive client relationships. They reach out directly to clients through calls or face-to-face interactions, discuss product specifications or promos, negotiate contracts, and demonstrate products when necessary. They are also responsible for processing client orders and payments, ensuring efficiency and client satisfaction.

Outside sales vs direct sales agent salary

Outside sales and direct sales agents have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Outside Sales	Direct Sales Agent
Average salary	$77,292	$57,712
Salary range	Between $56,000 And $104,000	Between $30,000 And $107,000
Highest paying City	Arlington, VA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	New York
Best paying company	Morgan Stanley	TechnipFMC
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	-

Differences between outside sales and direct sales agent education

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

	Outside Sales	Direct Sales Agent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	Stanford University

Outside sales vs direct sales agent demographics

Here are the differences between outside sales' and direct sales agents' demographics:

	Outside Sales	Direct Sales Agent
Average age	47	43
Gender ratio	Male, 78.3% Female, 21.7%	Male, 58.0% Female, 42.0%
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, 5.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 9.3% White, 68.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between outside sales and direct sales agent 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.

Direct sales agent example responsibilities.

Increase customer understanding of Comcast products and pricing models as well as competitive advantage over other service providers.
Produce call reports and CRM dashboards.
Demonstrate strong understanding of Comcast products, promoting and selling offerings to individual customers by knocking every door within assign territories.
Contact new and existing customers to discuss how TWC products can meet their needs.
Maintain a professional, respectful, and helpful demeanor as a representative of TWC.
Communicate ongoing contact activity utilizing Salesforce.com.

Outside sales vs direct sales agent skills

Common outside sales skills

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

Common direct sales agent skills

Customer Service, 25%
Medicare, 15%
Health Insurance, 12%
Direct Sales, 11%
Underwriting Process, 6%
Product Knowledge, 5%

Outside Sales vs. similar jobs

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Sales Industry
Outside Sales
Outside Sales vs Direct Sales Agent

Updated January 8, 2025

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