Outside sales vs medical sales representative

The differences between outside sales and medical sales representatives 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 medical sales representative takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an outside sales has an average salary of $77,292, which is higher than the $74,079 average annual salary of a medical sales representative.

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

Outside sales vs medical sales representative overview

	Outside Sales	Medical Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$77,292	$74,079
Hourly rate	$37.16	$35.61
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	333,400	206,149
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	2

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 medical sales representative do?

A medical sales representative, also known as a pharmaceutical sales representative, is an individual who is responsible for selling and promoting medications and medical equipment. Medical sales representatives set appointments with doctors, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals so that they can promote their company's medical supplies. They are required to build and maintain relationships with their customers so that they can encourage repeat purchases. Medical sales representatives should obtain a bachelor's degree in nursing, pharmacy, life sciences, or a related field.

Outside sales vs medical sales representative salary

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

	Outside Sales	Medical Sales Representative
Average salary	$77,292	$74,079
Salary range	Between $56,000 And $104,000	Between $45,000 And $121,000
Highest paying City	Arlington, VA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	California
Best paying company	Morgan Stanley	Intuitive Surgical
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Pharmaceutical

Differences between outside sales and medical sales representative education

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

	Outside Sales	Medical Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	University of Pennsylvania

Outside sales vs medical sales representative demographics

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

	Outside Sales	Medical Sales Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 78.3% Female, 21.7%	Male, 51.3% Female, 48.7%
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, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between outside sales and medical 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.

Medical sales representative example responsibilities.

Lead the sales team in number of CPAP's sell monthly.
Work closely with manage care plans, Medicare and Medicaid to ensure full coverage of all products in portfolio
Follow policies and procedures to accomplish responsibilities including following HIPAA regulations.
Develop customer relationships and achieve sales objectives for product portfolio consisting of CNS products.
Present clinical information and lead discussions on various types of treatment for hypertension and acute coronary syndrome.
Utilize CRM database to manage and track prospect interaction to ensure accurate documentation of window requirements and ongoing communication.

Outside sales vs medical sales representative skills

Common outside sales skills

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

Common medical sales representative skills

Patients, 17%
Medical Sales, 16%
Customer Service, 9%
Sales Territory, 6%
Product Knowledge, 6%
Ventilation, 5%

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Sales Industry
Outside Sales
Outside Sales vs Medical Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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