Outside sales vs outbound sales representative

The differences between outside sales and outbound 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 an outbound sales representative. Additionally, an outside sales has an average salary of $77,292, which is higher than the $45,723 average annual salary of an outbound sales representative.

The top three skills for an outside sales include customer service, product knowledge and ongoing support. The most important skills for an outbound sales representative are outbound sales, customer service, and excellent interpersonal.

Outside sales vs outbound sales representative overview

	Outside Sales	Outbound Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$77,292	$45,723
Hourly rate	$37.16	$21.98
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	333,400	240,781
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	High School Diploma, 33%
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 an outbound sales representative do?

An outbound sales representative focuses on securing sales by reaching out to clients through calls, correspondence, or face-to-face interactions. They primarily offer products and services, assisting customers every step of the way to ensure client satisfaction. To carry out their duties, they must perform research and analysis to identify business opportunities, develop sales strategies, generate leads, discuss product specifications with customers, introduce payment plans, and negotiate contracts. Moreover, an outbound sales representative must build positive relationships with clients while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.

Outside sales vs outbound sales representative salary

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

	Outside Sales	Outbound Sales Representative
Average salary	$77,292	$45,723
Salary range	Between $56,000 And $104,000	Between $24,000 And $84,000
Highest paying City	Arlington, VA	Hoboken, NJ
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	New Jersey
Best paying company	Morgan Stanley	Altice USA
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	-

Differences between outside sales and outbound sales representative education

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

	Outside Sales	Outbound Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	High School Diploma, 33%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Outside sales vs outbound sales representative demographics

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

	Outside Sales	Outbound Sales Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 78.3% Female, 21.7%	Male, 45.9% Female, 54.1%
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, 14.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 72.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between outside sales and outbound 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.

Outbound sales representative example responsibilities.

Contact medicare eligible recipients to sell medicare advantage plans through in-home meetings, community seminars and direct telesales.
Build rapport while selling customers solar panels, porches, and double glaze windows.
Assist customers with there questions and concerns, telemarketing, distribute flyers within neighborhood.
Require multitasking, responding appropriately to customer questions and concerns, and negotiating sales for additional products and services.
Educate customers and are experts in all TWC products, services and packages along with competitor's offerings.
Serve as expert and educator to customers on all TWC products, services and packages along with competitor's offerings.

Outside sales vs outbound sales representative skills

Common outside sales skills

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

Common outbound sales representative skills

Outbound Sales, 25%
Customer Service, 11%
Excellent Interpersonal, 9%
Excellent Organizational, 8%
CRM, 7%
Inbound Calls, 5%

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Sales Industry
Outside Sales
Outside Sales vs Outbound Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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