Outside sales vs outside sales consultant

The differences between outside sales and outside sales consultants 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 outside sales consultant. Additionally, an outside sales has an average salary of $77,292, which is higher than the $76,601 average annual salary of an outside sales consultant.

The top three skills for an outside sales include customer service, product knowledge and ongoing support. The most important skills for an outside sales consultant are customer service, in-home, and CRM.

Outside sales vs outside sales consultant overview

	Outside Sales	Outside Sales Consultant
Yearly salary	$77,292	$76,601
Hourly rate	$37.16	$36.83
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	333,400	230,853
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
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 outside sales consultant do?

An outside sales consultant is responsible for conducting sales for both prospective and existing customers. Your duties may vary, but common tasks include traveling to meet potential and existing customers, organizing meetings with customers regularly, and educating customers on the benefits of products and services. As an outside sales representative, you are responsible for monitoring the new products, market conditions and competitors, and assisting in building the brand with the help of the marketing department.

Outside sales vs outside sales consultant salary

Outside sales and outside sales consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Outside Sales	Outside Sales Consultant
Average salary	$77,292	$76,601
Salary range	Between $56,000 And $104,000	Between $48,000 And $120,000
Highest paying City	Arlington, VA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	Delaware
Best paying company	Morgan Stanley	Current TV
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Energy

Differences between outside sales and outside sales consultant education

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

	Outside Sales	Outside Sales Consultant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Outside sales vs outside sales consultant demographics

Here are the differences between outside sales' and outside sales consultants' demographics:

	Outside Sales	Outside Sales Consultant
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 78.3% Female, 21.7%	Male, 63.5% Female, 36.5%
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 outside sales consultant 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.

Outside sales consultant example responsibilities.

Utilize CRM data to deliver critical insights into product trends and manage leads for new product offerings.
Manage individual sales activities by developing highly effective, communications focuse relationship with multiple sales channels.
Perform data entry or require customer information into company CRM system in order to create and maintain an ongoing sales base.
Develop special reports, publications, spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations.
Cultivate strategic relationships and maximize sales volume by identifying fast ROI projects, seizing market opportunities and aggressively pursuing new business.
Create a zip code analysis tool to identify Medicaid recipients' target areas for strategic marketing penetration.

Outside sales vs outside sales consultant skills

Common outside sales skills

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

Common outside sales consultant skills

Customer Service, 14%
In-Home, 9%
CRM, 8%
Sales Presentations, 7%
Lead Generation, 6%
Excellent Presentation, 5%

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Sales Industry
Outside Sales
Outside Sales vs Outside Sales Consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

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