Outside sales person vs sales representative

The differences between outside sales people and 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 person and a sales representative. Additionally, an outside sales person has an average salary of $70,621, which is higher than the $56,591 average annual salary of a sales representative.

The top three skills for an outside sales person include customer service, plumbing and sales orders. The most important skills for a sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.

Outside sales person vs sales representative overview

	Outside Sales Person	Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$70,621	$56,591
Hourly rate	$33.95	$27.21
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	145,342	205,456
Job satisfaction	-	4.33
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

Outside sales person vs sales representative salary

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

	Outside Sales Person	Sales Representative
Average salary	$70,621	$56,591
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $113,000	Between $33,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	-	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Google
Best paying industry	-	Pharmaceutical

Differences between outside sales person and sales representative education

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

	Outside Sales Person	Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Outside sales person vs sales representative demographics

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

	Outside Sales Person	Sales Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 89.6% Female, 10.4%	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between outside sales person and sales representative duties and responsibilities

Outside sales person example responsibilities.

Manage and create all content distribute via various social media outlets: Facebook, twitter, feedback blogs, etc.
Perform inside sales, including telemarketing, prospecting, account penetration and product application, consulting and delivery of customer service.
Create a zip code analysis tool to identify Medicaid recipients' target areas for strategic marketing penetration.

Sales representative example responsibilities.

Manage prospective leads and existing accounts through a CRM platform to accurately forecast revenue and develop long-term business partnerships.
Manage and create all content distribute via various social media outlets: Facebook, twitter, feedback blogs, etc.
Search for procurement contracts, attend trade shows, design flyers, postcards, etc.
Utilize POS sales software to maintain monetary sales information produce reports for organizational review.
Develop and maintain business relationships with businesses and policyholders using establish methods such as customer relationship management CRM.
Handle administrative and sales duties as Jr.

Outside sales person vs sales representative skills

Common outside sales person skills

Customer Service, 31%
Plumbing, 10%
Sales Orders, 8%
Gross Profit, 7%
Product Knowledge, 7%
Product Line, 7%

Common sales representative skills

Sales Process, 9%
Product Knowledge, 9%
Customer Service, 7%
CRM, 6%
Business Development, 6%
Sales REP, 5%

Outside Sales Person vs. similar jobs

Outside Sales Person related careers

Outside Sales Person related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Sales Industry
Outside Sales Person
Outside Sales Person vs Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse sales jobs