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The differences between outside sales representatives and business development representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an outside sales representative has an average salary of $60,443, which is higher than the $47,240 average annual salary of a business development representative.
The top three skills for an outside sales representative include customer service, work ethic and sales process. The most important skills for a business development representative are business development, work ethic, and customer service.
| Outside Sales Representative | Business Development Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $60,443 | $47,240 |
| Hourly rate | $29.06 | $22.71 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 218,034 | 269,704 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.5 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
An Outside Sales Representative specializes in customer service and relations, focusing on reaching sales targets through selling and networking with clients. Among the duties revolve around reaching out to customers through calls, email, or even arranging appointments, monitoring and keeping an organized record of sales, communicating with managers or supervisors, adhering to the company's policies and regulations, and keeping extensive knowledge about the brand and the trends. Besides building rapport with customers, it is also essential for an Outside Sales Representative to be proactive and create strategies to help meet the sales target.
A business development representative's role is to find new business and client opportunities through market research and networking. They are primarily responsible for participating in creating strategies to enhance client relations, improve sales, and reach out to potential clients through calls, correspondence, and meetings. Moreover, it is also their responsibility to perform follow-up calls, offer recommendations, and even build rapport to strengthen client base. As a representative, it is essential to coordinate with managers and supervisors and adhere to policies and regulations.
Outside sales representatives and business development representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Outside Sales Representative | Business Development Representative | |
| Average salary | $60,443 | $47,240 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $87,000 | Between $26,000 And $82,000 |
| Highest paying City | Minneapolis, MN | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Wipro Limited |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an outside sales representative and a business development representative in terms of educational background:
| Outside Sales Representative | Business Development Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between outside sales representatives' and business development representatives' demographics:
| Outside Sales Representative | Business Development Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5% | Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 5.6% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 5% |