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The differences between outside sales representatives and territory 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 representative and a territory sales representative. Additionally, an outside sales representative has an average salary of $60,443, which is higher than the $34,431 average annual salary of a territory sales representative.
The top three skills for an outside sales representative include customer service, work ethic and sales process. The most important skills for a territory sales representative are customer service, CRM, and product knowledge.
| Outside Sales Representative | Territory Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $60,443 | $34,431 |
| Hourly rate | $29.06 | $16.55 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 218,034 | 219,928 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 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 territory sales representative is responsible for selling goods and services, assisting customers with their inquiries and concerns, and monitoring the assigned area's sales reports. Territory sales representatives coordinate with the rest of the sales team to develop effective marketing strategies and promotional techniques to increase revenues and profitability. Territory sales representatives research current market trends to identify business opportunities to meet consumer demands and widen their services. A territory sales representative must have excellent knowledge of the sales disciplines and principles, managing the market approach to ensure customer satisfaction.
Outside sales representatives and territory sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Outside Sales Representative | Territory Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $60,443 | $34,431 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $87,000 | Between $15,000 And $78,000 |
| Highest paying City | Minneapolis, MN | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | IBM |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | - |
There are a few differences between an outside sales representative and a territory sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Outside Sales Representative | Territory Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between outside sales representatives' and territory sales representatives' demographics:
| Outside Sales Representative | Territory Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5% | Male, 69.1% Female, 30.9% |
| 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, 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% |