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Pharmaceutical sales person vs executive sales representative

The differences between pharmaceutical sales people and executive sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a pharmaceutical sales person and an executive sales representative. Additionally, a pharmaceutical sales person has an average salary of $130,507, which is higher than the $78,858 average annual salary of an executive sales representative.

The top three skills for a pharmaceutical sales person include pharmaceutical products, sales territory and pharmaceutical sales. The most important skills for an executive sales representative are patients, product knowledge, and oncology.

Pharmaceutical sales person vs executive sales representative overview

Pharmaceutical Sales PersonExecutive Sales Representative
Yearly salary$130,507$78,858
Hourly rate$62.74$37.91
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs117,428226,902
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age4747
Years of experience22

What does a pharmaceutical sales person do?

Pharmaceutical salespersons must have a wide range of skills, such as proven work in pharmaceutical or medical sales, familiarity with the latest medical issues, and knowledge of programs like MS Office. Paid at $92K per year, those who seek this career will be required to educate physicians on new pharmaceutical developments and connect providers with new knowledge, drugs, and treatments for cutting-edge patient care.

What does an executive sales representative do?

An executive sales representative researches and recommends business opportunities. They analyze sales alternatives and help build business relations with clients and prospects. They must keep updated on business trends and potential competitors to best recommend new product ideas. They must be open-minded, risk-takers, adaptive, and innovative to be able to develop successful marketing strategies. It is also necessary for them to be highly skilled at business analysis to distinguish selling opportunities and create an immediate action plan.

Pharmaceutical sales person vs executive sales representative salary

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

Pharmaceutical Sales PersonExecutive Sales Representative
Average salary$130,507$78,858
Salary rangeBetween $68,000 And $249,000Between $48,000 And $128,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between pharmaceutical sales person and executive sales representative education

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

Pharmaceutical Sales PersonExecutive Sales Representative
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Pharmaceutical sales person vs executive sales representative demographics

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

Pharmaceutical Sales PersonExecutive Sales Representative
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 50.2% Female, 49.8%Male, 53.7% Female, 46.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between pharmaceutical sales person and executive sales representative duties and responsibilities

Pharmaceutical sales person example responsibilities.

  • Manage Santa Rosa/San Francisco territories, marketing and selling respiratory, urology, cardiology to pharmacies and primary care physicians.
  • Present, negotiate, and close hospital contracts for antibiotics.
  • Maintain inventory of samples on a monthly basis for reporting to FDA.
  • Collaborate with NP's and RN's in charge of Coumadin clinics to ensure proper patient use of Coumadin.
  • Collaborate with hospital formulary committees to introduce new products.
  • Integrate formulary knowledge and assistance program information for exceptional customer experience
  • Show more

Executive sales representative example responsibilities.

  • Position products above the competition, utilizing data, manage care information and patient benefit to promote the Novartis brands.
  • Achieve sales growth objectives by incorporating product/technical knowledge, teamwork, customer and multi-product focus, innovation and creativity.
  • Call on customers in oncology, pulmonology urology, cardiology, neurology, OB/GYN, psychiatry, gastroenterology and primary care.
  • Promote diabetes medications to family practice, general practice, internal medicine physicians and diabetic educators.
  • Track and create territory reports and spreadsheets with action items and a pod business plan.
  • Target specialty sales to neurology, psychiatry, pain management and high target primary care physicians.
  • Show more

Pharmaceutical sales person vs executive sales representative skills

Common pharmaceutical sales person skills
  • Pharmaceutical Products, 18%
  • Sales Territory, 15%
  • Pharmaceutical Sales, 9%
  • Sales Growth, 8%
  • Medical Sales, 8%
  • Healthcare Professionals, 6%
Common executive sales representative skills
  • Patients, 10%
  • Product Knowledge, 10%
  • Oncology, 8%
  • Account Management, 7%
  • Territory Management, 7%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 6%