Pharmaceutical sales person vs outside sales representative

The differences between pharmaceutical sales people and outside sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a pharmaceutical sales person, becoming an outside sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a pharmaceutical sales person has an average salary of $130,507, which is higher than the $60,443 average annual salary of an outside 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 outside sales representative are customer service, work ethic, and sales process.

Pharmaceutical sales person vs outside sales representative overview

	Pharmaceutical Sales Person	Outside Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$130,507	$60,443
Hourly rate	$62.74	$29.06
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	117,428	218,034
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	4

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 outside sales representative do?

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.

Pharmaceutical sales person vs outside sales representative salary

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

	Pharmaceutical Sales Person	Outside Sales Representative
Average salary	$130,507	$60,443
Salary range	Between $68,000 And $249,000	Between $41,000 And $87,000
Highest paying City	-	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	Microsoft
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between pharmaceutical sales person and outside sales representative education

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

	Pharmaceutical Sales Person	Outside Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Pharmaceutical sales person vs outside sales representative demographics

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

	Pharmaceutical Sales Person	Outside Sales Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 50.2% Female, 49.8%	Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5%
Race ratio	Black 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, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between pharmaceutical sales person and outside 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

Outside sales representative example responsibilities.

Manage and maintain a weekly quota for broadband, and other wireless products.
Utilize CRM database to manage and track prospect interaction to ensure accurate documentation of window requirements and ongoing communication.
Web dev, SEO, PPC etc . )
Participate in the launching and marketing of broadband internet in Orlando with great success.
Provide care, materials, and essential tools for doctors and nurses working on patients in the E.R.
Create and maintain successful business partnerships with customers by analyzing, meeting and understanding their needs and patients needs.

Pharmaceutical sales person vs outside 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 outside sales representative skills

Customer Service, 17%
Work Ethic, 8%
Sales Process, 4%
Business Sales, 4%
Cold Calls, 4%
Product Knowledge, 4%

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Pharmaceutical Sales Person
Pharmaceutical Sales Person vs Outside Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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