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The differences between pharmaceutical sales representatives and specialty 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 representative and a specialty sales representative. Additionally, a pharmaceutical sales representative has an average salary of $68,571, which is higher than the $67,605 average annual salary of a specialty sales representative.
The top three skills for a pharmaceutical sales representative include patients, pharmaceutical products and develop strong relationships. The most important skills for a specialty sales representative are patients, product knowledge, and territory management.
| Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | Specialty Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $68,571 | $67,605 |
| Hourly rate | $32.97 | $32.50 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 102,935 | 174,608 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 86% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
The job of pharmaceutical sales representatives is to inform and educate doctors about a company's medical and pharmaceutical products. They serve as the link between a company and healthcare professionals to hit sales targets. They have varied responsibilities, including assessing clients' needs and presenting suitable products, delivering product samples, and working sales teams to develop and implement brand strategies. This role's qualifications include relevant work experience, excellent communication, sales, negotiation skills, and a bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
Specialty sales representatives are responsible for selling products and services using firm arguments to possible clients. Also, they perform a cost-benefit study of present and prospective clients. These representatives support positive business relationships to guarantee future sales. Their main role is to give complete and correct solutions to clients to enhance top-line revenue progress, profitability, and investment levels. Their duties include reaching out to customer leads through telemarketing as well as maximize customer satisfaction by efficiently providing resolutions to their issues and complaints.
Pharmaceutical sales representatives and specialty sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | Specialty Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $68,571 | $67,605 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $110,000 | Between $40,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | - |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | - |
| Best paying company | Eli Lilly and Company | - |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | - |
There are a few differences between a pharmaceutical sales representative and a specialty sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | Specialty Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 86% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between pharmaceutical sales representatives' and specialty sales representatives' demographics:
| Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | Specialty Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.0% Female, 59.0% | Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |