Pharmaceutical sales representative vs territory representative

The differences between pharmaceutical sales representatives and territory 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 representative, becoming a territory representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a pharmaceutical sales representative has an average salary of $68,571, which is higher than the $39,761 average annual salary of a territory representative.

The top three skills for a pharmaceutical sales representative include patients, pharmaceutical products and develop strong relationships. The most important skills for a territory representative are customer service, patients, and customer relationships.

Pharmaceutical sales representative vs territory representative overview

	Pharmaceutical Sales Representative	Territory Representative
Yearly salary	$68,571	$39,761
Hourly rate	$32.97	$19.12
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	102,935	155,926
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 85%	Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	4

What does a pharmaceutical sales representative do?

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.

What does a territory representative do?

A territory representative is responsible for selling the company's goods and services within a designated area, negotiating offers with potential clients, and identifying business opportunities according to market trends and customer demands. Territory representatives analyze the sales performance and strategize techniques to reach sales targets by coordinating with the whole sales team. They must be highly knowledgeable of the products offered by the company to demonstrate features and functionalities and respond to the inquiries and concerns the customers may have.

Pharmaceutical sales representative vs territory representative salary

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

	Pharmaceutical Sales Representative	Territory Representative
Average salary	$68,571	$39,761
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $110,000	Between $31,000 And $50,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	-
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	-
Best paying company	Eli Lilly and Company	-
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	-

Differences between pharmaceutical sales representative and territory representative education

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

	Pharmaceutical Sales Representative	Territory Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 85%	Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Pharmaceutical sales representative vs territory representative demographics

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

	Pharmaceutical Sales Representative	Territory Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 41.0% Female, 59.0%	Male, 62.6% Female, 37.4%
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, 14.1% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between pharmaceutical sales representative and territory representative duties and responsibilities

Pharmaceutical sales representative example responsibilities.

Manage and establish relationships within specialty urology and neurology markets to drive new and existing therapies.
Demonstrate strong teamwork skills by partnering with Novartis counterparts and other pharmaceutical consultants to achieve company and individual goals.
Manage Santa Rosa/San Francisco territories, marketing and selling respiratory, urology, cardiology to pharmacies and primary care physicians.
Retail sales division promoting drugs in gastroenterology, endocrinology, pain management and infectious disease.
Call on and maintain relationships with primary care physicians, cardiologists, nephrologists, internists, gastroenterologists, and endocrinologists.
Call on primary care physicians, cardiologists, neurologists, endocrinologists, and vascular surgeons.

Territory representative example responsibilities.

Manage and develop an extensive sales pipeline using SalesForce CRM products and phone-orient lead development techniques.
Accomplish this by actively prospecting new business, maintaining accountability on all sales efforts, and actualizing attentiveness to detail.
Design and facilitate educational and informative sales presentations and workshops for patients, family members, physicians and nurses.
Promote portfolio of products from multiple therapeutic classes to internal medicine, cardiology, allergy and pulmonology and family practice.
Develop product advocates in the cardiology space to influence usage at the primary care level.
Use computer systems (CRM) to track opportunities, update customer records, and record sales activity.

Pharmaceutical sales representative vs territory representative skills

Common pharmaceutical sales representative skills

Patients, 21%
Pharmaceutical Products, 8%
Develop Strong Relationships, 6%
Territory Management, 5%
FDA, 4%
Business Plan, 4%

Common territory representative skills

Customer Service, 12%
Patients, 10%
Customer Relationships, 9%
CRM, 9%
Territory Development, 6%
Food Handling, 5%

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Pharmaceutical Sales Representative
Pharmaceutical Sales Representative vs Territory Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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