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The differences between pharmaceutical sales specialists and inside sales specialists 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 specialist, becoming an inside sales specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a pharmaceutical sales specialist has an average salary of $73,003, which is higher than the $50,944 average annual salary of an inside sales specialist.
The top three skills for a pharmaceutical sales specialist include patients, sales territory and diabetes. The most important skills for an inside sales specialist are customer service, CRM, and sales process.
| Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $73,003 | $50,944 |
| Hourly rate | $35.10 | $24.49 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 23,474 | 251,423 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A pharmaceutical sales specialist's primary duty is to reach out to pharmacies, medical facilities, and physicians to discuss the latest medical drugs in an effort to secure sales. Their responsibilities typically revolve around learning and understanding everything about the products that they are offering, traveling to different areas to deliver samples, and maintaining records of all transactions. Furthermore, as a pharmaceutical sales specialist, it is essential to create marketing materials and build positive relationships with clients to accomplish sales targets, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
An inside sales specialist is primarily responsible for securing sales by reaching out to clients to sell products and services. They may communicate with customers through calls and correspondence or personally recommend products in a retail store setting. Moreover, they are also responsible for responding to inquiries or concerns, identifying the customers' needs, devising strategies to find sales opportunities, and discussing products to customers. An inside sales specialist is often required to meet sales goals and report to managers should there be any issues or problems.
Pharmaceutical sales specialists and inside sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Average salary | $73,003 | $50,944 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $112,000 | Between $34,000 And $75,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Washington |
| Best paying company | AstraZeneca | Keller Williams Greater Seattle |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Real Estate |
There are a few differences between a pharmaceutical sales specialist and an inside sales specialist in terms of educational background:
| Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between pharmaceutical sales specialists' and inside sales specialists' demographics:
| Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.9% Female, 52.1% | Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0% |
| 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, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |