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The differences between pharmaceutical sales specialists and outbound 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 specialist, becoming an outbound sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a pharmaceutical sales specialist has an average salary of $73,003, which is higher than the $45,723 average annual salary of an outbound sales representative.
The top three skills for a pharmaceutical sales specialist include patients, sales territory and diabetes. The most important skills for an outbound sales representative are outbound sales, customer service, and excellent interpersonal.
| Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | Outbound Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $73,003 | $45,723 |
| Hourly rate | $35.10 | $21.98 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 23,474 | 240,781 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| 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 outbound sales representative focuses on securing sales by reaching out to clients through calls, correspondence, or face-to-face interactions. They primarily offer products and services, assisting customers every step of the way to ensure client satisfaction. To carry out their duties, they must perform research and analysis to identify business opportunities, develop sales strategies, generate leads, discuss product specifications with customers, introduce payment plans, and negotiate contracts. Moreover, an outbound sales representative must build positive relationships with clients while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Pharmaceutical sales specialists and outbound sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | Outbound Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $73,003 | $45,723 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $112,000 | Between $24,000 And $84,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Hoboken, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | AstraZeneca | Altice USA |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | - |
There are a few differences between a pharmaceutical sales specialist and an outbound sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | Outbound Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| 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 outbound sales representatives' demographics:
| Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | Outbound Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.9% Female, 52.1% | Male, 45.9% Female, 54.1% |
| 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, 14.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 72.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |