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The differences between product specialists and inside sales specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a product specialist, becoming an inside sales specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a product specialist has an average salary of $85,932, which is higher than the $50,944 average annual salary of an inside sales specialist.
The top three skills for a product specialist include customer service, product knowledge and sales floor. The most important skills for an inside sales specialist are customer service, CRM, and sales process.
| Product Specialist | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $85,932 | $50,944 |
| Hourly rate | $41.31 | $24.49 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 103,863 | 251,423 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 37 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A product specialist is required to have excellent knowledge about a product and work with a business unit to ensure excellent product delivery. Product specialists perform product demonstrations to customers and other stakeholders and assist in their promotions and product releases. To gain increased revenue, product specialists must be able to identify new market opportunities. They are required to conduct product and sales training for the marketing team. They must also provide reports about their product-related activities to the management.
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.
Product specialists and inside sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Specialist | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Average salary | $85,932 | $50,944 |
| Salary range | Between $56,000 And $130,000 | Between $34,000 And $75,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Bruno, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | ByteDance | Keller Williams Greater Seattle |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Real Estate |
There are a few differences between a product specialist and an inside sales specialist in terms of educational background:
| Product Specialist | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between product specialists' and inside sales specialists' demographics:
| Product Specialist | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Average age | 37 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.8% Female, 40.2% | Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 10.6% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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 | 10% | 6% |