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The differences between product support representatives and 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 product support representative, becoming a sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a sales representative has an average salary of $56,591, which is higher than the $36,865 average annual salary of a product support representative.
The top three skills for a product support representative include customer service, technical support and product knowledge. The most important skills for a sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.
| Product Support Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $36,865 | $56,591 |
| Hourly rate | $17.72 | $27.21 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 125,112 | 205,456 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.33 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 42 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
Product support representatives are skilled employees who are responsible for performing tasks related to product support services. These representatives must provide excellent customer service as well as technical and product support by responding to phone calls and emails of their customers. They must advise their customers on preventative maintenance and configurations that may negatively affect product performance. Product support representatives are also required to document all activities and communications about problems related to product support services and report them with the development team for solutions.
Sales representatives primarily sell the company's products and services to businesses or organizations. They should be adept at closing out sales, negotiating, and providing customer service. They should be knowledgeable about the products or services of the manufacturer or producer they represent. They must also have strong analytical skills that would help them in coming up with cost-benefit analysis in assessing the current roster of clients and even prospective ones. Sales representatives should also be able to maintain good working relationships with all involved stakeholders, especially clients.
Product support representatives and sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Support Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $36,865 | $56,591 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $56,000 | Between $33,000 And $94,000 |
| Highest paying City | Trenton, NJ | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Kronos Incorporated | |
| Best paying industry | - | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a product support representative and a sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Product Support Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between product support representatives' and sales representatives' demographics:
| Product Support Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 42 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.0% Female, 35.0% | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.0% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 6% |