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The differences between product support representatives and sales support 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 support representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a sales support representative has an average salary of $38,310, 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 support representative are sales support, phone calls, and POS.
| Product Support Representative | Sales Support Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $36,865 | $38,310 |
| Hourly rate | $17.72 | $18.42 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 125,112 | 319,292 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| 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.
A sales support representative is responsible for assisting the complex operations of sales departments, performing administrative duties under the supervision of a direct manager. Sales support representatives' tasks include acknowledging and encoding customers' orders in the system, processing payments, responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns about the products, writing sales reports, and updating the customer of the shipment details. They also support the sales representatives on selling goods and services to potential customers by creating marketing materials and communicating with customers over the phone and e-mail to generate revenues and increase profits.
Product support representatives and sales support representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Support Representative | Sales Support Representative | |
| Average salary | $36,865 | $38,310 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $56,000 | Between $30,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | Trenton, NJ | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Washington |
| Best paying company | Kronos Incorporated | NetApp |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a product support representative and a sales support representative in terms of educational background:
| Product Support Representative | Sales Support Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| 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 support representatives' demographics:
| Product Support Representative | Sales Support Representative | |
| Average age | 42 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.0% Female, 35.0% | Male, 39.9% Female, 60.1% |
| 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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 6% |