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Professional representative vs specialty sales representative

The differences between professional representatives and specialty sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a professional representative and a specialty sales representative. Additionally, a professional representative has an average salary of $71,939, which is higher than the $67,605 average annual salary of a specialty sales representative.

The top three skills for a professional representative include pharmaceutical products, territory management and market share growth. The most important skills for a specialty sales representative are patients, product knowledge, and territory management.

Professional representative vs specialty sales representative overview

Professional RepresentativeSpecialty Sales Representative
Yearly salary$71,939$67,605
Hourly rate$34.59$32.50
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs94,098174,608
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 86%
Average age4747
Years of experience22

Professional representative vs specialty sales representative salary

Professional representatives and specialty sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

Professional RepresentativeSpecialty Sales Representative
Average salary$71,939$67,605
Salary rangeBetween $43,000 And $118,000Between $40,000 And $113,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between professional representative and specialty sales representative education

There are a few differences between a professional representative and a specialty sales representative in terms of educational background:

Professional RepresentativeSpecialty Sales Representative
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 86%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Professional representative vs specialty sales representative demographics

Here are the differences between professional representatives' and specialty sales representatives' demographics:

Professional RepresentativeSpecialty Sales Representative
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 46.4% Female, 53.6%Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1%
Race ratioBlack 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, 73.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between professional representative and specialty sales representative duties and responsibilities

Professional representative example responsibilities.

  • Position office personnel to achieve NCQA patient self-management standards by planning and executing diabetes disease management programs.
  • Achieve sales growth objectives by incorporating product/technical knowledge, teamwork, customer and multi-product focus, innovation and creativity.
  • Identify think leaders & launch first in class diabetes management medication while reaching/exceeding sales objectives in all therapeutic categories.
  • Establish rapport with the respiratory department in the territories largest hospital which result in meeting and detailing``no-see"pulmonologists
  • Represent AstraZeneca products in the respiratory and cardiology markets.
  • Maintain point responsibility for cardiovascular and neurology franchise within district.
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Specialty sales representative example responsibilities.

  • Utilize CRM system and other applications to manage all sales within the renewal stages.
  • Collaborate with management, marketing, and training departments to achieve the common goals of Merck.
  • Manage allocated resources and accountable for pharmaceutical samples in accordance with FDA and PDMA guidelines; responsible for expense management.
  • Manage tough relationships with key reimbursement decision-makers in hospitals, renal and oncology clinics throughout territory.
  • Manage the development, productivity and utilization of local, regional and national speakers for hyperlipidemia and hypertension.
  • Perform several educational sales presentations to large audiences on appropriate pain management for patients.
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Professional representative vs specialty sales representative skills

Common professional representative skills
  • Pharmaceutical Products, 17%
  • Territory Management, 14%
  • Market Share Growth, 9%
  • Neurology, 7%
  • Cardiology, 6%
  • Internal Medicine, 5%
Common specialty sales representative skills
  • Patients, 14%
  • Product Knowledge, 9%
  • Territory Management, 7%
  • Neurology, 6%
  • Work Ethic, 6%
  • Medical Sales, 5%