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The differences between regional sales specialists and outside sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a regional sales specialist and an outside sales representative. Additionally, a regional sales specialist has an average salary of $75,047, which is higher than the $60,443 average annual salary of an outside sales representative.
The top three skills for a regional sales specialist include CRM, regional sales and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for an outside sales representative are customer service, work ethic, and sales process.
| Regional Sales Specialist | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $75,047 | $60,443 |
| Hourly rate | $36.08 | $29.06 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 167,579 | 218,034 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Regional sales specialists are professionals who possess the necessary skills to sell all company products and services to improve sales and overall business growth within an assigned region. These specialists must handle all sales responsibilities by providing a training process for new hires to support the regional sales team. They are required to follow an established sales process and provide accurate forecasting and reporting of sales activity to the company's directors. Regional sales specialists must also target new customers to increase sales volume by implementing strategies.
An Outside Sales Representative specializes in customer service and relations, focusing on reaching sales targets through selling and networking with clients. Among the duties revolve around reaching out to customers through calls, email, or even arranging appointments, monitoring and keeping an organized record of sales, communicating with managers or supervisors, adhering to the company's policies and regulations, and keeping extensive knowledge about the brand and the trends. Besides building rapport with customers, it is also essential for an Outside Sales Representative to be proactive and create strategies to help meet the sales target.
Regional sales specialists and outside sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Regional Sales Specialist | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $75,047 | $60,443 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $90,000 | Between $41,000 And $87,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Minneapolis, MN |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a regional sales specialist and an outside sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Regional Sales Specialist | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between regional sales specialists' and outside sales representatives' demographics:
| Regional Sales Specialist | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 64.0% Female, 36.0% | Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |