Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between route sales people and sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a route sales person has an average salary of $48,692, which is higher than the $32,167 average annual salary of a sales associate.
The top three skills for a route sales person include customer service, CDL and dairy products. The most important skills for a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.
| Route Sales Person | Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $48,692 | $32,167 |
| Hourly rate | $23.41 | $15.46 |
| Growth rate | 11% | - |
| Number of jobs | 45,109 | 579,849 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 48 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A route salesperson specializes in securing sales targets while traveling to different areas to meet with clients. They are primarily responsible for devising strategies on selling products and services, making calls and answering correspondence, arranging meetings, conducting follow-up calls, and building rapport with customers to strengthen client base. There are also instances when a route salesperson must sell door-to-door, perform product demonstrations, negotiate contracts, process payments, and even inform existing clients if there are any updates to their current products and services.
Sales associates are responsible for promoting the company's goods or services. They are expected to provide exceptional customer service to prospective buyers. They should be familiar with all features of the company's products or services so that they can answer the customers' inquiries. Sales associates also assist customers in processing their checkouts, refunds, returns, and other needs. They should be customer-oriented, and they should have great communication skills. They should know how to sell their products or services to customers. They are considered the company's representatives on the ground.
Route sales people and sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Route Sales Person | Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $48,692 | $32,167 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $60,000 | Between $21,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Kettering Health Network | Barclays |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a route sales person and a sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Route Sales Person | Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between route sales people' and sales associates' demographics:
| Route Sales Person | Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 48 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 95.0% Female, 5.0% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 3.8% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 7% |