Route sales person vs sales representative

The differences between route sales people and sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales representative has an average salary of $56,591, which is higher than the $48,692 average annual salary of a route sales person.

The top three skills for a route sales person include customer service, CDL and dairy products. The most important skills for a sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.

Route sales person vs sales representative overview

	Route Sales Person	Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$48,692	$56,591
Hourly rate	$23.41	$27.21
Growth rate	11%	4%
Number of jobs	45,109	205,456
Job satisfaction	-	4.33
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	48	47
Years of experience	-	4

What does a route sales person do?

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.

What does a sales representative do?

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.

Route sales person vs sales representative salary

Route sales people and sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Route Sales Person	Sales Representative
Average salary	$48,692	$56,591
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $60,000	Between $33,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	San Jose, CA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	California	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Kettering Health Network	Google
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Pharmaceutical

Differences between route sales person and sales representative education

There are a few differences between a route sales person and a sales representative in terms of educational background:

	Route Sales Person	Sales Representative
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Route sales person vs sales representative demographics

Here are the differences between route sales people' and sales representatives' demographics:

	Route Sales Person	Sales Representative
Average age	48	47
Gender ratio	Male, 95.0% Female, 5.0%	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%
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, 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	4%	6%

Differences between route sales person and sales representative duties and responsibilities

Route sales person example responsibilities.

Clean CDL and aptitude for relationship building lead to point of sales position.
Adhere to Ecolab code of conduct and follow standard operating procedures and maintain safety at all times.
Install chemical dispensers for Ecolab chemicals.
Use effective communication and interpersonal skills when interacting with customers during pickup and/or delivery of packages.
load truck * pull orders * run routes * sales/up sell
Deliver and sell Pepsi products to corporate businesses and retail establishments.

Sales representative example responsibilities.

Manage prospective leads and existing accounts through a CRM platform to accurately forecast revenue and develop long-term business partnerships.
Manage and create all content distribute via various social media outlets: Facebook, twitter, feedback blogs, etc.
Search for procurement contracts, attend trade shows, design flyers, postcards, etc.
Utilize POS sales software to maintain monetary sales information produce reports for organizational review.
Develop and maintain business relationships with businesses and policyholders using establish methods such as customer relationship management CRM.
Handle administrative and sales duties as Jr.

Route sales person vs sales representative skills

Common route sales person skills

Customer Service, 22%
CDL, 10%
Dairy Products, 10%
Customer Complaints, 6%
Math, 6%
Basic Math, 6%

Common sales representative skills

Sales Process, 9%
Product Knowledge, 9%
Customer Service, 7%
CRM, 6%
Business Development, 6%
Sales REP, 5%

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Transportation Industry
Route Sales Person
Route Sales Person vs Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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