Route sales representative vs route driver

The differences between route sales representatives and route drivers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a route driver has an average salary of $45,492, which is higher than the $44,918 average annual salary of a route sales representative.

The top three skills for a route sales representative include CDL, DOT and strong customer service. The most important skills for a route driver are CDL, DOT, and pickup.

Route sales representative vs route driver overview

	Route Sales Representative	Route Driver
Yearly salary	$44,918	$45,492
Hourly rate	$21.60	$21.87
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	108,194	266,899
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	High School Diploma, 47%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	-	-

What does a route sales representative do?

A route sales representative is responsible for offering goods and services to customers in a designated area. Route sales representatives work closely with the marketing team to develop effective sales strategies, create sales pitches, and release promotional offers to generate sales, increase revenues, and build the organization's profitability. They also research the latest industry trends to identify sales opportunities and communicate findings to the team for new service offerings. A route sales representative must have excellent customer service and communication skills to assist customers in their inquiries and concerns and negotiate sales contracts.

What does a route driver do?

A Route Driver is responsible for delivering and transporting supplies or goods within an allotted time. The tasks will vary upon the organization or industry that a Route Driver works for, however, most of the time, the duties will revolve around picking up and dropping off packages at particular destinations ranging from homes to establishments, and communicating with customers. Furthermore, Route Drivers must keep their vehicles in clean and sound condition, report to supervisors should there be any issue, and adhere to the company policies and regulations at all times.

Route sales representative vs route driver salary

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

	Route Sales Representative	Route Driver
Average salary	$44,918	$45,492
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $54,000	Between $30,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	San Jose, CA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	California	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Johnson Controls	Blank Rome
Best paying industry	Education	Manufacturing

Differences between route sales representative and route driver education

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

	Route Sales Representative	Route Driver
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	High School Diploma, 47%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Route sales representative vs route driver demographics

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

	Route Sales Representative	Route Driver
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 91.7% Female, 8.3%	Male, 90.6% Female, 9.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.8% Asian, 3.8% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 3.8% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between route sales representative and route driver duties and responsibilities

Route sales representative example responsibilities.

Manage invoice collection and customer issues.
Drive CDL rate truck over assign territory.
Complete route in timely manner via CDL truck.
Utilize math skills to process payments while on route.
Maintain cleanliness of truck and inspect truck for imperfections and safe operation.
Distribute daily newspapers to customers; acquire new business via effective sales and marketing techniques.

Route driver example responsibilities.

Manage 100 stores as a DSD vendor, entailing presales, delivery and basic account management.
Inspect vehicle and load for safety and HazMat regulations being meet.
DOT, local, state (provincial) and federal requirements.
Train new employees to read and follow route sheets, as well as prepare them for CDL testing.
Travel to and from designate areas to pickup and deliver parcels and packages to and from FedEx customers.
Record routes in the delivery vehicle GPS system to facilitate weekly route planning and to assist share route drivers.

Route sales representative vs route driver skills

Common route sales representative skills

CDL, 17%
DOT, 16%
Strong Customer Service, 12%
Customer Accounts, 8%
Work Ethic, 7%
Upselling, 5%

Common route driver skills

CDL, 25%
DOT, 18%
Pickup, 4%
Customer Locations, 4%
Cleanliness, 3%
Necessary Paperwork, 3%

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Transportation Industry
Route Sales Representative
Route Sales Representative vs Route Driver

Updated January 8, 2025

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