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The differences between sales/account representatives and field 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 sales/account representative and a field sales representative. Additionally, a sales/account representative has an average salary of $56,954, which is higher than the $48,460 average annual salary of a field sales representative.
The top three skills for a sales/account representative include customer service, CRM and sales process. The most important skills for a field sales representative are excellent time management, customer service, and powerpoint.
| Sales/Account Representative | Field Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $56,954 | $48,460 |
| Hourly rate | $27.38 | $23.30 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 257,122 | 228,254 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A sales account representative is responsible for managing and responding promptly to customer complaints and queries of clients. They focus on customer concerns and contact prospects. They work on upselling or cross-selling products and services, collaborating with account executives, and prepare reports to upper management. This job requires you to be a goal-driven person, energetic, and have excellent communication skills. Moreover, this is a challenging job; at times, it requires being extra polite and calm in handling customer complaints and other related situations.
A field sales representative is an employee who is employed by business-to-business (B2B) and wholesale organizations to visit leads and sell products or services to their customers in person. Field sales representatives must attract new customers and win new accounts so that they can maximize profitability within their territory. They travel around their assigned territory and visit their customers regularly to educate them on how their products can benefit them. Field sales representatives must also maintain records of all sales leads and monitor the organization's competitor, new products, and market conditions.
Sales/account representatives and field sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales/Account Representative | Field Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $56,954 | $48,460 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $81,000 | Between $26,000 And $88,000 |
| Highest paying City | Olympia, WA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Smartsheet | VMware |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a sales/account representative and a field sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Sales/Account Representative | Field Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| 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 sales/account representatives' and field sales representatives' demographics:
| Sales/Account Representative | Field Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.8% Female, 42.2% | Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5% |
| 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, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |