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The differences between sales administrator/administrative assistants and sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales administrator/administrative assistant has an average salary of $36,442, which is higher than the $32,167 average annual salary of a sales associate.
The top three skills for a sales administrator/administrative assistant include reservations, word processing and data entry. The most important skills for a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.
| Sales Administrator/Administrative Assistant | Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $36,442 | $32,167 |
| Hourly rate | $17.52 | $15.46 |
| Growth rate | -8% | - |
| Number of jobs | 104,412 | 579,849 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 50 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
A sales administrator/administrative assistant is responsible for assisting the sales department on its overall operations and strategies to sell goods and services that would increase the company's revenues and profitability. Sales administrator/administrative assistants perform administrative and clerical duties as needed, such as creating and evaluating sales reports, writing business proposals, scheduling meetings, booking events, and researching current market trends to identify business opportunities. They must have excellent customer service and communication skills, managing customers' inquiries and concerns, processing orders and payments, and ensuring customer satisfaction.
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.
Sales administrator/administrative assistants and sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Administrator/Administrative Assistant | Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $36,442 | $32,167 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $44,000 | Between $21,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Clara, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New York |
| Best paying company | Splunk | Barclays |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a sales administrator/administrative assistant and a sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Sales Administrator/Administrative Assistant | Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | - |
Here are the differences between sales administrator/administrative assistants' and sales associates' demographics:
| Sales Administrator/Administrative Assistant | Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 50 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 9.7% Female, 90.3% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | 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 | 6% | 7% |