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The differences between sales administrators and sales support specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a sales administrator, becoming a sales support specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a sales support specialist has an average salary of $50,782, which is higher than the $41,404 average annual salary of a sales administrator.
The top three skills for a sales administrator include customer service, sales support and powerpoint. The most important skills for a sales support specialist are customer service, sales support, and powerpoint.
| Sales Administrator | Sales Support Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $41,404 | $50,782 |
| Hourly rate | $19.91 | $24.41 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 82,712 | 238,995 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 46 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 4 |
A sales administrator supports sales representatives to make customer deals. Aside from that, tasks such as answering customer queries, checking stock availability, processing deliveries, sending out invoices, and maintaining records and databases are a sales administrator's duties. Overall, a sales administrator focuses on orders, communicating to customers via telephone or face-to-face, invoicing, targeting sales, and record keeping.
A sales support specialist is primarily responsible for performing clerical tasks to support a sales team. Typically, they gather sales leads and data, produce progress reports and presentations, maintain records of all transactions, and liaise with different accounting personnel. A sales support specialist may respond to calls and inquiries, resolving customers' complaints and concerns promptly and professionally. Furthermore, one may arrange meetings and appointments with clients, develop sales strategies for profit growth, and process orders, all while ensuring customer satisfaction.
Sales administrators and sales support specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Administrator | Sales Support Specialist | |
| Average salary | $41,404 | $50,782 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $58,000 | Between $31,000 And $82,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | KLA | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Professional |
There are a few differences between a sales administrator and a sales support specialist in terms of educational background:
| Sales Administrator | Sales Support Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between sales administrators' and sales support specialists' demographics:
| Sales Administrator | Sales Support Specialist | |
| Average age | 46 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 21.0% Female, 79.0% | Male, 36.1% Female, 63.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |