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The differences between sales agents and sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales agent has an average salary of $45,217, which is higher than the $32,167 average annual salary of a sales associate.
The top three skills for a sales agent include customer service, customer satisfaction and life insurance. The most important skills for a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.
| Sales Agent | Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $45,217 | $32,167 |
| Hourly rate | $21.74 | $15.46 |
| Growth rate | 10% | - |
| Number of jobs | 391,987 | 579,849 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | - |
A sales representative is responsible for offering goods and services to potential and existing clients. Sales representatives must display a strong knowledge of the company's products to assist customers with their inquiries and concerns. A sales representative should have exceptional communication skills and extensive knowledge of the sales industry to deliver sales pitches and negotiate pricing offers with the clients. Sales representatives must also keep themselves updated with the current market trends to provide service recommendations, improving their sales to increase revenues.
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 agents and sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Agent | Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $45,217 | $32,167 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $95,000 | Between $21,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Goldman Sachs | Barclays |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a sales agent and a sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Sales Agent | Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between sales agents' and sales associates' demographics:
| Sales Agent | Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 43 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.7% Female, 47.3% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 9.3% White, 68.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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% |