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The differences between sales agents and sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a sales agent, becoming a sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a sales representative has an average salary of $56,591, which is higher than the $45,217 average annual salary of a sales agent.
The top three skills for a sales agent include customer service, customer satisfaction and life insurance. The most important skills for a sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.
| Sales Agent | Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $45,217 | $56,591 |
| Hourly rate | $21.74 | $27.21 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 391,987 | 205,456 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.33 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 43 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
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 representatives primarily sell the company's products and services to businesses or organizations. They should be adept at closing out sales, negotiating, and providing customer service. They should be knowledgeable about the products or services of the manufacturer or producer they represent. They must also have strong analytical skills that would help them in coming up with cost-benefit analysis in assessing the current roster of clients and even prospective ones. Sales representatives should also be able to maintain good working relationships with all involved stakeholders, especially clients.
Sales agents and sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Agent | Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $45,217 | $56,591 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $95,000 | Between $33,000 And $94,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Goldman Sachs | |
| Best paying industry | - | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a sales agent and a sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Sales Agent | Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between sales agents' and sales representatives' demographics:
| Sales Agent | Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 43 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.7% Female, 47.3% | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% |
| 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, 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% |