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The differences between sales assistants and sales people can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales person has an average salary of $42,010, which is higher than the $35,258 average annual salary of a sales assistant.
The top three skills for a sales assistant include customer service, powerpoint and account executives. The most important skills for a sales person are basic math, phone calls, and POS.
| Sales Assistant | Sales Person | |
| Yearly salary | $35,258 | $42,010 |
| Hourly rate | $16.95 | $20.20 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 347,034 | 378,132 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Sales assistants are usually entry-level or junior employees who are assigned to help out in the sales department. They are responsible for any administrative or clerical activities needed in the department. They may also work on the operations floor to assist with the selling of company products or services. They help complete company sales by approaching potential buyers and answering any questions about items. They should be familiar with what the company offers to identify the products that would best fit the needs of the customer.
A salesperson is in charge of ensuring that the products, goods, or services of the company get sold to customers. They are trained to market the products well, understand what the customer needs, and find the product that best fits the customer's needs. As such, the salesperson should be familiar with all of the company's products and should be able to explain the features of each. They should know how to approach customers and to close out sales. Salespersons are expected to have good communication, interpersonal, and persuasion skills.
Sales assistants and sales people have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Assistant | Sales Person | |
| Average salary | $35,258 | $42,010 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $47,000 | Between $14,000 And $121,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Oceanside, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | IBM | Douglas Elliman |
| Best paying industry | Finance | - |
There are a few differences between a sales assistant and a sales person in terms of educational background:
| Sales Assistant | Sales Person | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between sales assistants' and sales people' demographics:
| Sales Assistant | Sales Person | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 28.2% Female, 71.8% | Male, 70.5% Female, 29.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 8.0% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 7.3% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |