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Sales associate vs sales representative

The differences between sales associates and sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales representative has an average salary of $56,591, which is higher than the $32,167 average annual salary of a sales associate.

The top three skills for a sales associate include customer service, sales floor and cash handling. The most important skills for a sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.

Sales associate vs sales representative overview

Sales AssociateSales Representative
Yearly salary$32,167$56,591
Hourly rate$15.46$27.21
Growth rate-4%
Number of jobs579,849205,456
Job satisfaction-4.33
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 38%Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age4147
Years of experience-4

What does a sales associate do?

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.

What does a sales representative do?

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 associate vs sales representative salary

Sales associates and sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

Sales AssociateSales Representative
Average salary$32,167$56,591
Salary rangeBetween $21,000 And $47,000Between $33,000 And $94,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYBoston, MA
Highest paying stateNew YorkMassachusetts
Best paying companyBarclaysGoogle
Best paying industryManufacturingPharmaceutical

Differences between sales associate and sales representative education

There are a few differences between a sales associate and a sales representative in terms of educational background:

Sales AssociateSales Representative
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 38%Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college-SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Sales associate vs sales representative demographics

Here are the differences between sales associates' and sales representatives' demographics:

Sales AssociateSales Representative
Average age4147
Gender ratioMale, 38.4% Female, 61.6%Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%
Race ratioBlack 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%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 Percentage7%6%

Differences between sales associate and sales representative duties and responsibilities

Sales associate example responsibilities.

  • Supervise women's department, manage jewelry department, assist customers on finalizing purchases
  • Gain experience with credit cards, mathematics, as well as customer service.
  • Utilize forklift, order picker reach truck, electric ladder, or roll ladders to transfer merchandise to the sales floor.
  • Create Facebook page for Ohco Import/Export division.
  • Increase sales by upselling products and follow up sales calls.
  • Assist customers with the purchase of the perfect piece of jewelry
    • Show more

Sales representative example responsibilities.

  • Manage prospective leads and existing accounts through a CRM platform to accurately forecast revenue and develop long-term business partnerships.
  • Manage and create all content distribute via various social media outlets: Facebook, twitter, feedback blogs, etc.
  • Search for procurement contracts, attend trade shows, design flyers, postcards, etc.
  • Utilize POS sales software to maintain monetary sales information produce reports for organizational review.
  • Develop and maintain business relationships with businesses and policyholders using establish methods such as customer relationship management CRM.
  • Handle administrative and sales duties as Jr.
    • Show more

Sales associate vs sales representative skills

Common sales associate skills
  • Customer Service, 15%
  • Sales Floor, 13%
  • Cash Handling, 9%
  • Retail Sales, 9%
  • Loss Prevention, 7%
  • Basic Math, 5%
Common sales representative skills
  • Sales Process, 9%
  • Product Knowledge, 9%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • CRM, 6%
  • Business Development, 6%
  • Sales REP, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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