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The differences between sales associates and sales support associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales support associate has an average salary of $34,454, 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 support associate are sales floor, back room, and math.
| Sales Associate | Sales Support Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $32,167 | $34,454 |
| Hourly rate | $15.46 | $16.56 |
| Growth rate | - | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 579,849 | 447,642 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 41 | 47 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
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.
A sales support associate is an individual who is responsible for assisting sales staff and help customers. To provide this assistance, sales support associates use customer communication methods such as telephones or email to process customer orders and ensure that they are accurate. They work closely with distributors to make sure that products are available for their customers. Sales support associates may function as either part-time or full time, but companies may require excellent communication skills.
Sales associates and sales support associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Associate | Sales Support Associate | |
| Average salary | $32,167 | $34,454 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $47,000 | Between $25,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Barclays | Goldman Sachs |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Finance |
There are a few differences between a sales associate and a sales support associate in terms of educational background:
| Sales Associate | Sales Support Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between sales associates' and sales support associates' demographics:
| Sales Associate | Sales Support Associate | |
| Average age | 41 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 43.5% Female, 56.5% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |