Sales counselor vs retail sales representative

The differences between sales counselors and retail sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales counselor has an average salary of $63,569, which is higher than the $37,907 average annual salary of a retail sales representative.

The top three skills for a sales counselor include lead management, customer service and real estate. The most important skills for a retail sales representative are retail sales, retail store, and POS.

Sales counselor vs retail sales representative overview

	Sales Counselor	Retail Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$63,569	$37,907
Hourly rate	$30.56	$18.22
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	58,475	391,763
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	-	-

What does a sales counselor do?

The primary job of a sales counselor is to sell products that require an ample amount of money and time from buyers, like senior living condominiums and prefabricated homes. Your duties and responsibilities will typically include closing leads developed by direct mail, special events and media, developing and maintaining relations with potential referral sources, and preparing insurance proposals to clients. Other duties include supporting the customer in selecting a home site, house plan, and structural options, developing contract agendas, and providing client support with the loan application.

What does a retail sales representative do?

A retail salesperson's responsibility is to sell products and provide necessary information to the consumers to convince them of availing items. Retail salesperson's duties include coordinating with promotional programs, recommending strategies to increase sales, answering customer's inquiries, and escalating any concerns to the management that might affect the company's sales performance. A retail salesperson must have excellent communication skills to build a good rapport with the customers and assist them with their needs. A retail salesperson also helps with inventories and documenting a customer's suggestion for service improvement.

Sales counselor vs retail sales representative salary

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

	Sales Counselor	Retail Sales Representative
Average salary	$63,569	$37,907
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $95,000	Between $28,000 And $50,000
Highest paying City	West Sacramento, CA	Portland, ME
Highest paying state	Oregon	Maine
Best paying company	Stripe	Pella
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between sales counselor and retail sales representative education

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

	Sales Counselor	Retail Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Sales counselor vs retail sales representative demographics

Here are the differences between sales counselors' and retail sales representatives' demographics:

	Sales Counselor	Retail Sales Representative
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 58.2% Female, 41.8%	Male, 54.6% Female, 45.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 23.1% Asian, 7.0% White, 53.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 6.9% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	7%	7%

Differences between sales counselor and retail sales representative duties and responsibilities

Sales counselor example responsibilities.

Enter all leads into the CRM system and maintains that information until the lead is transferred to a sales representative.
Manage product deliveries, and maintain overall orderliness and cleanliness of facility to optimize customer experience.
Clean the dressing rooms, do recovery, help on POS
Outpace division goals to increase CRM usage through upbeat mentoring, training and technical support.
Coordinate all MLS meetings for Collin and Denton counties to establish a presence for the company.
Provide parties with accurate responses to their questions and assist in making their experience with AAA worthwhile.

Retail sales representative example responsibilities.

Track leads, manage business opportunity, and initiate sales promotions using Siebel CRM.
Achieve quarterly and yearly bonus goals by controlling business expenses and effectively managing payroll costs.
Train new RSC members on sales techniques.
Complete daily office visit entries through CRM.
Conduct WebEx & PowerPoint presentations over the phone.
Used passion for technology and resourcefulness to generate sales.

Sales counselor vs retail sales representative skills

Common sales counselor skills

Lead Management, 17%
Customer Service, 16%
Real Estate, 14%
Community Events, 7%
Business Development, 7%
Sales Process, 6%

Common retail sales representative skills

Retail Sales, 30%
Retail Store, 17%
POS, 12%
Store Management, 7%
Customer Relationships, 4%
Broadband, 3%

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Sales Counselor
Sales Counselor vs Retail Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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