Sales development representative vs customer sales representative

The differences between sales development representatives and customer sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a sales development representative, becoming a customer sales representative takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a sales development representative has an average salary of $51,504, which is higher than the $38,744 average annual salary of a customer sales representative.

The top three skills for a sales development representative include SDR, lead generation and customer service. The most important skills for a customer sales representative are customer service, product knowledge, and customer sales.

Sales development representative vs customer sales representative overview

	Sales Development Representative	Customer Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$51,504	$38,744
Hourly rate	$24.76	$18.63
Growth rate	4%	-4%
Number of jobs	199,588	303,801
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 83%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Average age	47	40
Years of experience	4	12

What does a sales development representative do?

A sales development representative qualifies leads at the sales funnel's initial stages. Sales development representatives need to conduct research for prospective clients and qualify the leads before handing them to the sales team. They develop sales strategies to attract buyers or solicit potential customers. They need to build relationships with their customers to determine their needs and qualify the viability of interests to drive sales. Also, they collaborate with the sales executives making certain that corporate targets and goals are met.

What does a customer sales representative do?

The primary role of customer service representatives is to help customers with questions and complaints. It is also their duties and responsibilities to provide customers with information about services and products, take and process orders, and process returns and modifications. They also store records of customer transactions and interactions and provide feedback on customer service efficacy. Customer service representatives must also ensure that they can give customer satisfaction and offer the best professional support.

Sales development representative vs customer sales representative salary

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

	Sales Development Representative	Customer Sales Representative
Average salary	$51,504	$38,744
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $77,000	Between $27,000 And $54,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Hawaii
Best paying company	PitchBook Data	Merck
Best paying industry	Start-up	Finance

Differences between sales development representative and customer sales representative education

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

	Sales Development Representative	Customer Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 83%	Bachelor's Degree, 37%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Sales development representative vs customer sales representative demographics

Here are the differences between sales development representatives' and customer sales representatives' demographics:

	Sales Development Representative	Customer Sales Representative
Average age	47	40
Gender ratio	Male, 63.1% Female, 36.9%	Male, 44.9% Female, 55.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 24.4% Asian, 6.8% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	7%

Differences between sales development representative and customer sales representative duties and responsibilities

Sales development representative example responsibilities.

Manage organization website and Facebook page; writing articles for websites and newsletters.
Develop social media strategies for Facebook, LinkedIn, and emerging social networks, generating leads.
Manage individual sales activities by developing highly effective, communications focuse relationship with multiple sales channels.
supply chain management and procurement software (SaaS).
Handle customer service inquiries, returns, and RMA exchanges.
Develop a strong knowledge of SaaS sales techniques and lead management/generation.

Customer sales representative example responsibilities.

Manage call center productivity levels by maintaining CSR schedule adherence.
Help customers if internet are running slow, if phone are not working, and also help to troubleshoot with them.
Practice good housekeeping methods and overall cleanliness.
Maintain cleanliness and organization of inventory within the assigned department.
Require to troubleshoot products and instruct customers on their proper use/warranty/options.
Work closely with sales director on scheduling, motivation of representations and setting up promotional events.

Sales development representative vs customer sales representative skills

Common sales development representative skills

SDR, 11%
Lead Generation, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
Account Executives, 5%
Linkedin, 5%
Outbound Calls, 4%

Common customer sales representative skills

Customer Service, 19%
Product Knowledge, 13%
Customer Sales, 9%
Cleanliness, 8%
Excellent Interpersonal, 6%
Social Media Marketing, 5%

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Sales Development Representative
Sales Development Representative vs Customer Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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