Sales person vs sales representative

The differences between sales people 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 $42,010 average annual salary of a sales person.

The top three skills for a sales person include basic math, phone calls and POS. The most important skills for a sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.

Sales person vs sales representative overview

	Sales Person	Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$42,010	$56,591
Hourly rate	$20.20	$27.21
Growth rate	-	4%
Number of jobs	378,132	205,456
Job satisfaction	5	4.33
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	41	47
Years of experience	-	4

What does a sales person do?

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.

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 person vs sales representative salary

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

	Sales Person	Sales Representative
Average salary	$42,010	$56,591
Salary range	Between $14,000 And $121,000	Between $33,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	Oceanside, NY	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	California	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Douglas Elliman	Google
Best paying industry	-	Pharmaceutical

Differences between sales person and sales representative education

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

	Sales Person	Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Sales person vs sales representative demographics

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

	Sales Person	Sales Representative
Average age	41	47
Gender ratio	Male, 70.5% Female, 29.5%	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%
Race ratio	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%	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 Percentage	7%	6%

Differences between sales person and sales representative duties and responsibilities

Sales person example responsibilities.

Clean CDL and aptitude for relationship building lead to point of sales position.
Manage product deliveries, and maintain overall orderliness and cleanliness of facility to optimize customer experience.
Perform sales responsibilities utilizing mobile POS system while marketing company membership services, ensuring client satisfaction.
Gain in-depth knowledge of Chrysler vehicles and differentiate them to existing and potential customers.
Assist customers in load calculations, design, and implementation of a variety of HVAC systems.
Create PowerPoint presentations and promote products at meetings and continuing education programs

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.

Sales person vs sales representative skills

Common sales person skills

Basic Math, 27%
Phone Calls, 18%
POS, 18%
Cleanliness, 16%
Math, 13%
Customer Service, 3%

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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Sales Person vs Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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