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The differences between sales representative/assistants and outside sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a sales representative/assistant and an outside sales representative. Additionally, an outside sales representative has an average salary of $60,443, which is higher than the $38,112 average annual salary of a sales representative/assistant.
The top three skills for a sales representative/assistant include product knowledge, brand awareness and sales associates. The most important skills for an outside sales representative are customer service, work ethic, and sales process.
| Sales Representative/Assistant | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $38,112 | $60,443 |
| Hourly rate | $18.32 | $29.06 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 404,514 | 218,034 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A sales representative is responsible for selling the company's products through creative leads, existing customer support, educating prospective clients through calls, training, presentations, and creative advertising. Their duties and responsibilities include coordinating with other departments to optimize sales and keeping updated sales records.
An Outside Sales Representative specializes in customer service and relations, focusing on reaching sales targets through selling and networking with clients. Among the duties revolve around reaching out to customers through calls, email, or even arranging appointments, monitoring and keeping an organized record of sales, communicating with managers or supervisors, adhering to the company's policies and regulations, and keeping extensive knowledge about the brand and the trends. Besides building rapport with customers, it is also essential for an Outside Sales Representative to be proactive and create strategies to help meet the sales target.
Sales representative/assistants and outside sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Representative/Assistant | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $38,112 | $60,443 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $47,000 | Between $41,000 And $87,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Minneapolis, MN |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a sales representative/assistant and an outside sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Sales Representative/Assistant | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between sales representative/assistants' and outside sales representatives' demographics:
| Sales Representative/Assistant | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.5% Female, 64.5% | Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |