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Sales representative vs business development manager

The differences between sales representatives and business development managers 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 representative, becoming a business development manager takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a business development manager has an average salary of $100,769, which is higher than the $56,591 average annual salary of a sales representative.

The top three skills for a sales representative include sales process, product knowledge and customer service. The most important skills for a business development manager are customer service, CRM, and healthcare.

Sales representative vs business development manager overview

Sales RepresentativeBusiness Development Manager
Yearly salary$56,591$100,769
Hourly rate$27.21$48.45
Growth rate4%10%
Number of jobs205,456215,309
Job satisfaction4.33-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age4739
Years of experience410

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.

What does a business development manager do?

A business development manager's duties include identifying business opportunities, developing effective models and strategies to improve business performance, searching for potential clients to generate income and attract partnerships. A business development manager must have extensive knowledge of the market trends and adjust strategies as needed to meet the needs of the client. Excellent communication, decision-making, critical thinking, and leadership skills are just some of the key factors that business development managers should possess to communicate and negotiate with the clients.

Sales representative vs business development manager salary

Sales representatives and business development managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Sales RepresentativeBusiness Development Manager
Average salary$56,591$100,769
Salary rangeBetween $33,000 And $94,000Between $67,000 And $151,000
Highest paying CityBoston, MASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateMassachusettsCalifornia
Best paying companyGoogleShearman & Sterling
Best paying industryPharmaceuticalFinance

Differences between sales representative and business development manager education

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

Sales RepresentativeBusiness Development Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeSUNY College of Technology at AlfredUniversity of Georgia

Sales representative vs business development manager demographics

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

Sales RepresentativeBusiness Development Manager
Average age4739
Gender ratioMale, 58.1% Female, 41.9%Male, 68.6% Female, 31.4%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%10%

Differences between sales representative and business development manager duties and responsibilities

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.
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Business development manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage Seo of websites and campaigns.
  • Manage the provisioning and implementation of the cloud solutions for different customers.
  • Lead worldwide development for high traffic facilities; markets include Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific.
  • Manage the global support team and are responsible for cost reduction for the UK ready meals facility.
  • Assist in leading a team of BDM's to achieve revenue, attrition, and value add service goals.
  • Leverage in-depth knowledge of complex manage security solutions as well as extensive technical knowledge of security hardware and software.
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Sales representative vs business development manager skills

Common sales representative skills
  • Sales Process, 9%
  • Product Knowledge, 9%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • CRM, 6%
  • Business Development, 6%
  • Sales REP, 5%
Common business development manager skills
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • CRM, 7%
  • Healthcare, 5%
  • Business Relationships, 4%
  • Customer Relationships, 3%
  • Project Management, 3%