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The differences between sales representatives and customer service administrators 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 customer service administrator takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a sales representative has an average salary of $56,591, which is higher than the $35,824 average annual salary of a customer service administrator.
The top three skills for a sales representative include sales process, product knowledge and customer service. The most important skills for a customer service administrator are strong customer service, data entry, and post sales.
| Sales Representative | Customer Service Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $56,591 | $35,824 |
| Hourly rate | $27.21 | $17.22 |
| Growth rate | 4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 205,456 | 247,315 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.33 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Average age | 47 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
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.
Customer service administrators supervise people in performing customer service and relations. They manage customer inquiries and oversee customer service representative needs and requirements. In carrying out their job, they function as the middlemen between customers and the company. Their job requires strong communication and clerical skills. They are expected to have a mindset focused on customers while being polite, helpful, and patient. Among their other responsibilities include sales promotion, answering phone calls, handling complaints and inquiries, and adherence to team goals and budget.
Sales representatives and customer service administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Representative | Customer Service Administrator | |
| Average salary | $56,591 | $35,824 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $94,000 | Between $28,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Fremont, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Westinghouse Appliances Australia | |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Technology |
There are a few differences between a sales representative and a customer service administrator in terms of educational background:
| Sales Representative | Customer Service Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | - |
Here are the differences between sales representatives' and customer service administrators' demographics:
| Sales Representative | Customer Service Administrator | |
| Average age | 47 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% | Male, 20.3% Female, 79.7% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 21.5% Asian, 6.8% White, 54.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 7% |