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The differences between sales representatives and executive 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 representative, becoming an executive sales representative takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, an executive sales representative has an average salary of $78,858, 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 an executive sales representative are patients, product knowledge, and oncology.
| Sales Representative | Executive Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $56,591 | $78,858 |
| Hourly rate | $27.21 | $37.91 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 205,456 | 226,902 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.33 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
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.
An executive sales representative researches and recommends business opportunities. They analyze sales alternatives and help build business relations with clients and prospects. They must keep updated on business trends and potential competitors to best recommend new product ideas. They must be open-minded, risk-takers, adaptive, and innovative to be able to develop successful marketing strategies. It is also necessary for them to be highly skilled at business analysis to distinguish selling opportunities and create an immediate action plan.
Sales representatives and executive sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Representative | Executive Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $56,591 | $78,858 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $94,000 | Between $48,000 And $128,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | - |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | - |
| Best paying company | - | |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | - |
There are a few differences between a sales representative and an executive sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Sales Representative | Executive Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between sales representatives' and executive sales representatives' demographics:
| Sales Representative | Executive Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% | Male, 53.7% Female, 46.3% |
| 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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |