Sales representative vs inside sales representative

The differences between sales representatives and inside 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 and an inside sales representative. Additionally, a sales representative has an average salary of $56,591, which is higher than the $44,413 average annual salary of an inside sales representative.

The top three skills for a sales representative include sales process, product knowledge and customer service. The most important skills for an inside sales representative are customer service, CRM, and outbound calls.

Sales representative vs inside sales representative overview

	Sales Representative	Inside Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$56,591	$44,413
Hourly rate	$27.21	$21.35
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	205,456	244,168
Job satisfaction	4.33	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

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 an inside sales representative do?

An inside sales representative is responsible for selling services and products to clients, driving the company's revenues and increase sales profitability. Duties of an inside sales representative include developing strategic sales pitches, responding to customer's inquiries and requests, offering promotional products and discounts, researching potential clients, creating sales reports, and managing customer's possible complaints. An inside sales representative also provides strategic solutions to share with the sales team to improve their sales performance. Inside sales representatives must have excellent communication and negotiation skills to deal with customers' needs.

Sales representative vs inside sales representative salary

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

	Sales Representative	Inside Sales Representative
Average salary	$56,591	$44,413
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $94,000	Between $28,000 And $69,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Wyoming
Best paying company	Google	Berkshire Hathaway
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Technology

Differences between sales representative and inside sales representative education

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

	Sales Representative	Inside Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Sales representative vs inside sales representative demographics

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

	Sales Representative	Inside Sales Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%	Male, 54.7% Female, 45.3%
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, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between sales representative and inside sales representative 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.

Inside sales representative example responsibilities.

Coordinate commercial sales and manage projects with HVAC contractors for Georgia district.
Accomplish tasks in a timely manner.Skills UsedComputer, math, reading wiring schematics.
Generate leads through the use of Linkedin, firm websites and legal magazines.
Manage and develop a nationwide territory through cold calling utilizing LinkedIn?, DiscoverOrg.
Manage help desk support for company ERP system as well as employee hardware and software issues.
Manage a team of 15-25 ISE's through effective sales coaching, call monitoring and creating sales spiff programs.

Sales representative vs inside sales representative skills

Common sales representative skills

Sales Process, 9%
Product Knowledge, 9%
Customer Service, 7%
CRM, 6%
Business Development, 6%
Sales REP, 5%

Common inside sales representative skills

Customer Service, 22%
CRM, 6%
Outbound Calls, 5%
Product Knowledge, 4%
Work Ethic, 4%
Sales Process, 3%

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Sales Representative vs Inside Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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