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The differences between sales representatives and real estate agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a real estate agent has an average salary of $91,788, 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 real estate agent are customer service, real estate license, and excellent interpersonal.
| Sales Representative | Real Estate Agent | |
| Yearly salary | $56,591 | $91,788 |
| Hourly rate | $27.21 | $44.13 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 205,456 | 41,399 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.33 | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 47 | 49 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
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.
A real estate agent helps owners in the selling or renting of houses, land, offices, buildings, or any piece of property. They should be knowledgeable in the area they work in, which local properties are in the market, and the competitive prices for various properties. It is their responsibility to either market or sells in the best possible and reasonable price and conditions. Negotiating is a vital skill for real estate agents as they act as the middleman for buyers and sellers. Most agents bill the client with a percentage of the final sale price as the fee, but some would get a fixed commission for every sale.
Sales representatives and real estate agents have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Representative | Real Estate Agent | |
| Average salary | $56,591 | $91,788 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $94,000 | Between $66,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Long Beach, NY |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | West Virginia |
| Best paying company | Santa Clara Valley Water District | |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Finance |
There are a few differences between a sales representative and a real estate agent in terms of educational background:
| Sales Representative | Real Estate Agent | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | - |
Here are the differences between sales representatives' and real estate agents' demographics:
| Sales Representative | Real Estate Agent | |
| Average age | 47 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% | Male, 43.4% Female, 56.6% |
| 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, 5.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.0% Asian, 6.8% White, 70.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 13% |