Sales representative vs sales development representative

The differences between sales representatives and sales development 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 a sales development representative. Additionally, a sales representative has an average salary of $56,591, which is higher than the $51,504 average annual salary of a sales development representative.

The top three skills for a sales representative include sales process, product knowledge and customer service. The most important skills for a sales development representative are SDR, lead generation, and customer service.

Sales representative vs sales development representative overview

	Sales Representative	Sales Development Representative
Yearly salary	$56,591	$51,504
Hourly rate	$27.21	$24.76
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	205,456	199,588
Job satisfaction	4.33	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 83%
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 a sales development representative do?

A sales development representative qualifies leads at the sales funnel's initial stages. Sales development representatives need to conduct research for prospective clients and qualify the leads before handing them to the sales team. They develop sales strategies to attract buyers or solicit potential customers. They need to build relationships with their customers to determine their needs and qualify the viability of interests to drive sales. Also, they collaborate with the sales executives making certain that corporate targets and goals are met.

Sales representative vs sales development representative salary

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

	Sales Representative	Sales Development Representative
Average salary	$56,591	$51,504
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $94,000	Between $34,000 And $77,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Alaska
Best paying company	Google	PitchBook Data
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Start-up

Differences between sales representative and sales development representative education

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

	Sales Representative	Sales Development Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	University of Pennsylvania

Sales representative vs sales development representative demographics

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

	Sales Representative	Sales Development Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%	Male, 63.1% Female, 36.9%
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, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between sales representative and sales development 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.

Sales development representative example responsibilities.

Manage organization website and Facebook page; writing articles for websites and newsletters.
Develop social media strategies for Facebook, LinkedIn, and emerging social networks, generating leads.
Manage individual sales activities by developing highly effective, communications focuse relationship with multiple sales channels.
supply chain management and procurement software (SaaS).
Handle customer service inquiries, returns, and RMA exchanges.
Develop a strong knowledge of SaaS sales techniques and lead management/generation.

Sales representative vs sales development representative skills

Common sales representative skills

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

Common sales development representative skills

SDR, 11%
Lead Generation, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
Account Executives, 5%
Linkedin, 5%
Outbound Calls, 4%

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Sales Representative vs Sales Development Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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