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The differences between sales representatives and sales specialists 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 specialist. Additionally, a sales representative has an average salary of $56,591, which is higher than the $53,004 average annual salary of a sales specialist.
The top three skills for a sales representative include sales process, product knowledge and customer service. The most important skills for a sales specialist are building relationships, customer complaints, and customer orders.
| Sales Representative | Sales Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $56,591 | $53,004 |
| Hourly rate | $27.21 | $25.48 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 205,456 | 324,069 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.33 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 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 sales specialist is responsible for offering the best goods and services to customers in order to boost the company's sales. Sales specialists also promote strategies and solutions to contribute to the company's growth and profitability. A sales specialist must have extensive knowledge of the current market trends and the best sales skills to perform marketing tasks. Sales specialists should have excellent communication and customer service skills to assist existing and potential clients with their inquiries and concerns.
Sales representatives and sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Representative | Sales Specialist | |
| Average salary | $56,591 | $53,004 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $94,000 | Between $30,000 And $91,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | VMware | |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | - |
There are a few differences between a sales representative and a sales specialist in terms of educational background:
| Sales Representative | Sales Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between sales representatives' and sales specialists' demographics:
| Sales Representative | Sales Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% | Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9% |
| 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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 72.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |