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The differences between sales specialists and business development sales managers 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 specialist, becoming a business development sales manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a business development sales manager has an average salary of $111,309, which is higher than the $53,004 average annual salary of a sales specialist.
The top three skills for a sales specialist include building relationships, customer complaints and customer orders. The most important skills for a business development sales manager are business development, customer service, and CRM.
| Sales Specialist | Business Development Sales Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $53,004 | $111,309 |
| Hourly rate | $25.48 | $53.51 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 324,069 | 181,115 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 47 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 8 |
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.
A business development sales manager is in charge of securing sales by reaching out to clients through calls, correspondence, or appointments. Their responsibilities often revolve around performing research and analysis to identify new leads and sales opportunities, offering different products and services, and creating proposals and price quotes for potential clients. A business development sales manager may also tailor payment plans, process billing, participate in various marketing initiatives, and produce progress reports. Furthermore, it is essential to ensure customer satisfaction and build positive relationships to strengthen the company's client base.
Sales specialists and business development sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Specialist | Business Development Sales Manager | |
| Average salary | $53,004 | $111,309 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $91,000 | Between $68,000 And $179,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | VMware | Avient |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a sales specialist and a business development sales manager in terms of educational background:
| Sales Specialist | Business Development Sales Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between sales specialists' and business development sales managers' demographics:
| Sales Specialist | Business Development Sales Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9% | Male, 74.3% Female, 25.7% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 7% |