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The differences between sales specialists and generalists 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 generalist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a sales specialist has an average salary of $53,004, which is higher than the $46,518 average annual salary of a generalist.
The top three skills for a sales specialist include building relationships, customer complaints and customer orders. The most important skills for a generalist are sales floor, store sales, and customer loyalty.
| Sales Specialist | Generalist | |
| Yearly salary | $53,004 | $46,518 |
| Hourly rate | $25.48 | $22.36 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 324,069 | 8,585 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
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 generalist, also known as a human resource generalist, is responsible for overseeing the operations in a human resource department, focusing on employees' welfare and working conditions. They are primarily involved in the hiring and laying off processes among employees, handing training and benefits programs, and coordinating with every department in the company. Furthermore, a generalist must perform administrative tasks that mostly revolve around producing reports and processing paperwork, conducting research and analysis, and responding to correspondence.
Sales specialists and generalists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Specialist | Generalist | |
| Average salary | $53,004 | $46,518 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $91,000 | Between $29,000 And $72,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | California |
| Best paying company | VMware | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a sales specialist and a generalist in terms of educational background:
| Sales Specialist | Generalist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between sales specialists' and generalists' demographics:
| Sales Specialist | Generalist | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9% | Male, 37.8% Female, 62.2% |
| 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, 7.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 5.7% White, 70.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 18% |