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The differences between sales specialists and inside 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 specialist and an inside sales specialist. Additionally, a sales specialist has an average salary of $53,004, which is higher than the $50,944 average annual salary of an inside sales specialist.
The top three skills for a sales specialist include building relationships, customer complaints and customer orders. The most important skills for an inside sales specialist are customer service, CRM, and sales process.
| Sales Specialist | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $53,004 | $50,944 |
| Hourly rate | $25.48 | $24.49 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 324,069 | 251,423 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
An inside sales specialist is primarily responsible for securing sales by reaching out to clients to sell products and services. They may communicate with customers through calls and correspondence or personally recommend products in a retail store setting. Moreover, they are also responsible for responding to inquiries or concerns, identifying the customers' needs, devising strategies to find sales opportunities, and discussing products to customers. An inside sales specialist is often required to meet sales goals and report to managers should there be any issues or problems.
Sales specialists and inside sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Specialist | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Average salary | $53,004 | $50,944 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $91,000 | Between $34,000 And $75,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Washington |
| Best paying company | VMware | Keller Williams Greater Seattle |
| Best paying industry | - | Real Estate |
There are a few differences between a sales specialist and an inside sales specialist in terms of educational background:
| Sales Specialist | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| 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 specialists' and inside sales specialists' demographics:
| Sales Specialist | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9% | Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0% |
| 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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |