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The differences between sales specialists and sales support associates 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 a sales support associate. Additionally, a sales specialist has an average salary of $53,004, which is higher than the $34,454 average annual salary of a sales support associate.
The top three skills for a sales specialist include building relationships, customer complaints and customer orders. The most important skills for a sales support associate are sales floor, back room, and math.
| Sales Specialist | Sales Support Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $53,004 | $34,454 |
| Hourly rate | $25.48 | $16.56 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 324,069 | 447,642 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| 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.
A sales support associate is an individual who is responsible for assisting sales staff and help customers. To provide this assistance, sales support associates use customer communication methods such as telephones or email to process customer orders and ensure that they are accurate. They work closely with distributors to make sure that products are available for their customers. Sales support associates may function as either part-time or full time, but companies may require excellent communication skills.
Sales specialists and sales support associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Specialist | Sales Support Associate | |
| Average salary | $53,004 | $34,454 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $91,000 | Between $25,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | VMware | Goldman Sachs |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a sales specialist and a sales support associate in terms of educational background:
| Sales Specialist | Sales Support Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| 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 sales support associates' demographics:
| Sales Specialist | Sales Support Associate | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9% | Male, 43.5% Female, 56.5% |
| 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, 14.3% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |