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The differences between sales support 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 support specialist and an inside sales specialist. Additionally, an inside sales specialist has an average salary of $50,944, which is higher than the $50,782 average annual salary of a sales support specialist.
The top three skills for a sales support specialist include customer service, sales support and powerpoint. The most important skills for an inside sales specialist are customer service, CRM, and sales process.
| Sales Support Specialist | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $50,782 | $50,944 |
| Hourly rate | $24.41 | $24.49 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 238,995 | 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 support specialist is primarily responsible for performing clerical tasks to support a sales team. Typically, they gather sales leads and data, produce progress reports and presentations, maintain records of all transactions, and liaise with different accounting personnel. A sales support specialist may respond to calls and inquiries, resolving customers' complaints and concerns promptly and professionally. Furthermore, one may arrange meetings and appointments with clients, develop sales strategies for profit growth, and process orders, all while ensuring customer satisfaction.
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 support specialists and inside sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Support Specialist | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Average salary | $50,782 | $50,944 |
| Salary range | Between $31,000 And $82,000 | Between $34,000 And $75,000 |
| Highest paying City | Jersey City, NJ | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Washington |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Keller Williams Greater Seattle |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Real Estate |
There are a few differences between a sales support specialist and an inside sales specialist in terms of educational background:
| Sales Support 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 support specialists' and inside sales specialists' demographics:
| Sales Support Specialist | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.1% Female, 63.9% | Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% 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% |