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Sales trainer vs sales specialist

The differences between sales trainers and 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 trainer and a sales specialist. Additionally, a sales trainer has an average salary of $74,457, which is higher than the $53,004 average annual salary of a sales specialist.

The top three skills for a sales trainer include customer service, lead generation and sales professionals. The most important skills for a sales specialist are building relationships, customer complaints, and customer orders.

Sales trainer vs sales specialist overview

Sales TrainerSales Specialist
Yearly salary$74,457$53,004
Hourly rate$35.80$25.48
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs112,599324,069
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age4747
Years of experience44

What does a sales trainer do?

As a sales trainer, you will perform various duties and responsibilities for an organization. Your job will typically include conducting orientation for new sales representatives, determining and organizing training, creating traditional and digital educational materials such as case studies and videos. You are responsible for coordinating sessions for individual and team performance and the monitoring of sales objectives. This role also requires you to gather feedback about training courses from managers and trainees and accomplish organization mission and sales training.

What does a sales specialist do?

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.

Sales trainer vs sales specialist salary

Sales trainers and sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Sales TrainerSales Specialist
Average salary$74,457$53,004
Salary rangeBetween $56,000 And $97,000Between $30,000 And $91,000
Highest paying CitySacramento, CABoston, MA
Highest paying stateAlaskaMassachusetts
Best paying companyPandoraVMware
Best paying industryPharmaceutical-

Differences between sales trainer and sales specialist education

There are a few differences between a sales trainer and a sales specialist in terms of educational background:

Sales TrainerSales Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeSUNY College of Technology at AlfredSUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Sales trainer vs sales specialist demographics

Here are the differences between sales trainers' and sales specialists' demographics:

Sales TrainerSales Specialist
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 61.2% Female, 38.8%Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%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%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between sales trainer and sales specialist duties and responsibilities

Sales trainer example responsibilities.

  • Manage LMS system content uploads, expiration of materials, permission access to learners for internal and external channels.
  • Design and facilitate sales training programs, including corresponding manuals, PowerPoint, and training implementation.
  • Top KPI performer Q4 2013 & Q2 2014 by exceeding metrics in sales, traffic, & guest service.
  • Administer an LMS for entire sales team.
  • Accompany various sales representatives on discovery meetings / presentation to procure and increase existing revenue.
  • Learned proficiency in CRM software and applications.
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Sales specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage a Salesforce database comprise of customer information, leads and potential sales opportunities.
  • Manage Pardot (marketing database), and Zuora (online billing and payment gateway).
  • Manage territory retail accounts, category management, install POS, sell of manufacturer programs and implementation of sales programs.
  • Manage planning parameters in ERP via the item master (lead times, min/max, safety stock, pay terms).
  • Master delivering technical product information to doctors on training and teaching proper injection technique to achieve optimal results for patients.
  • Lead on sales order reporting for Americas.
  • Show more

Sales trainer vs sales specialist skills

Common sales trainer skills
  • Customer Service, 20%
  • Lead Generation, 4%
  • Sales Professionals, 4%
  • Product Knowledge, 4%
  • Training Content, 3%
  • Sales Management, 3%
Common sales specialist skills
  • Building Relationships, 10%
  • Customer Complaints, 9%
  • Customer Orders, 9%
  • Product Knowledge, 6%
  • Patients, 6%
  • Sales Process, 5%