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The differences between selling specialists and sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a selling specialist has an average salary of $40,530, which is higher than the $32,167 average annual salary of a sales associate.
The top three skills for a selling specialist include product knowledge, visual standards and customer service. The most important skills for a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.
| Selling Specialist | Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $40,530 | $32,167 |
| Hourly rate | $19.49 | $15.46 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 33,424 | 579,849 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
As a selling specialist, your main goal is to generate leads for the company and close deals with clients. You need to have great communication skills so that you can engage with potential buyers. As a selling specialist, you are responsible for building your company's relationship with clients. You will be leading the sales department and helping the company in selling more products and services. Selling specialists are also responsible for preparing the marketing budgets of the company and analyzing the post-marketing efforts.
Sales associates are responsible for promoting the company's goods or services. They are expected to provide exceptional customer service to prospective buyers. They should be familiar with all features of the company's products or services so that they can answer the customers' inquiries. Sales associates also assist customers in processing their checkouts, refunds, returns, and other needs. They should be customer-oriented, and they should have great communication skills. They should know how to sell their products or services to customers. They are considered the company's representatives on the ground.
Selling specialists and sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Selling Specialist | Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $40,530 | $32,167 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $53,000 | Between $21,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | Barclays |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a selling specialist and a sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Selling Specialist | Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between selling specialists' and sales associates' demographics:
| Selling Specialist | Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.0% Female, 70.0% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 7.2% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |