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The differences between senior sales specialists and lead sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a senior sales specialist, becoming a lead sales representative takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior sales specialist has an average salary of $74,361, which is higher than the $54,079 average annual salary of a lead sales representative.
The top three skills for a senior sales specialist include customer service, sales training and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a lead sales representative are cleanliness, customer service, and POS.
| Senior Sales Specialist | Lead Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $74,361 | $54,079 |
| Hourly rate | $35.75 | $26.00 |
| Growth rate | 4% | - |
| Number of jobs | 109,882 | 404,430 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Average age | 47 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
A senior sales specialist oversees and provides solutions to improve a company's sales operations. It is their responsibility to conduct market research and analysis, establish budgets and guidelines, generate leads, and develop sales strategies and sales forecasts. They also liaise and build positive relationships with vendors and suppliers, set sales targets, and resolve customer issues and complaints. Moreover, being a senior sales specialist, it is essential to lead and serve as a mentor to junior sales specialists while implementing and promoting the company's policies and regulations.
A lead sales representative is responsible for selling goods and services to existing and potential customers through electronic communications and area visits. Lead sales representatives should be highly-knowledgeable of the products that the company offers to discuss and demonstrate the features to the client accurately. They take orders, process orders, and ensure the correct distribution details according to the customers' specifications. A lead sales representative also monitors the team's sales performance and strategize opportunities to maximize selling techniques and increase profitability.
Senior sales specialists and lead sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Sales Specialist | Lead Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $74,361 | $54,079 |
| Salary range | Between $50,000 And $108,000 | Between $32,000 And $89,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | California | - |
| Best paying company | VMware | - |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | - |
There are a few differences between a senior sales specialist and a lead sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Senior Sales Specialist | Lead Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | SUNY College of Technology at Delhi |
Here are the differences between senior sales specialists' and lead sales representatives' demographics:
| Senior Sales Specialist | Lead Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 53.5% Female, 46.5% | Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9% |
| 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, 8.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 6.9% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 9% |