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The differences between senior sales specialists and pharmaceutical sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a senior sales specialist and a pharmaceutical sales representative. Additionally, a senior sales specialist has an average salary of $74,361, which is higher than the $68,571 average annual salary of a pharmaceutical 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 pharmaceutical sales representative are patients, pharmaceutical products, and develop strong relationships.
| Senior Sales Specialist | Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $74,361 | $68,571 |
| Hourly rate | $35.75 | $32.97 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 109,882 | 102,935 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 85% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
The job of pharmaceutical sales representatives is to inform and educate doctors about a company's medical and pharmaceutical products. They serve as the link between a company and healthcare professionals to hit sales targets. They have varied responsibilities, including assessing clients' needs and presenting suitable products, delivering product samples, and working sales teams to develop and implement brand strategies. This role's qualifications include relevant work experience, excellent communication, sales, negotiation skills, and a bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
Senior sales specialists and pharmaceutical sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Sales Specialist | Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $74,361 | $68,571 |
| Salary range | Between $50,000 And $108,000 | Between $42,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | California | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | VMware | Eli Lilly and Company |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a senior sales specialist and a pharmaceutical sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Senior Sales Specialist | Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 85% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior sales specialists' and pharmaceutical sales representatives' demographics:
| Senior Sales Specialist | Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 53.5% Female, 46.5% | Male, 41.0% Female, 59.0% |
| 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, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |