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The differences between small business consultants and business sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a small business consultant and a business sales representative. Additionally, a business sales representative has an average salary of $58,288, which is higher than the $47,982 average annual salary of a small business consultant.
The top three skills for a small business consultant include customer service, business clients and outbound calls. The most important skills for a business sales representative are business sales, customer accounts, and customer service.
| Small Business Consultant | Business Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $47,982 | $58,288 |
| Hourly rate | $23.07 | $28.02 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 116,476 | 226,438 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A small business consultant specializes in developing and recommending strategies to optimize the daily operations of small businesses. They typically meet with clients to identify their needs and preferences, determine their short and long-term goals, perform market research and analysis to find business or client opportunities, determine the strengths and weaknesses of current processes, and implement solutions against problem areas. They may also conduct risk assessments and help address issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and efficiently. Moreover, a small business consultant must devise a plan to implement the establishment's policies and regulations, suggesting new ones as needed.
A business sales representative's role is to develop strategies in identifying leads and opportunities to secure sales. Their responsibilities revolve around reaching out to clients to offer products and services, discussing the pricing and specifications of products, processing payments, and gathering necessary client information. They may also arrange appointments with clients to negotiate and sign contracts. Furthermore, as a business sales representative, it is essential to produce progress reports and presentations, handle issues and complaints, maintain records of all transactions, and regularly update databases.
Small business consultants and business sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Small Business Consultant | Business Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $47,982 | $58,288 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $66,000 | Between $31,000 And $108,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Bothell, WA |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | Amazon |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a small business consultant and a business sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Small Business Consultant | Business Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between small business consultants' and business sales representatives' demographics:
| Small Business Consultant | Business Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0% | Male, 61.4% Female, 38.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 9.7% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 6% |