Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between software sales representatives and sales development 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 software sales representative and a sales development representative. Additionally, a software sales representative has an average salary of $82,188, which is higher than the $51,504 average annual salary of a sales development representative.
The top three skills for a software sales representative include cloud, software sales and healthcare. The most important skills for a sales development representative are SDR, lead generation, and customer service.
| Software Sales Representative | Sales Development Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $82,188 | $51,504 |
| Hourly rate | $39.51 | $24.76 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 146,618 | 199,588 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 83% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A software sales representative is responsible for selling technology products and software applications, as well as responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns, and resolving complaints. Software sales representatives take customer orders, process their payments, and set the delivery schedule according to the customers' preference. They also discuss the products' terms of service, including its maintenance instructions, and other related conditions. A software sales representative must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially when updating customers' information in the database accurately and verifying the adequacy of stock inventories.
A sales development representative qualifies leads at the sales funnel's initial stages. Sales development representatives need to conduct research for prospective clients and qualify the leads before handing them to the sales team. They develop sales strategies to attract buyers or solicit potential customers. They need to build relationships with their customers to determine their needs and qualify the viability of interests to drive sales. Also, they collaborate with the sales executives making certain that corporate targets and goals are met.
Software sales representatives and sales development representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Software Sales Representative | Sales Development Representative | |
| Average salary | $82,188 | $51,504 |
| Salary range | Between $58,000 And $115,000 | Between $34,000 And $77,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sacramento, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Varian Medical Systems | PitchBook Data |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a software sales representative and a sales development representative in terms of educational background:
| Software Sales Representative | Sales Development Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 83% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between software sales representatives' and sales development representatives' demographics:
| Software Sales Representative | Sales Development Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.2% Female, 28.8% | Male, 63.1% Female, 36.9% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |