Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between solar sales representatives and outside 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 solar sales representative and an outside sales representative. Additionally, a solar sales representative has an average salary of $95,427, which is higher than the $60,443 average annual salary of an outside sales representative.
The top three skills for a solar sales representative include sales presentations, lead generation and solar power. The most important skills for an outside sales representative are customer service, work ethic, and sales process.
| Solar Sales Representative | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $95,427 | $60,443 |
| Hourly rate | $45.88 | $29.06 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 140,298 | 218,034 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Solar sales representatives are sales professionals who are responsible for providing information about solar-powered equipment and its benefits to their customers. These representatives must meet with customers in-store and out at site locations to demonstrate their company's solar products in a working environment. They are required to gather information to identify the solar needs of their customers and select the solar energy products and systems that best suit their needs. Solar sales representatives must also review designs for the solar installation of their customers.
An Outside Sales Representative specializes in customer service and relations, focusing on reaching sales targets through selling and networking with clients. Among the duties revolve around reaching out to customers through calls, email, or even arranging appointments, monitoring and keeping an organized record of sales, communicating with managers or supervisors, adhering to the company's policies and regulations, and keeping extensive knowledge about the brand and the trends. Besides building rapport with customers, it is also essential for an Outside Sales Representative to be proactive and create strategies to help meet the sales target.
Solar sales representatives and outside sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Solar Sales Representative | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $95,427 | $60,443 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $130,000 | Between $41,000 And $87,000 |
| Highest paying City | Worcester, MA | Minneapolis, MN |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Randstad North America, Inc. | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a solar sales representative and an outside sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Solar Sales Representative | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between solar sales representatives' and outside sales representatives' demographics:
| Solar Sales Representative | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.8% Female, 24.2% | Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 72.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |