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The differences between solution specialists and customer relations specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a solution specialist and a customer relations specialist. Additionally, a solution specialist has an average salary of $76,424, which is higher than the $37,827 average annual salary of a customer relations specialist.
The top three skills for a solution specialist include product knowledge, sales process and SQL. The most important skills for a customer relations specialist are customer relations, data entry, and work ethic.
| Solution Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $76,424 | $37,827 |
| Hourly rate | $36.74 | $18.19 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 56,938 | 215,862 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A solution specialist is responsible for selling and promoting goods and services of an organization to existing and potential clients through product demonstrations and professional sales pitches, typically on phone calls and e-mail communication. Solutions specialists must possess strong product knowledge to respond to customers' inquiries and concerns about the products and successfully close sales deals that would increase the company's revenues and profitability. A solutions specialist must have excellent communication and customer service skills, maximizing strategic techniques to build customer satisfaction.
A customer relations specialist is responsible for providing high-quality services for customers by responding to their inquiries and concerns and resolving complaints about the company's goods and services. Customer relations specialists update customer accounts on the database, recording their transactions accurately, and posting their payments timely. They may also sell new products and services to the clients, demonstrating features and usability, processing orders, and confirming delivery details. A customer relations specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills to ensure customer satisfaction and maintain healthy business relationships with the customers.
Solution specialists and customer relations specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Solution Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Average salary | $76,424 | $37,827 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $125,000 | Between $27,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Columbia, MD |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | PayPal | Deloitte |
| Best paying industry | - | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a solution specialist and a customer relations specialist in terms of educational background:
| Solution Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between solution specialists' and customer relations specialists' demographics:
| Solution Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.4% Female, 41.6% | Male, 31.8% Female, 68.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 6.7% White, 54.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 7.5% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |