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The differences between specialty representatives and outside sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a specialty representative, becoming an outside sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an outside sales representative has an average salary of $60,443, which is higher than the $49,201 average annual salary of a specialty representative.
The top three skills for a specialty representative include patients, oncology and dermatology. The most important skills for an outside sales representative are customer service, work ethic, and sales process.
| Specialty Representative | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $49,201 | $60,443 |
| Hourly rate | $23.65 | $29.06 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 50,435 | 218,034 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A specialty representative is responsible for selling specific goods and services to target customers through remote communication or site visits, depending on business requirements and client needs. Specialty representatives assist the marketing and sales team in delivering high-quality sales strategies and promotional techniques to attract customers, identifying their needs by researching industry trends to drive more revenue resources and achieve sales goals and objectives. A specialty representative should have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns, resolving complaints, and updating their accounts within the database.
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.
Specialty representatives and outside sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Specialty Representative | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $49,201 | $60,443 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $92,000 | Between $41,000 And $87,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Minneapolis, MN |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a specialty representative and an outside sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Specialty Representative | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | 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 specialty representatives' and outside sales representatives' demographics:
| Specialty Representative | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.7% Female, 52.3% | 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% |