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The differences between specialty representatives and sales specialists 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 a sales specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a sales specialist has an average salary of $53,004, 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 a sales specialist are building relationships, customer complaints, and customer orders.
| Specialty Representative | Sales Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $49,201 | $53,004 |
| Hourly rate | $23.65 | $25.48 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 50,435 | 324,069 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| 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.
A sales specialist is responsible for offering the best goods and services to customers in order to boost the company's sales. Sales specialists also promote strategies and solutions to contribute to the company's growth and profitability. A sales specialist must have extensive knowledge of the current market trends and the best sales skills to perform marketing tasks. Sales specialists should have excellent communication and customer service skills to assist existing and potential clients with their inquiries and concerns.
Specialty representatives and sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Specialty Representative | Sales Specialist | |
| Average salary | $49,201 | $53,004 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $92,000 | Between $30,000 And $91,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | - | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | - | VMware |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a specialty representative and a sales specialist in terms of educational background:
| Specialty Representative | Sales Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| 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 sales specialists' demographics:
| Specialty Representative | Sales Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.7% Female, 52.3% | Male, 55.1% Female, 44.9% |
| 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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 72.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |