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The differences between specialty sales representatives and pharmaceutical sales specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a specialty sales representative and a pharmaceutical sales specialist. Additionally, a pharmaceutical sales specialist has an average salary of $73,003, which is higher than the $67,605 average annual salary of a specialty sales representative.
The top three skills for a specialty sales representative include patients, product knowledge and territory management. The most important skills for a pharmaceutical sales specialist are patients, sales territory, and diabetes.
| Specialty Sales Representative | Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $67,605 | $73,003 |
| Hourly rate | $32.50 | $35.10 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 174,608 | 23,474 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 86% | Bachelor's Degree, 85% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Specialty sales representatives are responsible for selling products and services using firm arguments to possible clients. Also, they perform a cost-benefit study of present and prospective clients. These representatives support positive business relationships to guarantee future sales. Their main role is to give complete and correct solutions to clients to enhance top-line revenue progress, profitability, and investment levels. Their duties include reaching out to customer leads through telemarketing as well as maximize customer satisfaction by efficiently providing resolutions to their issues and complaints.
A pharmaceutical sales specialist's primary duty is to reach out to pharmacies, medical facilities, and physicians to discuss the latest medical drugs in an effort to secure sales. Their responsibilities typically revolve around learning and understanding everything about the products that they are offering, traveling to different areas to deliver samples, and maintaining records of all transactions. Furthermore, as a pharmaceutical sales specialist, it is essential to create marketing materials and build positive relationships with clients to accomplish sales targets, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Specialty sales representatives and pharmaceutical sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Specialty Sales Representative | Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | |
| Average salary | $67,605 | $73,003 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $113,000 | Between $47,000 And $112,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Nevada |
| Best paying company | - | AstraZeneca |
| Best paying industry | - | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a specialty sales representative and a pharmaceutical sales specialist in terms of educational background:
| Specialty Sales Representative | Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 86% | Bachelor's Degree, 85% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between specialty sales representatives' and pharmaceutical sales specialists' demographics:
| Specialty Sales Representative | Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1% | Male, 47.9% Female, 52.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.3% 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% |