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Specialty sales representative vs senior sales specialist

The differences between specialty sales representatives and senior 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 senior sales specialist. Additionally, a senior sales specialist has an average salary of $74,361, 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 senior sales specialist are customer service, sales training, and customer satisfaction.

Specialty sales representative vs senior sales specialist overview

Specialty Sales RepresentativeSenior Sales Specialist
Yearly salary$67,605$74,361
Hourly rate$32.50$35.75
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs174,608109,882
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 86%Bachelor's Degree, 80%
Average age4747
Years of experience22

What does a specialty sales representative do?

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.

What does a senior sales specialist do?

A senior sales specialist oversees and provides solutions to improve a company's sales operations. It is their responsibility to conduct market research and analysis, establish budgets and guidelines, generate leads, and develop sales strategies and sales forecasts. They also liaise and build positive relationships with vendors and suppliers, set sales targets, and resolve customer issues and complaints. Moreover, being a senior sales specialist, it is essential to lead and serve as a mentor to junior sales specialists while implementing and promoting the company's policies and regulations.

Specialty sales representative vs senior sales specialist salary

Specialty sales representatives and senior sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Specialty Sales RepresentativeSenior Sales Specialist
Average salary$67,605$74,361
Salary rangeBetween $40,000 And $113,000Between $50,000 And $108,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-VMware
Best paying industry-Pharmaceutical

Differences between specialty sales representative and senior sales specialist education

There are a few differences between a specialty sales representative and a senior sales specialist in terms of educational background:

Specialty Sales RepresentativeSenior Sales Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 86%Bachelor's Degree, 80%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Specialty sales representative vs senior sales specialist demographics

Here are the differences between specialty sales representatives' and senior sales specialists' demographics:

Specialty Sales RepresentativeSenior Sales Specialist
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 50.9% Female, 49.1%Male, 53.5% Female, 46.5%
Race ratioBlack 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, 14.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between specialty sales representative and senior sales specialist duties and responsibilities

Specialty sales representative example responsibilities.

  • Utilize CRM system and other applications to manage all sales within the renewal stages.
  • Collaborate with management, marketing, and training departments to achieve the common goals of Merck.
  • Manage allocated resources and accountable for pharmaceutical samples in accordance with FDA and PDMA guidelines; responsible for expense management.
  • Manage tough relationships with key reimbursement decision-makers in hospitals, renal and oncology clinics throughout territory.
  • Manage the development, productivity and utilization of local, regional and national speakers for hyperlipidemia and hypertension.
  • Perform several educational sales presentations to large audiences on appropriate pain management for patients.
  • Show more

Senior sales specialist example responsibilities.

  • Manage contracts base on hospital GPO.
  • Manage the promotion of neuroscience portfolio to psychiatry and neurology offices, including long-term care facilities.
  • Manage GPO contracts, work with distributors to ensure supply chain efficiency; consult customer through full-product integration sales cycle.
  • Manage blood bank solutions for blood plasma expander as well as blood infusion for chemotherapy, emergency room, and trauma.
  • Manage territory as a solo dermatology specialty representative in Maryland and Washington DC.
  • Generate leads and evangelize product to physicians in orthopedics, hematology, internal medicine, surgery, critical care and cardiology.
  • Show more

Specialty sales representative vs senior sales specialist skills

Common specialty sales representative skills
  • Patients, 14%
  • Product Knowledge, 9%
  • Territory Management, 7%
  • Neurology, 6%
  • Work Ethic, 6%
  • Medical Sales, 5%
Common senior sales specialist skills
  • Customer Service, 20%
  • Sales Training, 10%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 7%
  • Product Knowledge, 6%
  • Account Management, 6%
  • Patients, 5%