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The differences between support associates and sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a support associate has an average salary of $47,039, which is higher than the $32,167 average annual salary of a sales associate.
The top three skills for a support associate include sales floor, computer system and POS. The most important skills for a sales associate are customer service, sales floor, and cash handling.
| Support Associate | Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $47,039 | $32,167 |
| Hourly rate | $22.61 | $15.46 |
| Growth rate | 10% | - |
| Number of jobs | 100,892 | 579,849 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
The primary role of sales support associates is to help sales staff and customers during the sales process. A sales support associate also performs other tasks that include maintaining positive customer relations, responding to customers' requests for quotes, information, and specifications, and, initiating contact with prospective customers. They are also responsible for coordinating proposals, sales literature production, and presentations. Requirements for this position include a high school diploma or general education development, administrative and communication skills, and organizational skills.
Sales associates are responsible for promoting the company's goods or services. They are expected to provide exceptional customer service to prospective buyers. They should be familiar with all features of the company's products or services so that they can answer the customers' inquiries. Sales associates also assist customers in processing their checkouts, refunds, returns, and other needs. They should be customer-oriented, and they should have great communication skills. They should know how to sell their products or services to customers. They are considered the company's representatives on the ground.
Support associates and sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Support Associate | Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $47,039 | $32,167 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $83,000 | Between $21,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | Jersey City, NJ | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | New York |
| Best paying company | Apollo Global Management | Barclays |
| Best paying industry | - | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a support associate and a sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Support Associate | Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | - |
Here are the differences between support associates' and sales associates' demographics:
| Support Associate | Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.7% Female, 63.3% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 10.6% White, 56.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 7% |