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The differences between surgical sales representatives and 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 surgical sales representative, becoming a sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a surgical sales representative has an average salary of $73,379, which is higher than the $56,591 average annual salary of a sales representative.
The top three skills for a surgical sales representative include medical sales, product knowledge and GYN. The most important skills for a sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.
| Surgical Sales Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $73,379 | $56,591 |
| Hourly rate | $35.28 | $27.21 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 124,729 | 205,456 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.33 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A surgical sales representative is responsible for selling surgical devices for health care facilities with cost-efficient offers but high-quality standards. Surgical sales representatives negotiate contracts with existing and potential clients by discussing the features and benefits of their products that would attract the clients' purchasing decisions. They also manage their business proposals by sending out e-mail campaigns or personally visiting the clients' area. A surgical sales representative must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in identifying the recent medical technology trends that would generate more revenue resources for the business.
Sales representatives primarily sell the company's products and services to businesses or organizations. They should be adept at closing out sales, negotiating, and providing customer service. They should be knowledgeable about the products or services of the manufacturer or producer they represent. They must also have strong analytical skills that would help them in coming up with cost-benefit analysis in assessing the current roster of clients and even prospective ones. Sales representatives should also be able to maintain good working relationships with all involved stakeholders, especially clients.
Surgical sales representatives and sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Surgical Sales Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $73,379 | $56,591 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $113,000 | Between $33,000 And $94,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | - | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | - | |
| Best paying industry | - | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a surgical sales representative and a sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Surgical Sales Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between surgical sales representatives' and sales representatives' demographics:
| Surgical Sales Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.6% Female, 33.4% | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% |
| 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, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |