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The differences between technical sales specialists and territory 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 technical sales specialist, becoming a territory sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a technical sales specialist has an average salary of $86,598, which is higher than the $34,431 average annual salary of a territory sales representative.
The top three skills for a technical sales specialist include customer service, technical knowledge and cloud. The most important skills for a territory sales representative are customer service, CRM, and product knowledge.
| Technical Sales Specialist | Territory Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $86,598 | $34,431 |
| Hourly rate | $41.63 | $16.55 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 212,987 | 219,928 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A technical sales specialist is in charge of devising strategies to develop technical solutions for optimizing sales procedures. Their responsibilities revolve around identifying market and client needs, assessing existing programs and projects to determine its strengths and weaknesses, and recommending improvements as needed. A technical sales specialist may also interact with walk-in clients, or reach out to them through calls and correspondence, to demonstrate and offer products and services. Furthermore, as a technical sales specialist, it is essential to produce progress reports and maintain records of transactions, all while prioritizing to meet sales targets.
A territory sales representative is responsible for selling goods and services, assisting customers with their inquiries and concerns, and monitoring the assigned area's sales reports. Territory sales representatives coordinate with the rest of the sales team to develop effective marketing strategies and promotional techniques to increase revenues and profitability. Territory sales representatives research current market trends to identify business opportunities to meet consumer demands and widen their services. A territory sales representative must have excellent knowledge of the sales disciplines and principles, managing the market approach to ensure customer satisfaction.
Technical sales specialists and territory sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Sales Specialist | Territory Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $86,598 | $34,431 |
| Salary range | Between $57,000 And $129,000 | Between $15,000 And $78,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | California | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | IBM | |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a technical sales specialist and a territory sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Technical Sales Specialist | Territory Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between technical sales specialists' and territory sales representatives' demographics:
| Technical Sales Specialist | Territory Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.3% Female, 24.7% | Male, 69.1% Female, 30.9% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |