Telemarketer vs sales representative

The differences between telemarketers and sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sales representative has an average salary of $56,591, which is higher than the $34,911 average annual salary of a telemarketer.

The top three skills for a telemarketer include telephone calls, cold calls and schedule appointments. The most important skills for a sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.

Telemarketer vs sales representative overview

	Telemarketer	Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$34,911	$56,591
Hourly rate	$16.78	$27.21
Growth rate	6%	4%
Number of jobs	10,070	205,456
Job satisfaction	-	4.33
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	37	47
Years of experience	-	4

What does a telemarketer do?

A telemarketer is responsible for marketing its goods and services to existing and potential customers, driving revenues, and increasing the business' profitability. Telemarketers sell products through electronic communications, responding to customers' inquiries, handling special requests, and negotiating pricing offers. They also escalate product concerns and complaints to management for immediate resolution. A telemarketer must have comprehensive knowledge of the sales and marketing industry to deliver sales pitches to attract customers. Telemarketers should also have excellent communication skills to maintain a positive interaction with the customers.

What does a sales representative do?

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.

Telemarketer vs sales representative salary

Telemarketers and sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Telemarketer	Sales Representative
Average salary	$34,911	$56,591
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $54,000	Between $33,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Ohio	Massachusetts
Best paying company	KLA	Google
Best paying industry	Finance	Pharmaceutical

Differences between telemarketer and sales representative education

There are a few differences between a telemarketer and a sales representative in terms of educational background:

	Telemarketer	Sales Representative
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Telemarketer vs sales representative demographics

Here are the differences between telemarketers' and sales representatives' demographics:

	Telemarketer	Sales Representative
Average age	37	47
Gender ratio	Male, 35.6% Female, 64.4%	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 17.8% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 3.9% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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	11%	6%

Differences between telemarketer and sales representative duties and responsibilities

Telemarketer example responsibilities.

Manage employee payroll hours and monitor employee performance providing coaching and development.
Operate profitably through managing productivity, call quality, payroll, and telephone sales representative development.
Receive calls from medicare beneficiary prospects and give orientation about the health plan, benefits and periods of enrollment.
Answer questions on medicare, Obama care, and sign the public up for the appropriate ins that fit their needs.
Call former subscribers to invite them back to the CLO for via a subscription to the upcoming season of Broadway shows.
Coach and monitor telemarketers to ensure department procedures are being follow.

Sales representative example responsibilities.

Manage prospective leads and existing accounts through a CRM platform to accurately forecast revenue and develop long-term business partnerships.
Manage and create all content distribute via various social media outlets: Facebook, twitter, feedback blogs, etc.
Search for procurement contracts, attend trade shows, design flyers, postcards, etc.
Utilize POS sales software to maintain monetary sales information produce reports for organizational review.
Develop and maintain business relationships with businesses and policyholders using establish methods such as customer relationship management CRM.
Handle administrative and sales duties as Jr.

Telemarketer vs sales representative skills

Common telemarketer skills

Telephone Calls, 25%
Cold Calls, 9%
Schedule Appointments, 7%
Inbound Calls, 6%
Outbound Phone Calls, 6%
Payment Method, 5%

Common sales representative skills

Sales Process, 9%
Product Knowledge, 9%
Customer Service, 7%
CRM, 6%
Business Development, 6%
Sales REP, 5%

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Telemarketer vs Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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