Telephone sales representative vs customer service representative

The differences between telephone sales representatives and customer service representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a customer service representative has an average salary of $32,260, which is higher than the $28,512 average annual salary of a telephone sales representative.

The top three skills for a telephone sales representative include outbound calls, telephone sales and life insurance. The most important skills for a customer service representative are cleanliness, POS, and data entry.

Telephone sales representative vs customer service representative overview

	Telephone Sales Representative	Customer Service Representative
Yearly salary	$28,512	$32,260
Hourly rate	$13.71	$15.51
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	214,765	209,515
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	High School Diploma, 33%
Average age	37	40
Years of experience	-	12

What does a telephone sales representative do?

The primary job of telephone sales representatives is to sell products and services to prospective customers through telephone. They typically answer phone calls and answer inquiries from customers. Their duties and responsibilities include updating database and backup data regularly, completing forms and recording logs, and following organizational standards in order to maintain quality and exceptional customer service. Qualifications required for this role may include previous work experience in sales or a related field, customer service skills, and strong attention to detail.

What does a customer service representative do?

Customer service representatives are the first point of contact of the customers, acting as the frontiers of the company and help in driving customer loyalty and retention by leaving a great impression and resolving all of their concerns. They accommodate customer queries by providing useful and comprehensive information about any products or services. Some would use that as an opportunity to market and promote more sales. The most challenging issues they use to handle are customer complaints and processing of refunds and returns. They also assist in basic troubleshooting or accounts and payment setup with the use of specific guidelines or step by step procedures. At most, they help and solve customer issues on their own, but sometimes they would need support from supervisors or other departments.

Telephone sales representative vs customer service representative salary

Telephone sales representatives and customer service representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Telephone Sales Representative	Customer Service Representative
Average salary	$28,512	$32,260
Salary range	Between $17,000 And $47,000	Between $25,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Beverly, MA	Des Moines, WA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Washington
Best paying company	UnitedHealth Group	Oracle
Best paying industry	Media	Insurance

Differences between telephone sales representative and customer service representative education

There are a few differences between a telephone sales representative and a customer service representative in terms of educational background:

	Telephone Sales Representative	Customer Service Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	High School Diploma, 33%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Telephone sales representative vs customer service representative demographics

Here are the differences between telephone sales representatives' and customer service representatives' demographics:

	Telephone Sales Representative	Customer Service Representative
Average age	37	40
Gender ratio	Male, 41.5% Female, 58.5%	Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5%
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, 11.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.2% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	11%	7%

Differences between telephone sales representative and customer service representative duties and responsibilities

Telephone sales representative example responsibilities.

Conduct telephone sales and interviews, compile and enter information into database, manage documents and insure customer satisfaction.
Maintain HIPAA regulations and standards.
Build, setup, troubleshoot and maintain computer hardware and software needs as necessary.
Place out bound sales calls to current DIRECTV customers and try to get them to upgrade their current channel package.
Follow governmental regulations and HIPAA guidelines.
Locate and troubleshoot items that customers have purchased

Customer service representative example responsibilities.

Manage and plan escalations; assure HIPPA guidelines are followed for confidentially and privacy.
Maintain cleanliness and safety and assist patients as necessary.
Operate POS system and maintain exceptional and consistent customer service.
Exercise proofreading and basic math skills to maintain quality control over documents process
Work in customer service department entering information into customer relationship management (CRM).
Develop highly empathetic client relationships and earn reputation for exceeding good customer service rep goals.

Telephone sales representative vs customer service representative skills

Common telephone sales representative skills

Outbound Calls, 18%
Telephone Sales, 11%
Life Insurance, 11%
Product Knowledge, 7%
Customer Service, 7%
Inbound Calls, 6%

Common customer service representative skills

Cleanliness, 10%
POS, 7%
Data Entry, 6%
Sales Floor, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Home Health, 5%

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Telephone Sales Representative
Telephone Sales Representative vs Customer Service Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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