Telephone sales representative vs inside sales representative

The differences between telephone sales representatives and inside sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an inside sales representative has an average salary of $44,413, 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 an inside sales representative are customer service, CRM, and outbound calls.

Telephone sales representative vs inside sales representative overview

	Telephone Sales Representative	Inside Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$28,512	$44,413
Hourly rate	$13.71	$21.35
Growth rate	-4%	4%
Number of jobs	214,765	244,168
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	37	47
Years of experience	-	4

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 an inside sales representative do?

An inside sales representative is responsible for selling services and products to clients, driving the company's revenues and increase sales profitability. Duties of an inside sales representative include developing strategic sales pitches, responding to customer's inquiries and requests, offering promotional products and discounts, researching potential clients, creating sales reports, and managing customer's possible complaints. An inside sales representative also provides strategic solutions to share with the sales team to improve their sales performance. Inside sales representatives must have excellent communication and negotiation skills to deal with customers' needs.

Telephone sales representative vs inside sales representative salary

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

	Telephone Sales Representative	Inside Sales Representative
Average salary	$28,512	$44,413
Salary range	Between $17,000 And $47,000	Between $28,000 And $69,000
Highest paying City	Beverly, MA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Wyoming
Best paying company	UnitedHealth Group	Berkshire Hathaway
Best paying industry	Media	Technology

Differences between telephone sales representative and inside sales representative education

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

	Telephone Sales Representative	Inside Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 32%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Telephone sales representative vs inside sales representative demographics

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

	Telephone Sales Representative	Inside Sales Representative
Average age	37	47
Gender ratio	Male, 41.5% Female, 58.5%	Male, 54.7% Female, 45.3%
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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	11%	6%

Differences between telephone sales representative and inside sales 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

Inside sales representative example responsibilities.

Coordinate commercial sales and manage projects with HVAC contractors for Georgia district.
Accomplish tasks in a timely manner.Skills UsedComputer, math, reading wiring schematics.
Generate leads through the use of Linkedin, firm websites and legal magazines.
Manage and develop a nationwide territory through cold calling utilizing LinkedIn?, DiscoverOrg.
Manage help desk support for company ERP system as well as employee hardware and software issues.
Manage a team of 15-25 ISE's through effective sales coaching, call monitoring and creating sales spiff programs.

Telephone sales representative vs inside sales 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 inside sales representative skills

Customer Service, 22%
CRM, 6%
Outbound Calls, 5%
Product Knowledge, 4%
Work Ethic, 4%
Sales Process, 3%

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Telephone Sales Representative
Telephone Sales Representative vs Inside Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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