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The differences between telesales representatives and customer service representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a telesales representative and a customer service representative. Additionally, a telesales representative has an average salary of $65,894, which is higher than the $32,260 average annual salary of a customer service representative.
The top three skills for a telesales representative include customer service, inbound calls and lead generation. The most important skills for a customer service representative are cleanliness, POS, and data entry.
A telesales representative, also known as a telemarketer, is a salesperson whose duties focus on communicating with potential and existing clients through calls, aiming to secure sales and build positive customer relationships. They offer products and services, set appointments, answer inquiries, discuss product and service specifications, process orders and payments, and even assist customers in issues and concerns. Moreover, a telesales representative also conducts research and assessments to find leads for potential sales opportunities, contacts existing customers, keep records, and provides optimal services to ensure client satisfaction.
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.
Telesales representatives and customer service representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Telesales Representative | Customer Service Representative | |
| Average salary | $65,894 | $32,260 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $93,000 | Between $25,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Iowa City, IA | Des Moines, WA |
| Highest paying state | Iowa | Washington |
| Best paying company | Oracle | Oracle |
| Best paying industry | - | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a telesales representative and a customer service representative in terms of educational background:
| Telesales Representative | Customer Service Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between telesales representatives' and customer service representatives' demographics:
| Telesales Representative | Customer Service Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 46.1% Female, 53.9% | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 14.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 6.4% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | 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 | 7% | 7% |