Telesales representative vs inside sales representative

The differences between telesales representatives and inside sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a telesales representative, becoming an inside sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a telesales representative has an average salary of $65,894, which is higher than the $44,413 average annual salary of an inside sales representative.

The top three skills for a telesales representative include customer service, inbound calls and lead generation. The most important skills for an inside sales representative are customer service, CRM, and outbound calls.

Telesales representative vs inside sales representative overview

	Telesales Representative	Inside Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$65,894	$44,413
Hourly rate	$31.68	$21.35
Growth rate	-4%	4%
Number of jobs	221,315	244,168
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	40	47
Years of experience	12	4

What does a telesales representative do?

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.

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.

Telesales representative vs inside sales representative salary

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

	Telesales Representative	Inside Sales Representative
Average salary	$65,894	$44,413
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $93,000	Between $28,000 And $69,000
Highest paying City	Iowa City, IA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Iowa	Wyoming
Best paying company	Oracle	Berkshire Hathaway
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between telesales representative and inside sales representative education

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

	Telesales Representative	Inside Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Telesales representative vs inside sales representative demographics

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

	Telesales Representative	Inside Sales Representative
Average age	40	47
Gender ratio	Male, 46.1% Female, 53.9%	Male, 54.7% Female, 45.3%
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, 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	7%	6%

Differences between telesales representative and inside sales representative duties and responsibilities

Telesales representative example responsibilities.

Contact medicare eligible recipients to sell medicare advantage plans through in-home meetings, community seminars and direct telesales.
Exceed expectations in cross-selling and upselling on all inbound and outbound calls.
Solicit cross-selling and upselling opportunities to new prospects and current customers.
Upgrade current customers who have Comcast services through outbound telephone solicitation.
Counter customer objections by remaining knowledgeable of Comcast and its competitor's services and initiatives.
Demonstrate superb organizational and multitasking abilities

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.

Telesales representative vs inside sales representative skills

Common telesales representative skills

Customer Service, 17%
Inbound Calls, 9%
Lead Generation, 8%
Closes Sales, 7%
Customer Interaction, 7%
Telemarketing, 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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Telesales Representative
Telesales Representative vs Inside Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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