Telesales representative vs sales representative

The differences between telesales representatives and 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 a sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a telesales representative has an average salary of $65,894, which is higher than the $56,591 average annual salary of a sales representative.

The top three skills for a telesales representative include customer service, inbound calls and lead generation. The most important skills for a sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.

Telesales representative vs sales representative overview

	Telesales Representative	Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$65,894	$56,591
Hourly rate	$31.68	$27.21
Growth rate	-4%	4%
Number of jobs	221,315	205,456
Job satisfaction	-	4.33
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
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 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.

Telesales representative vs sales representative salary

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

	Telesales Representative	Sales Representative
Average salary	$65,894	$56,591
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $93,000	Between $33,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	Iowa City, IA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Iowa	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Oracle	Google
Best paying industry	-	Pharmaceutical

Differences between telesales representative and sales representative education

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

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

Telesales representative vs sales representative demographics

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

	Telesales Representative	Sales Representative
Average age	40	47
Gender ratio	Male, 46.1% Female, 53.9%	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%
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, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	7%	6%

Differences between telesales representative and 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

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.

Telesales representative vs 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 sales representative skills

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

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Telesales Representative
Telesales Representative vs Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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