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The differences between account directors and business development executives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become an account director, becoming a business development executive takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, an account director has an average salary of $114,728, which is higher than the $97,871 average annual salary of a business development executive.
The top three skills for an account director include account management, project management and work ethic. The most important skills for a business development executive are business development, digital transformation, and customer service.
| Account Director | Business Development Executive | |
| Yearly salary | $114,728 | $97,871 |
| Hourly rate | $55.16 | $47.05 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 132,260 | 189,950 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 46 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 10 |
An account director is responsible for managing client accounts, monitoring budgets, and sales forecasting. Their goal is to maintain stable account management strategies, meet clients' demands, develop healthy professional partnerships that would generate revenues, increase profitability, and achieve the organization's long-term goals objectives. Account directors supervise the account management staff, ensuring the project's successful completion with the highest efficiency and accuracy. An account director also plans training programs to maximize their performance and productivity, especially when dealing with deadlines and clients' requests.
A business development executive serves as a senior manager who drives company sales. Business development executives convince existing clients to buy more offerings and also source new clients. The focus of their job is on lead generation, prospect management, and customer acquisition. They collaborate with management in terms of sales objectives, planning, and prediction. The skills necessary for this job include customer service and relations, time management, strong written communication, and sales process experience.
Account directors and business development executives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Account Director | Business Development Executive | |
| Average salary | $114,728 | $97,871 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $158,000 | Between $64,000 And $149,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Phoenix, AZ |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Arizona |
| Best paying company | BuzzFeed | Clifford Chance |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between an account director and a business development executive in terms of educational background:
| Account Director | Business Development Executive | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between account directors' and business development executives' demographics:
| Account Director | Business Development Executive | |
| Average age | 46 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1% | Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 10% |