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The differences between account executives and business developers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a business developer has an average salary of $101,635, which is higher than the $69,618 average annual salary of an account executive.
The top three skills for an account executive include customer service, CRM and healthcare. The most important skills for a business developer are healthcare, CRM, and customer service.
| Account Executive | Business Developer | |
| Yearly salary | $69,618 | $101,635 |
| Hourly rate | $33.47 | $48.86 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 205,561 | 193,469 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
An account executive is responsible for supporting existing clients, closing client deals, and developing sales strategies to increase the company's sales and satisfaction. An account executive must be competitive enough to keep up with the constant changes in the sales industry, including the high demands of digital marketing, a different approach to product advertising, effective negotiation, and presentation skills. An account executive also requires excellent communication skills for the successful acquisition of client accounts and immediately resolve possible complaints as they arise.
A business developer specializes in conducting in-depth business analysis and crafting various strategies that would not just help a business grow, but also strengthen client base and brand awareness. One of their primary responsibilities revolves around identifying areas in need of improvement. They come up with new services that will boost customer satisfaction, examining the potential for revenue and figuring out new opportunities from trends or other pre-existing programs within the company. All of this is conducted according to the vision, mission, and policies of the organization.
Account executives and business developers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Account Executive | Business Developer | |
| Average salary | $69,618 | $101,635 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $109,000 | Between $66,000 And $156,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, OR | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | California |
| Best paying company | Hitachi Vantara | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an account executive and a business developer in terms of educational background:
| Account Executive | Business Developer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between account executives' and business developers' demographics:
| Account Executive | Business Developer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% | Male, 65.8% Female, 34.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 5.6% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 11% |