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The differences between account executives and sales development representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an account executive has an average salary of $69,618, which is higher than the $51,504 average annual salary of a sales development representative.
The top three skills for an account executive include customer service, CRM and healthcare. The most important skills for a sales development representative are SDR, lead generation, and customer service.
| Account Executive | Sales Development Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $69,618 | $51,504 |
| Hourly rate | $33.47 | $24.76 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 205,561 | 199,588 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 83% |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
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 sales development representative qualifies leads at the sales funnel's initial stages. Sales development representatives need to conduct research for prospective clients and qualify the leads before handing them to the sales team. They develop sales strategies to attract buyers or solicit potential customers. They need to build relationships with their customers to determine their needs and qualify the viability of interests to drive sales. Also, they collaborate with the sales executives making certain that corporate targets and goals are met.
Account executives and sales development representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Account Executive | Sales Development Representative | |
| Average salary | $69,618 | $51,504 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $109,000 | Between $34,000 And $77,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, OR | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Hitachi Vantara | PitchBook Data |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Start-up |
There are a few differences between an account executive and a sales development representative in terms of educational background:
| Account Executive | Sales Development Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 83% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between account executives' and sales development representatives' demographics:
| Account Executive | Sales Development Representative | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% | Male, 63.1% Female, 36.9% |
| 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, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 6% |