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Account executive skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

6 min read

Quoted experts

Jonathan Byers,

Kaustav Misra Ph.D.

Account executives play many roles and need to juggle many soft skills in the course of their work. Above all else, they need to be highly seasoned customer service experts, with a history of delighting clients with stellar work. Communication is a key skill for this line of work, as is strong business relationships and networks.

Account executives will also need to have a strong grasp on the technical skills required of their job. Some of the most highly-demanded skills for account executives include a strong understanding of sales process and business development, as well as work with optimizing CRM systems.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical account executive skills. We ranked the top skills for account executives based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 8.7% of account executive resumes contained customer service as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an account executive needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 account executive skills for your resume and career

1. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how account executives use customer service:

Account Executive Responsible for building and maintaining relationships with executives of major corporations in my territory while providing exceptional customer service.
Develop close relationships with clients to create client specific financing options and provide exemplary customer service to each individual business.

2. CRM

CRM stands for Customer relationship management and it is a complete process through which a business or organization monitors and administers its interactions with the customers. A process in which large amounts of data are collected through marketing via a company's website, polls, surveys, and other social media applications. The basic goal of CRM is to target the right audience for their product, and then fulfill their needs, to increase the sales and revenue of the company.

Here's how account executives use crm:

Provided custom solutions for organizations to integrate customer feedback with their CRM system to improve customer experience and retention.
Created and implemented custom CRM solution for sales team and streamlined business processes through continuous improvement initiatives.

3. Healthcare

Healthcare is the maintenance or improvement of a person's health by the diagnosis and treatment of a person's injury, illness, or any other disease. Healthcare is a basic necessity of human life and is the responsibility of the country's government to ensure that each person gets healthcare. Providing healthcare is the job of certified health professionals that includes doctors, surgeons, nurses, and other physicians. Pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, dentistry, therapy, and health training all come under healthcare. Healthcare plays a vital role in the country's economy and its development.

Here's how account executives use healthcare:

Maintained a constant understanding of all United HealthCare products, services, and solutions.
Developed and generated new business relationships to sell services and commercial furnishings to municipalities, corporations, and healthcare facilities.

4. Sales Process

Here's how account executives use sales process:

Utilized solution sales process to actively obtain new customers, increase existing customer utilization, and develop new market segments.
Worked closely with company executives to identify new business opportunities and routinely participated in the sales process.

5. Salesforce

Salesforce is an American cloud-based software company based in San Francisco, California. This company provides customer relationship management services that enable the customers to be closer to the company. It gives the company detailed information about each customer, including marketing, sales, commerce, and services. Salesforce also helps market a product to attract more buyers, and helps win more customers by targeting the right audience.

Here's how account executives use salesforce:

Utilized SalesForce automation to effectively generate accurate sales forecasting, develop territory planning strategy, and produce detailed client reporting.
Utilized CRM (SalesForce.com) for pipeline and contact management, forecasting and other administrative requirements.

6. Work Ethic

Here's how account executives use work ethic:

Demonstrate strong work ethic, competitive verbal and written communication skills to build business-to-business sector relationships.
Developed long-lasting client relationships through unprecedented work ethic, dedication and service excellence.

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7. Product Knowledge

Product knowledge is the skill of having better information and knowledge about the product you are selling. Product knowledge is essential for the employees of the companies so they can communicate and inform the customers about the product. Having great product knowledge is essential for a better sales pitch and to give the customer a better and complete idea of the product that will influence him to buy the product eventually.

Here's how account executives use product knowledge:

Cultivated and developed strong broker and consultant relationships through expert product knowledge, territory management practices, and superior customer service.
Coached and assisted sales representatives in selling against competition, negotiations, relationship management, and competitive product knowledge.

8. Business Development

Business development is the ideas or initiatives that work to make business work better. Selling, advertising, product development, supply chain management, and vendor management are only a few of the divisions involved with it. There is still a lot of networking, negotiating, forming alliances, and trying to save money. The goals set for business development guide and coordinate with all of these various operations and sectors.

Here's how account executives use business development:

Represented existing accounts, emphasis on new business development in assigned territory for domestic freight forwarding and local cartage services.
Top Performer for Soft Launch of Company Top Performer in Sales Business Development Account Management Client Qualification Client Presentations & Education

9. Customer Relationships

Customer relationships are the interactions and efforts made by a company to improve its customer service. Customer relationships cover not just all of the essential roles performed by customer support, but also the initiatives made before and after the interaction with a customer.

Here's how account executives use customer relationships:

Revitalized volatile customer relationships; reversed potential losses, negotiated and delivered contract extensions, and increased sales in every account.
Assume ownership and responsibility for defined market revenue and volume growth, in addition to growing and strengthening existing customer relationships.

10. Account Management

The process of strengthening the relationship between a company and client is called account management. Effective account management has two key objectives, one is to retain loyal customers and the second one is to help the company grow by creating connections with new customers.

Here's how account executives use account management:

Key responsibilities include account management, strategic planning, development and obtaining business that is profitable and aligned with company objectives.
Account management included initiating calls to cross-selling existing clients through the account activation process while servicing with a positive attitude.

11. PowerPoint

Here's how account executives use powerpoint:

Skilled in preparing presentations for both individual and group formats, utilizing both PowerPoint and personal consultation techniques.
Develop material for quarterly client meetings including PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets outlining in-depth, data analysis.

12. Customer Satisfaction

Here's how account executives use customer satisfaction:

Utilized excellent phone etiquette while moving towards resolution and remaining sympathetic and professional, assuring customer satisfaction and great company image.
Generated new business and renewed existing customer accounts, with above-average customer satisfaction results in the sale of Yellow Book advertising.

13. Business Sales

Here's how account executives use business sales:

Utilized prior experience in business sales at the retail level to create unique solutions tailored to accommodate routine/complex customer requirements.
Communicate with Information Technology professionals in order to generate business-to-business sales opportunities for IT vendors and 3rd party partners.

14. Patients

Here's how account executives use patients:

Collaborated with patient advocacy groups in each state for hemophilia and immune-deficient patients to ensure availability of appropriate pharmaceuticals.
Designed and assisted physicians with customized therapy programs to improve quality of life for patients with diverse medical needs/diagnoses.

15. Relationship Building

Relationship building is the act of building a lasting social connection with people whether online or in person. It's a soft skill required for those going into marketing, communication, and every other field that requires dealing with the public to help them connect better with people. It's also great as a personal skill for gaining meaningful relationships that can help one in the future.

Here's how account executives use relationship building:

Conducted daily prospecting, relationship building and strategic problem solving to establish new business opportunities and maintain relationships with current customer base
Managed diverse client base requiring professional relationship building at all levels of organization including Attorneys, Paralegals, and Administrative Assistants.

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What skills help Account Executives find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on account executive resumes?

Jonathan Byers

Assistant Director, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

- Professional skills related to career development competencies such as strong oral & written communication, teamwork & collaboration, leadership, problem-solving ability & creativity, and professional integrity, but we recommend that applicants do not just list these skills. They should provide evidence of how they have used them in their work experience, volunteer experience, academic experience, etc.
-The ability to use technology effectively to solve problems or improve collaboration; this could relate to social media management, computer hardware or software skills, proficiency with general programs like Microsoft Office Suite (also being able to demonstrate the use of these skills in various experiences).
-With diversity, equity, and inclusion becoming more important in 2020, the ability to appreciate different points of view, accept and appreciate different cultural backgrounds & types of identities, and increased awareness of one's own cultural biases and assumptions can also be important to market on a resume.

What account executive skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Kaustav Misra Ph.D.

Associate Dean, Central Connecticut State University

This pandemic taught us many things and one important thing that we have an efficiency gap.

The way of doing business will be much more technology orientated. Hence graduates should be ready to unskill and upskill their credentials. This time it is necessary to forget the old way of doing business and learn new skills to get a job or stay in a current job. Soft skills have become much more important than before, but a different soft skill set would be essential to interact with future market participants. Thus, a gap year should be utilized to unskill-upskill and enhance relevant credentials by getting into short-long term programs, training, and workshops would be highly recommended.

What type of skills will young account executives need?

Dr. Vallari Chandna

Chair and Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay

Critically, for all graduates, expertise or interests, in sustainability will be important. The reason behind this is the shift in looking at sustainability holistically and not just as something one-person does. This would also give an edge to those with degrees, specifically in sustainability. Graduates with degrees related to sustainability will often be asked to oversee or manage these across-the-board sustainability endeavors. Also, soft skills are highly desired. The ability to be better at time management, work in teams, and have a strong work ethic, will be more desirable. These are all interconnected with remote work as well. Employees who "thrived" in the pandemic were those able to manage their work-life balance, work remotely in teams, all the while performing well. The skills are thus "transferable" to both modalities of work in this way.

What technical skills for an account executive stand out to employers?

Todd Lee Goen

Instructor & Internship Director, Christopher Newport University

Technical skills are often industry and/or position specific. Applicants should highlight any technical skills related to the position advertisement and those that add value to the position/organization. Most importantly, requirements for technical skills change with time and technological advances. This means employers value workers capable of adapting to change and continually improving and acquiring new technical skills. Thus, it's usually more important to demonstrate you are capable of learning and developing technical skills than it is to have a specific skill set upon hire (although this is not true for some positions/industries).
That said, technical skills related to online presentations, virtual meetings, virtual networking, remote working and the like are hot commodities right now. While most organizations were in the process of adopting many of these technologies and ways of doing business pre-pandemic, the pandemic accelerated the process. Organizations are making it work, but they often don't know best practices or the most efficient means of working in the largely virtual, pandemic environment. Post-pandemic, many of the remote/virtual changes the pandemic brought will stay in some form. Technical skills that support this type of workplace will make applicants stand out to many employers because they need/want to do virtual/remote business better.

What soft skills should all account executives possess?

Eric Bostwick Ph.D.

Professor of Accounting, The University of West Florida

Similar to the answer above, oral and written communication skills have been important for a number of years, but in our current environment, these skills have become much more important. Our ability to pick up on the context surrounding email messages is reduced since we have fewer in-person interactions, and even our virtual meetings eliminate much of the body language that we use--both consciously and unconsciously--to interpret what other people mean by what they say. Thus, candidates will stand out when they can clearly articulate their thoughts in both written form, via email or chat, and in oral form, via the ubiquitous "Brady Bunch" layout on their coworkers' computer screens.

Do you want to know more?

List of account executive skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for an account executive resume and required skills for an account executive to have include:

Customer Service
CRM
Healthcare
Sales Process
Salesforce
Work Ethic
Product Knowledge
Business Development
Customer Relationships
Account Management
PowerPoint
Customer Satisfaction
Business Sales
Patients
Relationship Building
Sales Presentations
Digital Marketing

Digital Transformation
Excellent Time Management
Sales Territory
Business Relationships
Saas
Excellent Interpersonal
Sales Strategies
Lead Generation
Sales Cycle
Sales Quota
C-Level
Media Sales
Cold Calls
Trade Shows
Revenue Growth
Direct Sales
Sales Techniques

Project Management
Facebook
AE
ROI
Client Satisfaction
Broadband
Sales Objectives
Funnel Management
Enterprise Sales
Real Estate
Product Demonstrations
Customer Accounts
Post Sales
Sales Revenue
Local Businesses

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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