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The differences between account strategists and strategic accounts managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an account strategist, becoming a strategic accounts manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, an account strategist has an average salary of $95,655, which is higher than the $83,574 average annual salary of a strategic accounts manager.
The top three skills for an account strategist include digital marketing, client facing and account management. The most important skills for a strategic accounts manager are account management, healthcare, and customer service.
| Account Strategist | Strategic Accounts Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $95,655 | $83,574 |
| Hourly rate | $45.99 | $40.18 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 69,217 | 141,224 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 37 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 8 |
An account strategist helps client accounts achieve their short and long-term goals by establishing business strategies and guidelines. They typically gather and analyze data, review feedback from clients, conduct risk assessments, perform research and analysis to identify the weaknesses and strengths of existing procedures, develop reports and presentations, and implement solutions against problem areas while working together with account managers and analysts. Moreover, an account strategist may also help address client concerns, resolving them promptly and efficiently to ensure client satisfaction.
A strategic accounts manager is an individual who is responsible for establishing and maintaining productive relationships with new and existing large clients. Strategic accounts managers assign staff members to provide help and support with client accounts and how they can be of service to the clients. They are required to create an appropriate sales strategy for each of their clients and identify needs. Strategic accounts manager must also create comprehensive reports on client sales and strategy to their upper management.
Account strategists and strategic accounts managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Account Strategist | Strategic Accounts Manager | |
| Average salary | $95,655 | $83,574 |
| Salary range | Between $66,000 And $137,000 | Between $51,000 And $135,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | VMware | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between an account strategist and a strategic accounts manager in terms of educational background:
| Account Strategist | Strategic Accounts Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between account strategists' and strategic accounts managers' demographics:
| Account Strategist | Strategic Accounts Manager | |
| Average age | 37 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 39.9% Female, 60.1% | Male, 68.2% Female, 31.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 12.1% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 7% |