How To Become An Area Account Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is an area account manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Jerri Lynn Kyle

An area account manager is responsible for handling the client accounts within a given area. The main function of their job is to maintain client relationships and create new ones, ultimately to increase sales and help the company grow.

The job duties of an area account manager include generating sales, serving as the point of contact for customers, relaying client needs to the company, forecasts client account metrics, and identifying business opportunities with existing clients. Furthermore, an area account manager may also be responsible for managing certain projects or servicing specific client goals or requests as needed.

While there is no strict requirement to become an area account manager, many employers prefer candidates with a bachelor's or master's degree in business. Apart from that, employers want candidates with extensive experience in a supervisory role to ensure that they have the leadership, communication, and client relations skills that this job entails.

An area account manager makes an average of $56,000 per year in the US, depending on their employer, level of experience, and sometimes education as well.

What general advice would you give to an area account manager?

Jerri Lynn Kyle

Senior Instructor, Internship Coordinator, Missouri State University

1.Don't be discouraged! Jobs are out there but you might not get your dream job starting out. It's a journey, so try to make the most of every stop.
2.Start building your professional credibility, both with how you perform your job, and how you interact with your coworkers.
3.Finally, be confident, but at the same time be teachable and coachable. Your degree doesn't make you an expert. Sometimes you realize you don't even know what you don't know, and that's okay. You aren't going to know everything and that's why you need to be coachable.

ScoreArea Account ManagerUS Average

Salary

4.4

Avg. Salary $55,991

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.24%

Asian 4.07%

Black or African American 3.24%

Hispanic or Latino 9.82%

Unknown 4.41%

White 78.23%

Gender

female 30.92%

male 69.08%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an area account manager

Explore area account manager education requirements

Most common area account manager degrees

Bachelor's

79.1 %

Associate

9.0 %

Master's

6.4 %

Start to develop specific area account manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Account Management	11.42%
CRM	9.47%
Product Knowledge	8.40%
Customer Satisfaction	7.31%
Payroll	5.37%

Complete relevant area account manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New area account managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an area account manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real area account manager resumes.

Research area account manager duties and responsibilities

Engage an array of healthcare personnel to achieve goals.
Establish, develop and manage Mexico territory via CRM tool.
Manage relations with multiple accounts, including regular meetings, budget, payroll, supply orders and equipment purchasing.
Manage accounts while providing excellent customer service, help build financial relationships, redirecting calls in upselling credit per customer needs

Prepare your area account manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your area account manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an area account manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable area account manager resume templates

Build a professional area account manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your area account manager resume.

Apply for area account manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an area account manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do area account managers rate their job?

-/5

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1 star

Area account manager reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2020

Pros

Semi-flexible work hours. You have a sales goal and customers to call on in order to achieve said goal, so you have some flexibility of your schedule.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019

Cons

Being away from family because of excessive travel

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019