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Business development representative vs account executive

The differences between business development representatives and account executives 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 $47,240 average annual salary of a business development representative.

The top three skills for a business development representative include business development, work ethic and customer service. The most important skills for an account executive are customer service, CRM, and healthcare.

Business development representative vs account executive overview

Business Development RepresentativeAccount Executive
Yearly salary$47,240$69,618
Hourly rate$22.71$33.47
Growth rate4%5%
Number of jobs269,704205,561
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age4444
Years of experience--

What does a business development representative do?

A business development representative's role is to find new business and client opportunities through market research and networking. They are primarily responsible for participating in creating strategies to enhance client relations, improve sales, and reach out to potential clients through calls, correspondence, and meetings. Moreover, it is also their responsibility to perform follow-up calls, offer recommendations, and even build rapport to strengthen client base. As a representative, it is essential to coordinate with managers and supervisors and adhere to policies and regulations.

What does an account executive do?

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.

Business development representative vs account executive salary

Business development representatives and account executives have different pay scales, as shown below.

Business Development RepresentativeAccount Executive
Average salary$47,240$69,618
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $82,000Between $44,000 And $109,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAPortland, OR
Highest paying stateAlaskaOregon
Best paying companyWipro LimitedHitachi Vantara
Best paying industryManufacturingFinance

Differences between business development representative and account executive education

There are a few differences between a business development representative and an account executive in terms of educational background:

Business Development RepresentativeAccount Executive
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Business development representative vs account executive demographics

Here are the differences between business development representatives' and account executives' demographics:

Business Development RepresentativeAccount Executive
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 50.9% Female, 49.1%Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 5.6% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%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%
LGBT Percentage5%5%

Differences between business development representative and account executive duties and responsibilities

Business development representative example responsibilities.

  • Lead BDR team in overall net new leads and opportunities in 2013 , 2014 and to date 2015
  • Follow up on leads generate from web hits, public Webinar registrations and tradeshows.
  • Write content and manage marketing automation through Pardot, creating campaigns and analyzing results.
  • Create hold leads into SalesForce cloud system for further outbound call on possible sale.
  • Manage customer portfolios, service relationships and cross-selling of all company's products and services.
  • Lead firm s social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Google+ and launch.
  • Show more

Account executive example responsibilities.

  • Create and manage Facebook and twitter accounts.
  • Have achieve Google certification for both SEM and SEO sales.
  • Lead proposal team in winning a $1MM RFP, turning around a key account relationship.
  • Manage all aspects of new FedEx implementations (automation set-up, operational support and training of customers).
  • Develop and manage networking, VoIP, IP/TV, video, cloud, wireless, and security/disaster recovery projects.
  • Source all leads by means of cold calling, leveraging linkedin, referrals, and upselling to existing customers.
  • Show more

Business development representative vs account executive skills

Common business development representative skills
  • Business Development, 19%
  • Work Ethic, 7%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • BDR, 6%
  • Sales Cycle, 4%
  • Lead Generation, 4%
Common account executive skills
  • Customer Service, 9%
  • CRM, 6%
  • Healthcare, 5%
  • Sales Process, 5%
  • Salesforce, 4%
  • Work Ethic, 4%