How to hire a commercial account executive

How to hire a commercial account executive, step by step

Here's a step-by-step commercial account executive hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a commercial account executive job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new commercial account executive
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a commercial account executive do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a commercial account executive, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect commercial account executive also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents commercial account executive salaries for various positions.

   Type of Commercial Account Executive	Description	Hourly rate
   Commercial Account Executive	Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses, government agencies, and other organizations. They contact customers, explain product features, answer any questions that their customers may have, and negotiate prices.	$24-54
   Business Developer	A business developer specializes in conducting in-depth business analysis and crafting various strategies that would not just help a business grow, but also strengthen client base and brand awareness. One of their primary responsibilities revolves around identifying areas in need of improvement... Show more	$31-75
   New Business Development	New business development focuses on new business opportunities and new product innovation, including product design, business model design, and marketing. This includes a wide scope of responsibilities that includes marketing planning, strategic partnerships, and increased profitability... Show more	$27-58

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Cloud
   • Customer Service
   • CRM
   • Salesforce
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Product Knowledge
   • Account Management
   • Business Development
   • House Training
   • Customer Retention
   • Sales Process
   • Sales Activity
   • Customer Relationships
   • Risk Management

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Support sales team by providing leads and tracking activity in SalesForce.
   • Manage and develop relationships with existing clients and new business using a CRM.
   • Achieve all sales targets for SaaS product targeting service-base businesses requiring an automate customer retention and relationship management tool.
   • Manage day-to-day activity of client relate projects including IP voice, MPLS infrastructures and CPE implementations in a deadline-orient high-pressure environment.
   • Review every EOB or UB04 forms identify the denials identify and resolve the account.
   • Go over each EOB or UB4 forms identify the denials identify and resolve the account.

   More commercial account executive duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the commercial account executive job description is a good way to get more applicants. A commercial account executive salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a commercial account executive in Tennessee may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level commercial account executive. Additionally, a commercial account executive with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average commercial account executive salary

   $75,624yearly

   $36.36 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level commercial account executive salary

   $50,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average commercial account executive salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$92,652	$45
   2	Massachusetts	$90,619	$44
   3	New Hampshire	$87,039	$42
   4	Connecticut	$86,718	$42
   5	Nevada	$83,783	$40
   6	New Jersey	$82,446	$40
   7	California	$82,069	$39
   8	Ohio	$79,565	$38
   9	North Dakota	$78,476	$38
   10	Michigan	$77,999	$38
   11	New York	$77,783	$37
   12	Oregon	$77,212	$37
   13	Utah	$76,531	$37
   14	Montana	$75,911	$37
   15	Virginia	$75,674	$36
   16	Colorado	$75,417	$36
   17	Minnesota	$75,007	$36
   18	Arizona	$73,586	$35
   19	Maryland	$72,624	$35
   20	Kansas	$72,430	$35

   Average commercial account executive salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	VMware	$142,071	$68.30
   2	Accenture	$137,896	$66.30	60
   3	Databricks	$136,242	$65.50	24
   4	Meta	$128,589	$61.82	6
   5	Microsoft	$120,061	$57.72	34
   6	Egnyte	$114,065	$54.84	6
   7	Sumo Logic	$113,276	$54.46	13
   8	Five9	$112,467	$54.07	1
   9	Cohesity	$111,881	$53.79	35
   10	Tableau	$107,687	$51.77
   11	ServiceNow	$104,645	$50.31	158
   12	Fastly	$104,584	$50.28	9
   13	Algolia	$103,584	$49.80
   14	Pluralsight	$101,090	$48.60	2
   15	Asana	$100,111	$48.13	10
   16	Vista Equity Partners	$98,319	$47.27	4
   17	TripActions	$97,778	$47.01
   18	ZeroCater	$96,915	$46.59
   19	Engineered Floors	$96,893	$46.58	4
   20	Proofpoint	$94,180	$45.28	84

4. Writing a commercial account executive job description

   A job description for a commercial account executive role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a commercial account executive job description:

   Commercial account executive job description example

   When you pick up your smartphone or open your laptop, the first thing you'll see are push notifications - maybe there's a breaking news alert, or an NFL game entering overtime, a sale or back-in-stock alert from your favorite store, or a notification your order has been received… Whatever it is, chances are the message you're reading was sent using OneSignal.
   
   Over 1.2 Million mobile app developers and marketers use OneSignal to send these notifications and in-app messages (recently launched sms and email support). We started as a Y Combinator-backed game developer. Our founders were frustrated with existing notification tools, so we built our own system. It took off like wildfire. Now we help businesses send 8 Billion notifications every single day.
   
   We're seeking a sales professional to help OneSignal spread its goodwill to Product Leaders, Marketers and Developers across the globe, and help the company convert the over 1.2 Million current platform users of the product. The primary responsibilities will be to manage, source and close net new dollars from an assigned geographical territory. This includes working with our SDR team on inbound leads, cross sell opportunities within our significant install base and generating new leads through your own outreach.
   
   This team member will be eager, energetic, a curious problem solver who can learn in a fast-paced, innovative, technical environment. Ideal candidates will have an interest in push notifications and messaging, and how companies can integrate the OneSignal product into their existing workflows, systems to more effectively connect and grow engagement with their users. Excitement to be part of a rocketship growth startup that isn't a fine-tuned machine, requiring every early hire to be willing to wear different hats and do what's necessary to make the company successful.
   
   In a typical month, the Commercial Account Executive at OneSignal might: Manage net new and up sell Annual Recurring Revenue with assigned territory Work with SDR team member to start new revenue focused conversations Generate and maintain an active pipeline of sales opportunities Ability to recognize ideal customer profiles and buyer persona Qualify inbound lead and generate outbound leads Lead all discovery and pricing calls, as well as high-level platform demos Evangelize OneSignal to all prospective and existing clients
   
   What you'll bring: 1+ years of software sales experience in a closing individual contributor role Demonstrated success hitting & exceeding goals; preferably a SaaS sales quota Strong communication (written & verbal) and collaboration skills Experience with martech, mobile SDK's, javascript and/or messaging a plus Incredible attention to detail (managing activities; follow up with customers) Bring a competitive, team spirit and a growth mindset Ability to speak multiple languages a plus, but not required Bonus points if you have experience selling customer experience and messaging products
   
   Qualities we look for: Friendliness ModestyAbility to collaborate well on a team Can deliver solutions independently Love of learning
   In keeping with our beliefs and goals, no employee or applicant will face discrimination/harassment based on: race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, gender, marital domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, or veteran status. Above and beyond discrimination/harassment based on 'protected categories,' we also strive to prevent other, subtler forms of inappropriate behavior (e.g., stereotyping) from ever gaining a foothold in our office. Whether blatant or hidden, barriers to success have no place at OneSignal.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find commercial account executives for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any commercial account executives they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level commercial account executives with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your commercial account executive job on Zippia to find and attract quality commercial account executive candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as salesjobs, salesheads, allretailjobs.com, sales trax.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit commercial account executives, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new commercial account executive

   Once you've selected the best commercial account executive candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a commercial account executive?