How to hire an inside sales account executive

How to hire an inside sales account executive, step by step

Here's a step-by-step inside sales 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 an inside sales account executive job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new inside sales account executive
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an inside sales account executive do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your inside sales account executive job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find an inside sales account executive for hire on a part-time basis or as a 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 inside sales 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.

   Here's a comparison of inside sales account executive salaries for various roles:

   Type of Inside Sales Account Executive	Description	Hourly rate
   Inside Sales 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.	$17-50
   Sales Agent	A sales representative is responsible for offering goods and services to potential and existing clients. Sales representatives must display a strong knowledge of the company's products to assist customers with their inquiries and concerns... Show more	$10-45
   Outside Sales	An outside sales representative is responsible for generating the company's sales and revenues by offering goods and services to existing and potential clients, responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns about the products, and researching on possible leads. Outside sales representatives monitor the current industry trends to identify new business opportunities that would help the business adjust to market changes to achieve profitability goals... Show more	$26-50

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Strong Work Ethic
   • Customer Service
   • CRM
   • Inbound Calls
   • Salesforce
   • Outbound Calls
   • Customer Relationships
   • Sales Process
   • Business Development
   • Sales
   • Product Knowledge
   • Cloud
   • Account Management
   • Business Sales

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage CRM and POS software as well as proficient in various product software.
   • Operate Salesforce and manage opportunities accordingly.
   • Ensure all target prospect/client contacts and engagement opportunities are record in the ZOHO CRM.
   • Execute daily customer meetings via phone, WebEx and coordinate onsite meetings with outside counterpart.
   • Qualify new business opportunities and set WebEx meetings for review and demonstration of products and services.
   • Facilitate broker training utilizing PowerPoint.

   More inside sales account executive duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your inside sales account executive job description helps attract top candidates to the position. An inside sales account executive salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for an inside sales account executive in Georgia may be lower than in California, and an entry-level inside sales account executive usually earns less than a senior-level inside sales account executive. Additionally, an inside sales account executive with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average inside sales account executive salary

   $63,049yearly

   $30.31 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level inside sales account executive salary

   $37,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 30, 2026

   Average inside sales account executive salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$84,068	$40
   2	New York	$74,204	$36
   3	Massachusetts	$73,357	$35
   4	Washington	$73,133	$35
   5	New Jersey	$71,915	$35
   6	Wisconsin	$71,727	$34
   7	North Dakota	$69,904	$34
   8	Oregon	$68,103	$33
   9	Texas	$66,663	$32
   10	Nevada	$65,743	$32
   11	Missouri	$63,277	$30
   12	Ohio	$62,435	$30
   13	Arizona	$61,710	$30
   14	District of Columbia	$60,748	$29
   15	Colorado	$58,878	$28
   16	Utah	$58,518	$28
   17	Illinois	$57,771	$28
   18	Kansas	$56,800	$27
   19	Michigan	$55,181	$27
   20	Alabama	$52,557	$25

   Average inside sales account executive salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Google	$131,807	$63.37	252
   2	Apple	$129,565	$62.29	16
   3	VMware	$124,703	$59.95
   4	Tableau	$99,431	$47.80
   5	AssetMark	$95,663	$45.99
   6	Lenovo	$91,772	$44.12	13
   7	Pure Storage	$91,308	$43.90	22
   8	Okta	$89,245	$42.91	53
   9	SimilarWeb	$88,574	$42.58	4
   10	AIG	$83,623	$40.20	6
   11	PTC	$82,574	$39.70	10
   12	Instructure	$81,586	$39.22
   13	Salesforce	$77,920	$37.46	191
   14	NetDocuments	$76,177	$36.62	6
   15	Teamlogicit	$74,890	$36.00	5
   16	Ascentis	$73,998	$35.58
   17	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt	$73,178	$35.18
   18	Beacon Hill Staffing Group	$70,673	$33.98
   19	Torch Technologies	$70,537	$33.91
   20	Viant Technology	$70,330	$33.81	6

4. Writing an inside sales account executive job description

   A good inside sales account executive job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of an inside sales account executive job description:

   Inside sales account executive job description example

   • Call on dealers and key dealer groups to present numerous CARFAX products.
   • Develop your assigned territory of dealerships by making warm calls.
   • Make 65-70 outbound calls per day in assigned territory

   To be considered for this role, you will need:

   • Business to Business (B2B) selling experience- preferably via phone
   • The ability to connect with and influence others
   • The ability to articulate the value proposition of the CARFAX suite of products
   • Strong negotiation/closing skills
   • To be driven, motivated, and a passion for selling!
   • A proven track record of success in other sales or sales-like positions

   About CARFAX
   
   CARFAX, part of S&P Global Mobility, helps millions of people every day confidently shop, buy, service and sell used cars with innovative solutions powered by CARFAX vehicle history information. The expert in vehicle history since 1984, CARFAX provides exclusive services like CARFAX Used Car Listings, CARFAX Car Care, CARFAX History-Based Value and the flagship CARFAX Vehicle History Report™ to consumers and the automotive industry. CARFAX owns the world's largest vehicle history database and is nationally recognized as a top workplace by The Washington Post and Glassdoor.com. Shop, Buy, Service, Sell - Show me the CARFAX™. S&P Global Mobility is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI). S&P Global is the world's foremost provider of credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity and automotive markets.

   CARFAX is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. It is the policy of CARFAX to provide equal employment opportunity to all persons regardless of race, color, sex, pregnancy, religion, national origin, age, ancestry, citizenship status, veteran status, military status, disability or handicap, sexual orientation, genetic information or any other status protected by federal, state or local law. In addition, CARFAX will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. We maintain a drug-free workplace. We are a participant in E-Verify.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find inside sales 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 inside sales account executives they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level inside sales 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 inside sales account executive job on Zippia to find and recruit inside sales account executive candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting inside sales account executives requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   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 inside sales account executive

   Once you've decided on a perfect inside sales account executive candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new inside sales account executive first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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 an inside sales account executive?