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The differences between key account managers and sales managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a key account manager and a sales manager. Additionally, a key account manager has an average salary of $102,315, which is higher than the $73,952 average annual salary of a sales manager.
The top three skills for a key account manager include account management, customer service and patients. The most important skills for a sales manager are product knowledge, customer satisfaction, and sales performance.
| Key Account Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $102,315 | $73,952 |
| Hourly rate | $49.19 | $35.55 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 160,992 | 119,066 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
A key account manager is primarily in charge of handling key clients that produce the most profit for a company or business, ensuring that they remain with them. They are mainly responsible for understanding their clients' needs and long-term goals, ensuring that the key clients get to receive all the necessary services and products in time, and promptly address and resolve any issues and concerns. Furthermore, a key account manager may prepare reports and proposals to team members, all while adhering to the company's policies and standards.
Sales managers are responsible for leading the organization's sales team. They oversee the progress and performance of the whole team, set area assignments to team members, and set weekly or monthly quotas. Sales managers oversee training team members during onboarding and providing further coaching to help them achieve their goals. They manage the challenges that team members may meet and help mitigate any problems that come along the way. Sales managers also set the strategic direction of the sales team and follow through by ensuring that the team's activities are in line with the goals.
Key account managers and sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Key Account Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Average salary | $102,315 | $73,952 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $138,000 | Between $42,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Maine | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Quidel | Capgemini |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | - |
There are a few differences between a key account manager and a sales manager in terms of educational background:
| Key Account Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between key account managers' and sales managers' demographics:
| Key Account Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.1% Female, 31.9% | Male, 68.7% Female, 31.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 | 7% | 7% |