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.

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Key Account Manager Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real key account manager resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • Lead the KAM division in market share expansion and activation for SWS portfolio.
  • Develop and manage GPO partnerships and new relationships in preparation of new product launch.
  • Utilize IRI reporting (CPGN) to deliver key category insights to customer base in order to effectively manage category decisions.
  • Manage company CRM implementation leading to increase sales profitability and customer satisfaction.
  • Provide managed care expertise to industry leading system developers to create web-base solutions for healthcare revenue cycle.
  • Manage services including contract logistics, distribution, and inbound logistics and shipping brokerage along with various additional transportation solutions.
  • Attend trade shows, update account information in SALESFORCE, processes orders and address customer inquiries.
  • Select as KAM to train all new hires on the profit management tool.
  • Build and maintain relationships with buyers, analysts, assistant buyers as well as logistics team.
  • Develop all new marketing collateral, packages, and presentations (PowerPoint) for the company.
  • Monitor sales reports and plan daily sales activities around goals, objectives & shortcomings for assign distributor using CRM.
  • Produce new PowerPoint presentations for training sales representatives.
  • Coordinate and facilitate wine tasting events and special promotions.
  • Conduct health camps for patients on spreading awareness relate to osteoporosis
  • Provide and present market analysis, analyzing RFP and identify new potential business opportunity to maximize revenue.

Key Account Manager Job Description

When it comes to understanding what a key account manager does, you may be wondering, "should I become a key account manager?" The data included in this section may help you decide. Compared to other jobs, key account managers have a growth rate described as "as fast as average" at 5% between the years 2018 - 2028, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, the number of key account manager opportunities that are predicted to open up by 2028 is 20,600.

A key account manager annual salary averages $102,315, which breaks down to $49.19 an hour. However, key account managers can earn anywhere from upwards of $75,000 to $138,000 a year. This means that the top-earning key account managers make $67,000 more than the lowest-earning ones.

Once you've become a key account manager, you may be curious about what other opportunities are out there. Careers aren't one size fits all. For that reason, we discovered some other jobs that you may find appealing. Some jobs you might find interesting include a manager, account executive, product manager/sales, outside sales manager, and territory manager.

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Key Account Manager Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 10% of Key Account Managers are proficient in Account Management, Customer Service, and Patients. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Customer-service skills.

We break down the percentage of Key Account Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Account Management, 10%

    Core Strengths Customer Service/Satisfaction Account Management Communications Sales/Advertising Problem-Solving Client Relations

  • Customer Service, 7%

    Manage Customer Service/Technical Support department to provide timely and excellent service and support to client base for financial and clinical software.

  • Patients, 6%

    Prepare and coordinate meetings for conventions and medic groups based on specific parameters and specifications for diabetic patients.

  • CRM, 6%

    Managed company CRM implementation leading to increased sales profitability and customer satisfaction.

  • Customer Relationships, 5%

    Excelled at identifying and capturing new market opportunities, restructuring sales territories, improving retail programs, building customer relationships.

  • Excellent Interpersonal, 5%

    Team Player, with excellent interpersonal communication skills.

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Some of the skills we found on key account manager resumes included "account management," "customer service," and "patients." We have detailed the most important key account manager responsibilities below.

  • The most important skills for a key account manager to have in this position are analytical skills. In this excerpt that we gathered from a key account manager resume, you'll understand why: "sales managers must collect and interpret complex data to target the most promising geographic areas and demographic groups, and determine the most effective sales strategies." According to resumes we found, analytical skills can be used by a key account manager in order to "analyzed product and account activities, defined market trends, and monitored sales objectives using various tools, including ms access. "
  • Another commonly found skill for being able to perform key account manager duties is the following: communication skills. According to a key account manager resume, "sales managers need to work with colleagues and customers, so they must be able to communicate clearly." Check out this example of how key account managers use communication skills: "manage direct communication with the various business areas of falabella, specially with customer intelligence crm. "
  • Customer-service skills is also an important skill for key account managers to have. This example of how key account managers use this skill comes from a key account manager resume, "when helping to make a sale, sales managers must listen and respond to the customer’s needs." Read this excerpt from a resume to understand how vital it is to their everyday roles and responsibilities, "formulate and execute an account plan to meet ab sales objectives and customer requirements for specific accounts. "
  • A key account manager responsibilities sometimes require "leadership skills." The responsibilities that rely on this skills are shown by this resume excerpt: "sales managers must be able to evaluate how their sales staff performs and must develop strategies for meeting sales goals." This resume example shows how this skill is used by key account managers: "conducted customer business reviews regularly in which i delivered presentations to key leadership. "
  • See the full list of key account manager skills.

    We've found that 78.2% of key account managers have earned a bachelor's degree. Furthermore, 10.0% earned their master's degrees before becoming a key account manager. While it's true that most key account managers have a college degree, it's generally possible to become one with only a high school degree. In fact, one out of every nine key account managers did not spend the extra money to attend college.

    The key account managers who went onto college to earn a more in-depth education generally studied business and marketing, while a small population of key account managers studied communication and management.

    Once you're ready to become a key account manager, you should explore the companies that typically hire key account managers. According to key account manager resumes that we searched through, key account managers are hired the most by Construction Specialties, 3M Company, and Kuehne+Nagel. Currently, Construction Specialties has 173 key account manager job openings, while there are 59 at 3M Company and 38 at Kuehne+Nagel.

    But if you're interested in companies where you might earn a high salary, key account managers tend to earn the biggest salaries at Quidel, Legalmatch.com, and Sumo Logic. Take Quidel for example. The median key account manager salary is $140,153. At Legalmatch.com, key account managers earn an average of $136,369, while the average at Sumo Logic is $134,149. You should take into consideration how difficult it might be to secure a job with one of these companies.

    View more details on key account manager salaries across the United States.

    Some other companies you might be interested in as a key account manager include AT&T;, Sprint, and The Coca-Cola Company. These three companies were found to hire the most key account managers from the top 100 U.S. educational institutions.

    The industries that key account managers fulfill the most roles in are the pharmaceutical and manufacturing industries. But the highest key account manager annual salary is in the pharmaceutical industry, averaging $102,173. In the manufacturing industry they make $98,268 and average about $91,347 in the professional industry. In conclusion, key account managers who work in the pharmaceutical industry earn a 11.2% higher salary than key account managers in the transportation industry.

    The three companies that hire the most prestigious key account managers are:

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    What Manager, Account Executives Do

    An account executive manager is responsible for handling client accounts and leading the account management procedures to promote the client's brand image in the market and maintain the highest satisfaction. Account executive managers work with the marketing and sales team to identify sales and promotional strategies that would increase revenues and product profits. They also review the current market trends to develop business opportunities according to client needs and public demands. An account executive manager coordinates with the clients for regular updates and informs them of business plan adjustments as needed.

    We looked at the average key account manager annual salary and compared it with the average of a manager, account executive. Generally speaking, managers, account executive receive $35,040 lower pay than key account managers per year.

    While their salaries may differ, one common ground between key account managers and managers, account executive are a few of the skills required in each craft. In both careers, employees bring forth skills like account management, customer service, and business development.

    There are some key differences in responsibilities as well. For example, a key account manager responsibilities require skills like "patients," "crm," "customer relationships," and "excellent interpersonal." Meanwhile a typical manager, account executive has skills in areas such as "sales process," "virtualization," "post sales," and "account executives." This difference in skills reveals how truly different these two careers really are.

    Managers, account executive tend to make the most money in the technology industry by averaging a salary of $87,422. In contrast, key account managers make the biggest average salary of $102,173 in the pharmaceutical industry.

    On average, managers, account executive reach similar levels of education than key account managers. Managers, account executive are 2.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

    What Are The Duties Of a Product Manager/Sales?

    A sales product manager is responsible for monitoring the sales performance of a specific product and ensuring that the marketing strategies adhere to market standards and client requirements. Sales product managers work closely with the marketing and public relations team to enhance the product's brand image on various market platforms to reach the target audience. They also conduct data and statistical analysis to identify business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources and increase the company's profitability.

    Next up, we have the product manager/sales profession to look over. This career brings along a higher average salary when compared to a key account manager annual salary. In fact, product managers/sales salary difference is $6,177 higher than the salary of key account managers per year.

    Not everything about these jobs is different. Take their skills, for example. Key account managers and product managers/sales both include similar skills like "account management," "customer service," and "crm" on their resumes.

    In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences that are worth noting. For example, key account manager responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "patients," "customer relationships," "excellent interpersonal," and "kam." Meanwhile, a product manager/sales might be skilled in areas such as "product sales," "product management," "cycle management," and "customer support." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

    Product managers/sales may earn a higher salary than key account managers, but product managers/sales earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $108,541. On the other side of things, key account managers receive higher paychecks in the pharmaceutical industry where they earn an average of $102,173.

    When it comes to the differences in education between the two professions, product managers/sales tend to reach similar levels of education than key account managers. In fact, they're 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    How an Outside Sales Manager Compares

    An outside sales manager is responsible for monitoring the sales staff performance in selling goods and services to existing and potential clients and ensuring that the team meets sales objectives. Outside sales managers set reasonable sales targets and establish techniques to maximize the staff's efficiency and productivity. They regularly connect with the clients to determine their needs and make any adjustments to business plans as needed. An outside sales manager should have excellent knowledge of the current market trends to identify business opportunities that would generate more revenues and resources.

    The third profession we take a look at is outside sales manager. On an average scale, these workers bring in lower salaries than key account managers. In fact, they make a $17,907 lower salary per year.

    Using key account managers and outside sales managers resumes, we found that both professions have similar skills such as "account management," "customer service," and "crm," but the other skills required are very different.

    As mentioned, these two careers differ between other skills that are required for performing the work exceedingly well. For example, gathering from key account managers resumes, they are more likely to have skills like "patients," "customer relationships," "excellent interpersonal," and "kam." But a outside sales manager might have skills like "sales process," "increase sales," "general contractors," and "cold calls."

    Additionally, outside sales managers earn a higher salary in the finance industry compared to other industries. In this industry, they receive an average salary of $78,067. Additionally, key account managers earn an average salary of $102,173 in the pharmaceutical industry.

    Outside sales managers typically study at lower levels compared with key account managers. For example, they're 5.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    Description Of a Territory Manager

    A territory manager is responsible for monitoring the sales operations of the different sales team of an organization. One of the most crucial duties of a territory manager is to encourage the sales team to provide the best results for increasing the company's profitability. Territory managers are conducting sales training, improving marketing strategies and approach, reviewing sales pitches, analyzing current market trends, and reaching sales goals. Territory managers must display exceptional leadership and customer service skills to manage customers' needs and identify more business opportunities.

    The fourth career we look at typically earns lower pay than key account managers. On average, territory managers earn a difference of $28,587 lower per year.

    While their salaries may vary, key account managers and territory managers both use similar skills to perform their jobs. Resumes from both professions include skills like "account management," "customer service," and "patients. "

    While some skills are shared by these professions, there are some differences to note. "customer relationships," "kam," "project management," and "distributors" are skills that have shown up on key account managers resumes. Additionally, territory manager uses skills like territory sales, sales process, sales quota, and product sales on their resumes.

    Now, let's take a closer look at the financials in each career. The pharmaceutical industry tends to pay more for territory managers with an average of $100,016. While the highest key account manager annual salary comes from the pharmaceutical industry.

    In general, territory managers reach similar levels of education when compared to key account managers resumes. Territory managers are 3.9% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

    What a Key Account Manager Does FAQs

    What Is The Difference Between A Key Account Manager And An Account Manager?

    The difference between a key account manager and an account manager is the type of accounts they oversee. Typically, key account managers oversee the largest customers in a company, whereas account managers are responsible for looking after the rest of the customers.

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