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What is a key account manager/sales manager and how to become one
A key account manager or sales manager nurtures and sustains solid relationships with major clients or key clients that generate the most income for a particular organization or company. Primarily as a key account manager or sales manager, you are in charge and are mainly responsible for understanding the needs and long-term goals of your clients. You are to ensure that key clients receive every necessary service or product in time. Also, you may be required to prepare proposals and report to team members without going against the organization's standards and policies. In addition, you are to utilize the company's resources to develop and carry out strategic solutions to achieve the long-term goals of key clients. It is also important that you expand relationships and bring in new clients.
Educationally, you are required to hold at least a bachelor's degree in business administration, marketing finance, or other relevant fields. Some employers, however, prefer candidates with master's degrees and sometimes proven experience in key account management. As a key account manager or sales manager, you will earn an average salary of $97,902 per year.
What general advice would you give to a key account manager/sales manager?
Bill Thorne
Executive Director of the NRF Foundation and Senior Vice President of Communication and Public Affairs of NRF, National Retail Federation
Avg. Salary $79,976
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 5%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.24%
Asian 4.07%
Black or African American 3.24%
Hispanic or Latino 9.82%
Unknown 4.41%
White 78.23%
Genderfemale 23.37%
male 76.63%
Age - 46American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 46Stress level is manageable
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is poor
6.4 - fair
Key account manager/sales manager career paths
Key steps to become a key account manager/sales manager
Explore key account manager/sales manager education requirements
Start to develop specific key account manager/sales manager skills
Skills Percentages Territory Sales 7.98% Customer Satisfaction 7.31% Product Line 6.46% Business Development 6.18% Account Management 5.73% Complete relevant key account manager/sales manager training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New key account manager/sales managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a key account manager/sales manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real key account manager/sales manager resumes.Research key account manager/sales manager duties and responsibilities
- Manage services including contract logistics, distribution, and inbound logistics and shipping brokerage along with various additional transportation solutions.
- Recruit the most qualify healthcare administrative and revenue cycle professionals; interview and identify temporary and temporary-to-hire opportunities for candidates.
- Author and develop innovative marketing campaigns to promote product visibility, designing personal brochures and point-of-sale [POS] collateral.
- Recommend plan-o-gram changes and promotional opportunities base on syndicate data reports and customer POS.
Prepare your key account manager/sales manager resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your key account manager/sales manager resume.
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Choose from 10+ customizable key account manager/sales manager resume templates
Build a professional key account manager/sales manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your key account manager/sales manager resume.
Apply for key account manager/sales manager jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a key account manager/sales manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first key account manager/sales manager job
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Average key account manager/sales manager salary
The average key account manager/sales manager salary in the United States is $79,976 per year or $38 per hour. Key account manager/sales manager salaries range between $50,000 and $127,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do key account manager/sales managers rate their job?
Key account manager/sales manager reviews
Motivating people and helping to create success in each person's day. Honor God serve people in rich people's lives, pursue excellence in service.
Not enough time in each day to get everything accomplished.
Semi-flexible work hours. You have a sales goal and customers to call on in order to achieve said goal, so you have some flexibility of your schedule.
The amount of travel required takes you away from home frequently. If you have a family, being away starts taking a toll on them and work/life balance suffers.
I like everything
Coming in contact with people, motivating staff, making the numbers, profitability for everyone
Updated January 8, 2025
