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The differences between key account representatives and account executives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an account executive has an average salary of $69,618, which is higher than the $48,841 average annual salary of a key account representative.
The top three skills for a key account representative include business development, account management and product knowledge. The most important skills for an account executive are customer service, CRM, and healthcare.
| Key Account Representative | Account Executive | |
| Yearly salary | $48,841 | $69,618 |
| Hourly rate | $23.48 | $33.47 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 236,207 | 205,561 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
A key account representative identifies opportunities for increasing sales and defines outreach strategies. Key account representatives find, develop, and maintain customer accounts. The account representatives serve as the main point of contact between an organization and its clients. They make regular communication with the clients, address their concerns, and track their transactions and payments. Part of their job is to present expanded and new opportunities to the clients. They have to be adaptable and have empathy in performing their job. Among the skills they need to develop include people or communication skills, relationship building, and time management.
An account executive is responsible for supporting existing clients, closing client deals, and developing sales strategies to increase the company's sales and satisfaction. An account executive must be competitive enough to keep up with the constant changes in the sales industry, including the high demands of digital marketing, a different approach to product advertising, effective negotiation, and presentation skills. An account executive also requires excellent communication skills for the successful acquisition of client accounts and immediately resolve possible complaints as they arise.
Key account representatives and account executives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Key Account Representative | Account Executive | |
| Average salary | $48,841 | $69,618 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $69,000 | Between $44,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Portland, OR |
| Highest paying state | - | Oregon |
| Best paying company | - | Hitachi Vantara |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a key account representative and an account executive in terms of educational background:
| Key Account Representative | Account Executive | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between key account representatives' and account executives' demographics:
| Key Account Representative | Account Executive | |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.3% Female, 47.7% | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 5.6% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 5% |