Key account representative vs sales representative

The differences between key account representatives and sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a key account representative and a sales representative. Additionally, a sales representative has an average salary of $56,591, 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 a sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.

Key account representative vs sales representative overview

	Key Account Representative	Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$48,841	$56,591
Hourly rate	$23.48	$27.21
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	236,207	205,456
Job satisfaction	-	4.33
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

What does a key account representative do?

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.

What does a sales representative do?

Sales representatives primarily sell the company's products and services to businesses or organizations. They should be adept at closing out sales, negotiating, and providing customer service. They should be knowledgeable about the products or services of the manufacturer or producer they represent. They must also have strong analytical skills that would help them in coming up with cost-benefit analysis in assessing the current roster of clients and even prospective ones. Sales representatives should also be able to maintain good working relationships with all involved stakeholders, especially clients.

Key account representative vs sales representative salary

Key account representatives and sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Key Account Representative	Sales Representative
Average salary	$48,841	$56,591
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $69,000	Between $33,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	-	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Google
Best paying industry	-	Pharmaceutical

Differences between key account representative and sales representative education

There are a few differences between a key account representative and a sales representative in terms of educational background:

	Key Account Representative	Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Key account representative vs sales representative demographics

Here are the differences between key account representatives' and sales representatives' demographics:

	Key Account Representative	Sales Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 52.3% Female, 47.7%	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%
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, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between key account representative and sales representative duties and responsibilities

Key account representative example responsibilities.

Evaluate monthly budgets and territory saturation levels quarterly while managing lease renewals through needs analysis and ROI presentations
Prepare catalogs, PowerPoint presentations, and cost spreadsheets in accordance with client product requests and within budgetary parameters.
Develop concepts and procedures, analyze and resolve general ledger interfaces with computerize payroll, time tracking and project accounting system.
Install and maintain software, hardware and networking and troubleshoot computer systems for problems ranging from software incompatibilities to electrical problems.

Sales representative example responsibilities.

Manage prospective leads and existing accounts through a CRM platform to accurately forecast revenue and develop long-term business partnerships.
Manage and create all content distribute via various social media outlets: Facebook, twitter, feedback blogs, etc.
Search for procurement contracts, attend trade shows, design flyers, postcards, etc.
Utilize POS sales software to maintain monetary sales information produce reports for organizational review.
Develop and maintain business relationships with businesses and policyholders using establish methods such as customer relationship management CRM.
Handle administrative and sales duties as Jr.

Key account representative vs sales representative skills

Common key account representative skills

Business Development, 15%
Account Management, 12%
Product Knowledge, 12%
Post Sales, 10%
Customer Complaints, 7%
CRM, 5%

Common sales representative skills

Sales Process, 9%
Product Knowledge, 9%
Customer Service, 7%
CRM, 6%
Business Development, 6%
Sales REP, 5%

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Key Account Representative
Key Account Representative vs Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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