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The differences between major 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 major account manager and a sales manager. Additionally, a major account manager has an average salary of $98,287, which is higher than the $73,952 average annual salary of a sales manager.
The top three skills for a major account manager include digital marketing, customer service and cloud. The most important skills for a sales manager are product knowledge, customer satisfaction, and sales performance.
| Major Account Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $98,287 | $73,952 |
| Hourly rate | $47.25 | $35.55 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 164,210 | 119,066 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
Major account manager responsibilities include growing strong relationships with customers, liaising with chief business executives and stakeholders, as well as making sales reports. Also, they answer the client's questions and determine new business opportunities between current customers. They also act as a liaison with cross-functional internal teams, which include customer service and product development departments, to enhance the overall customer experience. Additionally, they negotiate contracts and ensure that agreements increase profits. The work may require periodic travel.
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.
Major account managers and sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Major Account Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Average salary | $98,287 | $73,952 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $161,000 | Between $42,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | Capgemini |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a major account manager and a sales manager in terms of educational background:
| Major Account Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | 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 major account managers' and sales managers' demographics:
| Major Account Manager | Sales Manager | |
| Average age | 46 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.0% Female, 29.0% | 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% |