Named account executive vs sales development representative

The differences between named account executives and sales development representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a named account executive has an average salary of $110,050, which is higher than the $51,504 average annual salary of a sales development representative.

The top three skills for a named account executive include customer service, business relationships and cloud. The most important skills for a sales development representative are SDR, lead generation, and customer service.

Named account executive vs sales development representative overview

	Named Account Executive	Sales Development Representative
Yearly salary	$110,050	$51,504
Hourly rate	$52.91	$24.76
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	156,204	199,588
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 83%	Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Average age	44	47
Years of experience	-	4

What does a named account executive do?

A named account executive is responsible for handling client accounts in an organization, ensuring that the project team provides timely and high-quality deliverables according to the clients' specifications and business requirements. Named account executives coordinate with the marketing and sales team to increase the public's brand awareness about the goods and services the company offers, attracting potential clients and business partners, and identify opportunities that would generate more resources for revenue and profits. A named account executive must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on reaching out to the clients for any adjustments on the project management procedures.

What does a sales development representative do?

A sales development representative qualifies leads at the sales funnel's initial stages. Sales development representatives need to conduct research for prospective clients and qualify the leads before handing them to the sales team. They develop sales strategies to attract buyers or solicit potential customers. They need to build relationships with their customers to determine their needs and qualify the viability of interests to drive sales. Also, they collaborate with the sales executives making certain that corporate targets and goals are met.

Named account executive vs sales development representative salary

Named account executives and sales development representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Named Account Executive	Sales Development Representative
Average salary	$110,050	$51,504
Salary range	Between $61,000 And $198,000	Between $34,000 And $77,000
Highest paying City	-	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	PitchBook Data
Best paying industry	-	Start-up

Differences between named account executive and sales development representative education

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

	Named Account Executive	Sales Development Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 83%	Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Named account executive vs sales development representative demographics

Here are the differences between named account executives' and sales development representatives' demographics:

	Named Account Executive	Sales Development Representative
Average age	44	47
Gender ratio	Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5%	Male, 63.1% Female, 36.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 5.5% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	6%

Differences between named account executive and sales development representative duties and responsibilities

Named account executive example responsibilities.

Manage new and existing accounts in healthcare industry.
Manage outsourcing contract, including infrastructure support, applications development, and consulting for client experiencing significant growth cycle.
Maintain customers and generate new business through prospecting (cold calls, telemarketing).
Utilize Seibel CRM to track sales and create reports.
Create marketing strategy goals to obtain future AE prospects.
Create marketing models that support the strategies of AE prospects.

Sales development representative example responsibilities.

Manage organization website and Facebook page; writing articles for websites and newsletters.
Develop social media strategies for Facebook, LinkedIn, and emerging social networks, generating leads.
Manage individual sales activities by developing highly effective, communications focuse relationship with multiple sales channels.
supply chain management and procurement software (SaaS).
Handle customer service inquiries, returns, and RMA exchanges.
Develop a strong knowledge of SaaS sales techniques and lead management/generation.

Named account executive vs sales development representative skills

Common named account executive skills

Customer Service, 21%
Business Relationships, 18%
Cloud, 17%
Sales Process, 12%
Business Development, 10%
Business Solutions, 10%

Common sales development representative skills

SDR, 11%
Lead Generation, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
Account Executives, 5%
Linkedin, 5%
Outbound Calls, 4%

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Named Account Executive
Named Account Executive vs Sales Development Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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