How to hire a national account manager

How to hire a national account manager, step by step

Here's a step-by-step national account manager hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a national account manager job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new national account manager
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a national account manager do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The national account manager hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

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   Hiring the perfect national account manager also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of national account managers and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of National Account Manager	Description	Hourly rate
   National Account Manager	Sales managers direct organizations' sales teams. They set sales goals, analyze data, and develop training programs for organizations’ sales representatives.	$35-61
   Sales Manager	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... Show more	$20-62
   Business Development Account Manager	A business development account manager is in charge of developing strategies to identify new business and client opportunities, ensuring sales growth and customer satisfaction. They typically perform research and analysis to gather data, coordinate with analysts and experts, produce sales and progress reports, and maintain records of all transactions... Show more	$27-81

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Account Management
   • Customer Service
   • National Accounts
   • Healthcare
   • CRM
   • Customer Relationships
   • Business Development
   • Sales Growth
   • Product Development
   • Relationship Building
   • Trade Shows
   • Business Relationships
   • Product Line
   • Business Reviews

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Achieve ROI optimization for key retailers nationwide; employ consultative sales methodology.
   • Managed/Analyze individual account POS numbers to assist in forecasting, manage inventory and overall category management.
   • Manage OEM relationship from a proactive consultative role proposing strategy and tactics for client base on research data and marketing/engagement metrics.
   • Improve sales process documentation by utilizing CRM to better communicate with field sales staff in idealizing customer interactions.
   • Close multi-million dollar deals with DOD agencies.
   • Provide enterprise class products including servers, storage, networking, virtualization, and, datacenter solutions.

   More national account manager duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your national account manager job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A national account manager salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, national account managers' average salary in alabama is 38% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level national account managers earn 43% less than senior-level national account managers.
   • Certifications. A national account manager with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a national account manager's salary.

   Average national account manager salary

   $96,948yearly

   $46.61 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level national account manager salary

   $73,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 23, 2025

   Average national account manager salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$131,021	$63
   2	Washington	$115,706	$56
   3	New Jersey	$115,084	$55
   4	Virginia	$110,673	$53
   5	Maine	$110,126	$53
   6	Massachusetts	$109,434	$53
   7	Oregon	$107,148	$52
   8	Illinois	$106,834	$51
   9	District of Columbia	$103,492	$50
   10	Connecticut	$103,137	$50
   11	South Carolina	$101,897	$49
   12	New York	$99,503	$48
   13	West Virginia	$97,937	$47
   14	Pennsylvania	$97,199	$47
   15	Indiana	$94,408	$45
   16	Minnesota	$93,504	$45
   17	Texas	$92,900	$45
   18	Arkansas	$89,791	$43
   19	Florida	$86,072	$41
   20	Arizona	$84,859	$41

   Average national account manager salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Amazon	$129,795	$62.40	372
   2	Constellation Brands	$128,854	$61.95	2
   3	ecobee	$125,719	$60.44
   4	Logitech	$125,331	$60.26	96
   5	Domino Foods	$124,905	$60.05
   6	Ghirardelli Chocolate	$123,606	$59.43	1
   7	Dermalogica	$122,571	$58.93	3
   8	Amy's Kitchen	$121,701	$58.51
   9	Altra Industrial Motion	$119,708	$57.55
   10	Golden State Foods	$116,288	$55.91	2
   11	JELD-WEN	$115,606	$55.58
   12	Smithfield Foods	$115,073	$55.32	12
   13	Dell	$114,745	$55.17	7
   14	Toll Brothers	$114,703	$55.15	7
   15	The Clorox Company	$113,620	$54.63	6
   16	Mattel	$112,605	$54.14
   17	Ball	$112,467	$54.07	4
   18	Abbott	$112,376	$54.03	203
   19	Stryker	$112,099	$53.89	113
   20	Baxter International	$111,511	$53.61	20

4. Writing a national account manager job description

   A national account manager job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a national account manager job description:

   National account manager job description example

   THE COMPANY: Since 1980, Stevens Transport has remained the primary choice of the Fortune 500 for delivery of perishable items and is the largest family-owned and operated climate controlled freight company in Texas. Family is a top priority at Stevens and those values are integrated into everything we do, every day. Our award-winning service and reputation paired with state-of-the-art equipment has made us the pioneer of the industry.
   
   Stevens Transport Corporate offices as well as it's many departments and family of companies, reside on a massive 75-acre campus just East of Dallas. As a debt free, multimodal logistics conglomerate, Stevens Transport injects unmatched integrity into a corporate business model that reflects a track record of consistent growth and success. As “America's Trucking Family” and one of the nation's premier employers, we understand that our biggest “assets” are our people that support the continuous growth.
   
   If you are looking to continue with a rewarding career in Transportation & Logistics, come join the over 750 corporate family members with an exciting opportunity waiting for you!!
   
   THE ROLE: The National Logistics Account Manager is responsible for ensuring absolute truckload coverage of customer-awarded freight while also securing additional lanes of opportunity. This includes close oversight of all internal activities that impact service obligations (carrier performance, last minute customer requests, resolution of delayed pickup/delivery, billing, etc.).
   
   Because this position is responsible for the growth and retention of dedicated opportunities, all direct and extended functions of this role are critical to maintaining a competitive edge and preserving the overall integrity of company services.
   
   QUALIFICATIONS:Ability to service multi-million dollar accounts and support new and existing sales opportunities and markets Ability to perform in a deadline-driven environment with rapidly changing priorities Extremely organized and communicative Ability to handle high volumes of inbound and outbound email
   
   ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:Communicating with assigned customer base as the single point of contact Working with other internal departments to balance capacity and freight Soliciting additional freight opportunities that eliminate empty miles when necessary Researching and attempting to remedy service issues on a daily basis Tracking and tracing shipments and providing superior service record with on-time performance for 95% or better Relaying excess load availability to Brokerage and Rail divisions Reviewing EDI data for accuracy before releasing verifications to the customer
   
   REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:3+ years of experience in business development, sales, or transportation operations
   
   HIGHLY BENEFICIAL QUALIFICATIONS:Intermediate proficiency in Microsoft Excel functions is required; some familiarity with AS/400 operating system is ideal
   
   Medical, Vision, Dental, Supplemental, and Life Insurances available + 401(k) retirement plan and quarterly match.
   #LI-MA2

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find national account managers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any national account managers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level national account managers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your national account manager job on Zippia to find and recruit national account manager candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting national account managers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new national account manager

   Once you've decided on a perfect national account manager candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a national account manager?