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The differences between national account specialists and customer relations specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a national account specialist, becoming a customer relations specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a national account specialist has an average salary of $44,370, which is higher than the $37,827 average annual salary of a customer relations specialist.
The top three skills for a national account specialist include national accounts, business development and customer expectations. The most important skills for a customer relations specialist are customer relations, data entry, and work ethic.
| National Account Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $44,370 | $37,827 |
| Hourly rate | $21.33 | $18.19 |
| Growth rate | 4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 102,414 | 215,862 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 47 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
A national account specialist is an individual whose specialty is reaching out to potential customers nationally, as well as serving the existing customers and closing sales. Responsibilities of this position include maintaining good relationships with customers, analyzing sales statistics, projecting expected sales, and preparing budgets. They sometimes work only on specific accounts and customers. A national account specialist must work with other departments to define sales strategies and to increase the company's revenue.
A customer relations specialist is responsible for providing high-quality services for customers by responding to their inquiries and concerns and resolving complaints about the company's goods and services. Customer relations specialists update customer accounts on the database, recording their transactions accurately, and posting their payments timely. They may also sell new products and services to the clients, demonstrating features and usability, processing orders, and confirming delivery details. A customer relations specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills to ensure customer satisfaction and maintain healthy business relationships with the customers.
National account specialists and customer relations specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| National Account Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Average salary | $44,370 | $37,827 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $72,000 | Between $27,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Columbia, MD |
| Highest paying state | - | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | - | Deloitte |
| Best paying industry | - | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a national account specialist and a customer relations specialist in terms of educational background:
| National Account Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | - |
Here are the differences between national account specialists' and customer relations specialists' demographics:
| National Account Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.5% Female, 58.5% | Male, 31.8% Female, 68.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 7.5% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 7% |