Outside account executive vs sales/account representative

The differences between outside account executives and sales/account representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an outside account executive has an average salary of $81,372, which is higher than the $56,954 average annual salary of a sales/account representative.

The top three skills for an outside account executive include marketing campaigns, salesforce and sales presentations. The most important skills for a sales/account representative are customer service, CRM, and sales process.

Outside account executive vs sales/account representative overview

	Outside Account Executive	Sales/Account Representative
Yearly salary	$81,372	$56,954
Hourly rate	$39.12	$27.38
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	185,399	257,122
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age	44	47
Years of experience	-	4

What does an outside account executive do?

An outside account executive is in charge of developing strategies to secure sales in the field, aiming to reach sales targets and client satisfaction. To carry out their duties, they must research client and business opportunities, reach out to clients through face to face interactions, offer products and services, explain product specifications, and process payments. They may also perform product demonstrations, arrange payment plans, and negotiate contracts, building positive relationships with clients along the way. Moreover, an outside account executive must produce regular sales and account reports, updating managers as required.

What does a sales/account representative do?

A sales account representative is responsible for managing and responding promptly to customer complaints and queries of clients. They focus on customer concerns and contact prospects. They work on upselling or cross-selling products and services, collaborating with account executives, and prepare reports to upper management. This job requires you to be a goal-driven person, energetic, and have excellent communication skills. Moreover, this is a challenging job; at times, it requires being extra polite and calm in handling customer complaints and other related situations.

Outside account executive vs sales/account representative salary

Outside account executives and sales/account representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Outside Account Executive	Sales/Account Representative
Average salary	$81,372	$56,954
Salary range	Between $51,000 And $127,000	Between $39,000 And $81,000
Highest paying City	-	Olympia, WA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Smartsheet
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between outside account executive and sales/account representative education

There are a few differences between an outside account executive and a sales/account representative in terms of educational background:

	Outside Account Executive	Sales/Account Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Outside account executive vs sales/account representative demographics

Here are the differences between outside account executives' and sales/account representatives' demographics:

	Outside Account Executive	Sales/Account Representative
Average age	44	47
Gender ratio	Male, 61.7% Female, 38.3%	Male, 57.8% Female, 42.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 5.7% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	6%

Differences between outside account executive and sales/account representative duties and responsibilities

Outside account executive example responsibilities.

Manage all aspects of tactical implementations, including creative and technical development, measurement, reporting and ROI analysis.
Account analysis and preparation, assessing customer needs, and preparation of professional sales recommendations tailor to each customer s business.
Supervise and coordinate the daily activities of manufacturers representatives engage in promoting and selling roofing products.

Sales/account representative example responsibilities.

Generate leads and evangelize product to physicians in orthopedics, hematology, internal medicine, surgery, critical care and cardiology.
Assist external accounts in error resolution so that all EDI transactions process without manual intervention or delay.
Work with senior management to implement a sales program for new P3T software enhancement and participate in CRM application development team.
Collaborate with sales representatives to ensure new account set-up, establish specifications, and assist with EDI account maintenance and invoicing.
Create PowerPoint presentations and literature utilize and present in sales calls.
Core competencies: -Administrative/computer skills: maintain CRM systems to successfully identify potential customers.

Outside account executive vs sales/account representative skills

Common outside account executive skills

Marketing Campaigns, 24%
Salesforce, 22%
Sales Presentations, 19%
Client Relationships, 17%
Cold Calls, 4%
SEO, 3%

Common sales/account representative skills

Customer Service, 13%
CRM, 8%
Sales Process, 6%
Product Knowledge, 5%
Sales Strategies, 5%
Sales Techniques, 4%

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Outside Account Executive
Outside Account Executive vs Sales/Account Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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