Outside account executive vs sales development representative

The differences between outside account executives and sales development 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 $51,504 average annual salary of a sales development representative.

The top three skills for an outside account executive include marketing campaigns, salesforce and sales presentations. The most important skills for a sales development representative are SDR, lead generation, and customer service.

Outside account executive vs sales development representative overview

	Outside Account Executive	Sales Development Representative
Yearly salary	$81,372	$51,504
Hourly rate	$39.12	$24.76
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	185,399	199,588
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 83%
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 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.

Outside account executive vs sales development representative salary

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

	Outside Account Executive	Sales Development Representative
Average salary	$81,372	$51,504
Salary range	Between $51,000 And $127,000	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 outside account executive and sales development representative education

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

	Outside Account Executive	Sales Development Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 76%	Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Outside account executive vs sales development representative demographics

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

	Outside Account Executive	Sales Development Representative
Average age	44	47
Gender ratio	Male, 61.7% Female, 38.3%	Male, 63.1% Female, 36.9%
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, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	6%

Differences between outside account executive and sales development 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 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.

Outside account executive vs sales development 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 development representative skills

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

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Outside Account Executive
Outside Account Executive vs Sales Development Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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