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The differences between retail account executives and commercial account executives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a retail account executive, becoming a commercial account executive takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a commercial account executive has an average salary of $75,624, which is higher than the $70,523 average annual salary of a retail account executive.
The top three skills for a retail account executive include customer service, sales objectives and sales process. The most important skills for a commercial account executive are cloud, customer service, and CRM.
| Retail Account Executive | Commercial Account Executive | |
| Yearly salary | $70,523 | $75,624 |
| Hourly rate | $33.91 | $36.36 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 167,927 | 137,143 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 46 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 4 |
Retail account executives, also referred to as account handlers, work in almost all fields in a retail store or company to help find leads, close deals with customers, formulate strategies to sell slow-moving products, and communicate product value to customers. Their duties and responsibilities include compiling and analyzing data to find trends, providing support to clients by finding out what they are looking for, and handling complaints and negotiations.
A commercial account executive is responsible for income growth in new trademark and existing accounts within an assigned area and ensuring all key measures are delivered. Commercial account executives are primarily responsible for the principal generation and opportunity formation. They work with Marketing, Sales Development, Customer Success, and Professional Services departments to proactively develop and implement an area plan. Also, they work with accounts via telephone, email, in person, and other online means. Additionally, they provide direction and guidance to the extended territory team and leadership to ensure individual and team success. Candidates for this position must have executive-level selling skills.
Retail account executives and commercial account executives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Retail Account Executive | Commercial Account Executive | |
| Average salary | $70,523 | $75,624 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $94,000 | Between $50,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | VMware |
| Best paying industry | - | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a retail account executive and a commercial account executive in terms of educational background:
| Retail Account Executive | Commercial Account Executive | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between retail account executives' and commercial account executives' demographics:
| Retail Account Executive | Commercial Account Executive | |
| Average age | 46 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.6% Female, 50.4% | Male, 59.3% Female, 40.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |