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The differences between sales associates and account executives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an account executive has an average salary of $69,618, which is higher than the $32,167 average annual salary of a sales associate.
The top three skills for a sales associate include customer service, sales floor and cash handling. The most important skills for an account executive are customer service, CRM, and healthcare.
| Sales Associate | Account Executive | |
| Yearly salary | $32,167 | $69,618 |
| Hourly rate | $15.46 | $33.47 |
| Growth rate | - | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 579,849 | 205,561 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Sales associates are responsible for promoting the company's goods or services. They are expected to provide exceptional customer service to prospective buyers. They should be familiar with all features of the company's products or services so that they can answer the customers' inquiries. Sales associates also assist customers in processing their checkouts, refunds, returns, and other needs. They should be customer-oriented, and they should have great communication skills. They should know how to sell their products or services to customers. They are considered the company's representatives on the ground.
An account executive is responsible for supporting existing clients, closing client deals, and developing sales strategies to increase the company's sales and satisfaction. An account executive must be competitive enough to keep up with the constant changes in the sales industry, including the high demands of digital marketing, a different approach to product advertising, effective negotiation, and presentation skills. An account executive also requires excellent communication skills for the successful acquisition of client accounts and immediately resolve possible complaints as they arise.
Sales associates and account executives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Associate | Account Executive | |
| Average salary | $32,167 | $69,618 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $47,000 | Between $44,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Portland, OR |
| Highest paying state | New York | Oregon |
| Best paying company | Barclays | Hitachi Vantara |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Finance |
There are a few differences between a sales associate and an account executive in terms of educational background:
| Sales Associate | Account Executive | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between sales associates' and account executives' demographics:
| Sales Associate | Account Executive | |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 5.6% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 5% |