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The differences between sales representatives 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 $56,591 average annual salary of a sales representative.
The top three skills for a sales representative include sales process, product knowledge and customer service. The most important skills for an account executive are customer service, CRM, and healthcare.
| Sales Representative | Account Executive | |
| Yearly salary | $56,591 | $69,618 |
| Hourly rate | $27.21 | $33.47 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 205,456 | 205,561 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.33 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
Sales representatives primarily sell the company's products and services to businesses or organizations. They should be adept at closing out sales, negotiating, and providing customer service. They should be knowledgeable about the products or services of the manufacturer or producer they represent. They must also have strong analytical skills that would help them in coming up with cost-benefit analysis in assessing the current roster of clients and even prospective ones. Sales representatives should also be able to maintain good working relationships with all involved stakeholders, especially clients.
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 representatives and account executives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Representative | Account Executive | |
| Average salary | $56,591 | $69,618 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $94,000 | Between $44,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Portland, OR |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Oregon |
| Best paying company | Hitachi Vantara | |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Finance |
There are a few differences between a sales representative and an account executive in terms of educational background:
| Sales Representative | Account Executive | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 78% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between sales representatives' and account executives' demographics:
| Sales Representative | Account Executive | |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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 | 6% | 5% |