Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between sales representatives and account managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a sales representative, becoming an account manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, an account manager has an average salary of $68,535, 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 manager are customer service, account management, and healthcare.
| Sales Representative | Account Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $56,591 | $68,535 |
| Hourly rate | $27.21 | $32.95 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 205,456 | 152,261 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.33 | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 47 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 8 |
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.
Account managers are employees who act as the bridge between the company they represent and the client of the company. They are assigned to handle specific clients so that the company will be able to tailor-fit any product or service according to the clients' requirements. Account managers are responsible for maintaining a harmonious relationship between the two parties by ensuring that any agreement made is amenable to both the company and the client. They are also responsible for ensuring that the company will be able to provide the needs of the client within any limitation that the client may have. Account managers also ensure that the company's reputation and well-being are always considered in any dealings.
Sales representatives and account managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Representative | Account Manager | |
| Average salary | $56,591 | $68,535 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $94,000 | Between $42,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Washington |
| Best paying company | NVIDIA | |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Technology |
There are a few differences between a sales representative and an account manager in terms of educational background:
| Sales Representative | Account Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between sales representatives' and account managers' demographics:
| Sales Representative | Account Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% | Male, 54.8% Female, 45.2% |
| 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, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 7% |