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What is a senior account sales manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted expert
Bill Thorne

A senior account sales manager is a management professional who develops strategic plans for maintaining and growing sales accounts for a company or an organization. They work to understand customer needs and requirements, improve customer service processes, and set a company's sales team procedures and goals. These individuals work in a variety of fields, from banking to pharmaceuticals, and develop relationships with clients, manage sales staff, and work to acquire new sales markets. A senior account sales manager typically works in a sales department, and may also be required to travel to meet with customers to assess their needs.

A senior account manager usually has a bachelor's degree in sales, marketing, business, or a related field, but employers may consider applicants who have comparable knowledge, skill, and experience in sales and management. A senior account manager should have strong management, communication, and organizational skills, and be adept at overseeing staff and meeting with a variety of customers.

A senior account sales manager can make up to $86,000 per year, and the Bureau of Labor and Statistics predicts a 6% increase in employment by 2024.

What general advice would you give to a senior account sales manager?

Bill ThorneBill Thorne LinkedIn profile

Executive Director of the NRF Foundation and Senior Vice President of Communication and Public Affairs of NRF, National Retail Federation

Retail is the largest private-sector employer in the country, directly employing 32 million people and supporting 52 million jobs overall - roughly one-quarter of the U.S. workforce. While COVID-19 has presented new and unexpected challenges, retailers have continued to showcase the industry's resilience and adaptability time and again. The safety and security of customers and employees remains our greatest priority. It is no doubt that the professional environment has changed this year, but retail continues to offer a plethora of career opportunities for graduates and seasoned veterans alike.
ScoreSenior Account Sales ManagerUS Average
Salary
6.2

Avg. Salary $79,523

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
6.4

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
2.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.24%

Asian 4.07%

Black or African American 3.24%

Hispanic or Latino 9.82%

Unknown 4.41%

White 78.23%

Gender

female 33.45%

male 66.55%

Age - 46
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46
Stress level
6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Senior account sales manager career paths

Key steps to become a senior account sales manager

  1. Explore senior account sales manager education requirements

    Most common senior account sales manager degrees

    Bachelor's

    77.5 %

    Master's

    9.1 %

    Associate

    8.6 %
  2. Start to develop specific senior account sales manager skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Account Management10.66%
    Cloud8.38%
    Sales Process7.27%
    Customer Relationships7.06%
    CRM5.03%
  3. Complete relevant senior account sales manager training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior account sales managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a senior account sales manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior account sales manager resumes.
  4. Research senior account sales manager duties and responsibilities

    • Develop and manage new accounts for search marketing (SEO), social media marketing, web design and video production.
    • Work on CRM to maintain the data of the hotel guest.
    • Deliver solutions that include networks, infrastructure, call centers, data centers and CRM solutions.
    • Coordinate and host quarterly OEM market, product, technology update visits to Taiwan OEM and ODM.
  5. Get senior account sales manager experience

    Generally, it takes 6-8 years to become a senior account sales manager. The most common roles before becoming a senior account sales manager include account executive, account manager team lead and senior account manager.
  6. Prepare your senior account sales manager resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior account sales manager resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a senior account sales manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable senior account sales manager resume templates

    Build a professional senior account sales manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior account sales manager resume.
    Senior Account Sales Manager Resume
    Senior Account Sales Manager Resume
    Senior Account Sales Manager Resume
    Senior Account Sales Manager Resume
    Senior Account Sales Manager Resume
    Senior Account Sales Manager Resume
    Senior Account Sales Manager Resume
    Senior Account Sales Manager Resume
    Senior Account Sales Manager Resume
  7. Apply for senior account sales manager jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a senior account sales manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first senior account sales manager job

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Average senior account sales manager salary

The average senior account sales manager salary in the United States is $79,523 per year or $38 per hour. Senior account sales manager salaries range between $53,000 and $117,000 per year.

Average senior account sales manager salary
$79,523 Yearly
$38.23 hourly

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How do senior account sales managers rate their job?

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Senior account sales manager reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2020
Pros

Motivating people and helping to create success in each person's day. Honor God serve people in rich people's lives, pursue excellence in service.

Cons

Not enough time in each day to get everything accomplished.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2020
Pros

Semi-flexible work hours. You have a sales goal and customers to call on in order to achieve said goal, so you have some flexibility of your schedule.

Cons

The amount of travel required takes you away from home frequently. If you have a family, being away starts taking a toll on them and work/life balance suffers.


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A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2020
Pros

The Strategic approach used to uncover new sales opportunities excites me the most working as an Enterprise Account Executive.

Cons

This is a great career.


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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