How To Become A Senior Sales Account Executive: What It Is and Career Path

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

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Bill Thorne,

Felicia Hodges

Most industries earn profit through sales, such as service, hospitality, fast-moving consumer goods, manufacturing, and construction, to name a few. As such, companies ensure that their sales teams are composed of great individuals who can produce the best results for them. Companies also invest in training and activities to keep these employees skilled, happy, and engaged. One key member of the sales team is the Senior Sales Account Executive.

Senior sales account executives are experienced employees who are usually tenured in the companies as well. They often start as sales associates, rising the ranks until they are deemed responsible enough to handle client accounts. They are responsible for maintaining the company's professional relationship with the client and ensuring that the partnership will continue. They may also be assigned to find new clients to add to the company's roster.

If you are interested in working in sales, this would be a good career for you down the line. You should have high business acumen and a strong affinity for sales to succeed in this role. Of course, an optimistic and cheerful disposition would surely be a plus!

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

Bill Thorne

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 Sales Account ExecutiveUS Average

Salary

7.5

Avg. Salary $97,259

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 35.40%

male 64.60%

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

Key steps to become a senior sales account executive

Explore senior sales account executive education requirements

Most common senior sales account executive degrees

Bachelor's

80.4 %

Associate

10.1 %

Master's

6.3 %

Start to develop specific senior sales account executive skills

Skills	Percentages
CRM	7.69%
Account Management	5.51%
Sales Process	4.97%
Salesforce	4.81%
Cloud	4.38%

Complete relevant senior sales account executive training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior sales account executives 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 sales account executive based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior sales account executive resumes.

Research senior sales account executive duties and responsibilities

Manage and respond to all RFP's through very detail planning, formal presentations and implementation processes.
Manage and close SAAS sales opportunities through forecasting, account resource allocation, account strategy, and planning.
Manage day-to-day activity of client relate projects including IP voice, MPLS infrastructures and CPE implementations in a deadline-orient high-pressure environment.
Maintain the CRM database (Salesforce) effectively to include customer information, record of contacts and communications.

Prepare your senior sales account executive resume

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

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