Sales vs Account Management

These software and services providers aim to help you get prospects in the door — quickly. Meet with customers to negotiate new contracts and discuss possible upgrades. Account Executive/Sales Managers in America make an average salary of $28,536 per year or $14 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $77,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent Sales Manager job under $10,000 per year. With over a decade of experience writing compelling content across a broad range of industries, Angie joined the team at Vervoe in 2023 as their Content Marketing Specialist. Despite what the names of the positions would suggest, Account Managers and Sales Executives are often equal within a company’s hierarchy.

Enterprise selling is sometimes overlooked in companies’ training because… Both Account Management teams and Sales teams have the end goal of increasing revenue, but the paths they use to get there can be very different. Both functions are important in order for your organization to be successful, but they require two different skill sets. Check out our customers’ stories and how Pipeline CRM helped them on the journey to success. Pipeline CRM makes it simple to manage everything about a flooring job, from estimates to happy customers — all in one place.

Account Management vs. Sales: What’s the Difference?

Account Managers are responsible for maintaining and growing relationships with existing customers. They work closely with sales, marketing and customer service teams to ensure that the customer’s needs are being met and that they are satisfied with the product or service. Account Managers typically have a background in sales or customer service and are familiar with the company’s products or services. They work to identify any upsell or cross-sell opportunities with existing customers.

Like it or not, hiring the right salespeople is a critical factor in achieving success and growth for any business. Sales professionals are the driving force behind revenue generation, and the right team can make all the difference in achieving business objectives. Despite being one of the oldest professions in the world, there’s a lot to know about working in sales. After a prospect has converted to a customer, the account manager focuses on nurturing the relationship and helping it grow to its full potential. A sales rep is typically responsible for prospecting to find new clients and meeting their sales quotas by converting prospects into buying customers. While the client’s questions and plans may touch multiple teams, the account manager is responsible for filtering communication from and to the client.

Companies Hiring Account Managers

They also have to understand the client’s budget, as well as track their buying cycle, to plan contract renewals. Contracts or written sales proposals are written by these managers and include price quotes. Sales teams are traditionally responsible for bringing in new customers, and they usually have only transactional relationships with the customer’s employees. The ownership of the customer transfers to account management teams, who develop a relationship with the customers, understand their issues and help them grow their business.

Because KAMs touch so many parts of the business, they should be confident and command respect from both their clients and co-workers. Because these customers represent such a significant portion of your business, it makes sense that you should invest in their long-term satisfaction and success with your company. Account managers serve as the link between their employer and the specific accounts they’ve been assigned to handle. They listen carefully to a client’s needs and figure out ways to achieve these objectives. The full compensation package for an account manager depends on a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s experience and geographic location.

Is an Account Manager a Hard Job?

Our sales teams need to understand our customers’ often complex needs through effective questioning, and how our solution differs from the competition. In addition to maintain knowledge on customers, an account manager often maintains knowledge on competitors to best understand how external factors may influence business with their customer. When the KAM understands the account’s strategy, market position, https://wizardsdev.com/ budget, and goals, they can develop better offers that deliver greater value to both the client and the business. They must be comfortable addressing C-suite executives as well as coordinating operations managers and sales reps. Key account management is a long-term strategy that can deliver significant value over time. When done well, it can be an even more profitable investment than new sales.

• Most sales people know that there’s no telling how long it will take to close a deal.
• On the other hand, if your organization already has a sizable customer base and wants to focus on maintaining and growing those existing relationships, then a Sales Account Manager may be a better fit.
• Manufacturing CRM software is the best way to get ahead of your competition and win more jobs.
• Depending on your years of experience, the size of the company, and the industry, pay can go up to $93,000/year.
• In sales, being a hunter means scouting out your prey and capturing them .

After a salesperson has closed a deal, they transition the relationship with the customer to an account manager. The account manager ensures the needs of the customer are met, fosters the relationship, and seeks ways to drive additional business with the client. It is common for an account manager to serve a variety of different roles. They often need to adjust their focus depending on the client’s particular situation, and how satisfied that client is with their current account status. The account manager would frequently serve as a combination of a salesperson, customer service representative, technical specialist, and financial advisor. This study identifies key selling skills and personality dimensions as drivers of key account manager’s sales performance.

Skills to develop to transition to this role

The problem is, your existing customers account for 70% of your revenue if you’re like most companies. The much-maligned ‘P’ word, profits, operate very differently for both teams. While sales teams are used to seeing profit up front, account management takes a longer route.

By connecting with customers, developing their connection to the company, and making sure their business needs are being met, the company can save on new customer acquisition costs and increase the odds of repeat business. An accountant is an individual who oversees the financial records of a company, while an account manager oversees the relationships with customers. The specific duties, qualifications, and salary level of a particular account manager can vary widely, depending on the type of business and the clientele served by that firm. Often, this employee will have some type of financial or business background and typically would also have some kind of related college degree. Those with advanced or specialized qualifications would likely be able to command a higher salary.

Industrial Marketing Management

This is accomplished by listening to each client in order to gain an understanding of their individualized needs, in order to direct them to the appropriate product or service. This is one reason why your top salesperson may not be the best fit for key account management. While strong selling skills are important, key account management prioritizes the long-term relationship over short-term transactions. KAMs can streamline their communications by mapping out their key accounts in Lucidchart. Account maps outline organizational relationships and help sales reps and KAMs identify the right people to contact.