Account Executive Salary

Account executives connect the agency and its clients, and, as members of a company's sales team, sell the organization's products and/or services to established customers or new prospects. Account executives must handle the entire inside sales process from proposal to close, as well as track activity, prepare and maintain records for sales leads and account status, and reach or exceed sales quotas. Account executives perform extensive research to learn all about the clients' products, goals and needs. The account executive solicits and maintains contact with current and prospect key accounts, and manages the relationships. The account executive draws upon the skills and efforts of many departments within the company in order to best meet the client's needs on a particular project. Much of an account executive's time is involved in resolving differences between the company and the client. Conflict resolution and mediation skills are necessary for this position, as is persuasiveness. Successful account executives will have excellent interpersonal skills, be organized and professional. A bachelor's degree in a relevant field is usually required; degrees with majors in business administration, advertising, and marketing are particularly useful, and a master's in business administration is often desired. They often attend special training of products and/or services to understand technical aspects of solutions. Account executives usually must start in entry-level positions and then work long hours in highly competitive environments, under a lot of pressure, with uncertain job security. However, account executives usually work in comfortable office surroundings, with added perks and bonuses.

Account Executive Tasks