Account Manager vs Account Executive

In the finance sector, Account Managers are typically responsible for gathering and distributing enterprise-wide information to individual business units. In contrast, account executives work directly with clients on a one-on-one or small group basis, offering personalized services such as strategic planning or cross-border financing.

Account managers (AM) and account executives (AE) are both essential components of a successful sales strategy. Simply defined, AEs bring in new business and are known as “hunters,” while AMs look after current clients by “farming” them for retention and further chances.

Both responsibilities are part of the sales department and are in charge of generating money, and in a small organization, one individual typically fills both roles. Even yet, there are duties that distinguish an AE from an AM.

Overview of the Account Executive

Account executives are in charge of earning money from current and new customers. They’ll be held accountable for meeting performance and revenue targets. Furthermore, AEs are often in charge of a set of procedures to gain new business:

• Prospecting and lead generation: Prospecting refers to the process of looking for new business prospects. It entails doing market research and devising innovative methods to offer their items to potential customers. These responsibilities, however, may ultimately be delegated to a business development representative (BDR).
• Demonstrations and meetings: Once the AE has made contact with a prospect, they must demonstrate their product. This entails scheduling a time to meet with the prospect. A presentation, pitch, and client discovery will all be part of the meeting.
• Responding to RFPs and negotiating contracts: Depending on their industry, the account executive will next create a quotation, answer a request for proposal (RFP), or contract, which will be given to the client for consideration. This stage may be handled by a sales planner or assistant, depending on the size of the organization.
• Final sign-off: Once the contract is in the customer’s hands, the AE’s role is to keep track of it. To persuade the consumer to sign the contract and become a customer, more “wooing” and check-ins are required.

Overview of the Account Manager

Account managers are in charge of post-sale customer relations. AMs handle client relationships, however, they are not to be confused with support positions (like a customer service agent). While they may be in charge of specific fulfillment duties, they are the account’s leaders who are accountable for the account’s overall health.

Their tasks include the following:

• Onboarding: Depending on your sector, the onboarding procedure will differ. Consider onboarding as a customer’s first introduction to your business. Customers should be onboarded as soon as possible after signing a contract.
• One of the most important aspects of account management is keeping clients on board. To avoid churn, they must keep their customers pleased and deliver on their commitments. It is less expensive to maintain current clients than to acquire new ones from a revenue viewpoint.
• Renewal: When a customer’s contract expires, AMs must have a plan in place to guarantee that they renew. To assure renewal, an AM conducts periodical examinations to determine the customer’s level of satisfaction.
• Account managers must identify new sales possibilities as the relationship evolves in order to upsell and cross-sell. Customers are persuaded to purchase more items or upgrade to a more costly version by AMs.

When an AE completes a transaction, the client is “passed off” to an AM to be handled. The AM is now the main point of contact for the customer on a daily basis. They don’t normally give technical assistance, but they do supervise the process.

While a person’s natural personality qualities play a role, skills such as bargaining, networking, and how to be a better coach may all be learned and contribute to success in either capacity.

An In-Depth Look at Account Manager vs. Account Executive

Because the tasks of an account executive and an account manager change, the personality attributes must be somewhat varied as well. To get the transaction over the finish line, AEs need to be aggressive, or “closers.” AMs are more relationship-oriented, and they must emphasize keeping current customers satisfied over constantly adding to the sales funnel via prospecting.

Pro tip: What works well for an AE may not work well for an AM, and vice versa. As a result, if at all feasible, these two jobs should be segregated inside a corporation. While this may result in more costs, it develops a team that can compensate for each other’s flaws and gives a positive client experience.

We’ll go through the other major distinctions between an AM and an AE in the sections below.

Account Manager’s Job Description

An AM’s job is to provide assistance and assist in the development of tailored solutions for customers and clients. While having an AM might be a more expensive way to customer care upfront, when done well, this function can transform current customers into brand champions, which boosts your reputation and makes repeat business simpler to obtain.

The requirement for an account manager is determined by your sector and clients. Account managers are most often needed in businesses that use a software as a service (SaaS) model or rely on the recurring business. To secure the renewal of SaaS subscription models, customers must be happy. To prevent churn and attract repeat business, Drinks and food distributors need an AM.

Characteristics

The following are the most important soft skills for an account manager to possess:

• Empathy: AMs must be able to put themselves in their clients’ position in addition to being effective listeners. Empathy enables AMs to fix client problems while keeping an eye on their own business. Customers might feel bullied, misunderstood, and detached if you don’t show empathy.
• Account managers work with people from a variety of departments and responsibilities. They must be able to work with people who have a variety of personalities and motives. They’re juggling shifting components of projects as well as individuals when it comes to implementation. AMs must be able to pull everything together.
• Leadership: When it comes to account management, leadership is crucial. AMs are in charge of managing the account and ensuring its success, which is why key account managers are in charge of ensuring objectives are reached and cultivating connections with the company’s most significant clients.
• Account managers must have a good understanding of how their own and their customers’ businesses earn money. They must strike a balance between client happiness and their own company’s objectives. AMs may create appropriate targets if they understand how the customer produces money. They can lead the account since they understand how their organization earns money.

Typical Industries

An account manager may theoretically be used by any company that needs relationship management. Account managers are more frequent in B2B (business-to-business) sales than in B2C (business-to-consumer) sales (B2C). Although AMs work in a wide number of sectors, the following are some of the most popular:

• Advertising
• Software
• IT
• Banking and financial services
• Drinks and food
• Job placement services

Pros of Account Managers

• Build trust: Account executives are driven to complete agreements and meet sales targets. Account managers are motivated by the account’s performance rather than a strict sales target. The consumer can typically tell when there is a difference in motive. An account manager may generally create a deep degree of trust with a client.
• The AM is more detail-oriented than the account executive, who is more concerned with fresh prospects. They may go further into the account’s requirements and have a better understanding of the consumer.
• Teamwork. Sales is more competitive than account management. They collaborate and work effectively across departments.

Account Manager Drawbacks

• Due to a lack of established connections, an account executive may help move your organization ahead and provide new income sources. Account managers’ revenue growth potential is restricted since they are focused on current business.
• AMs are relationship-builders, thus they aren’t aggressive. They excel in empathizing with clients and comprehending their requirements. This might make it difficult for them to conduct difficult talks or ask for the sale.

Account Executive’s Job Description

An account executive’s position is more complex than that of a conventional “sales representative.” They play a bigger role in the whole sales effort. Account executives are in charge of expanding current accounts and discovering new prospects. The stage of your firm will determine if you need to recruit an account executive.

Pro tip: Before you engage an AE, be sure it’ll be more lucrative for your company to expand existing customers rather than acquire new ones. You may accomplish this by making a sales estimate and then looking at the accounts that account for the majority of your revenue. If you see that a few accounts contribute to 80% of your revenue, you may benefit from an AE.

Characteristics

• Coachability: The most successful salesmen are open to having someone assist them in reaching their full potential. They’re prepared to put their ego aside in order to progress.
• Desire to learn: Regardless of how long they’ve been in sales, they must be eager to learn and develop. Top performers are considerably more likely to be salespeople who desire to learn.
• Hire individuals with a track record of achievement: Clearly, there is a value to recruiting people with a track record of success. Even yet, it’s important digging deeper to ensure that success is directly linked to performance rather than just being in the right place at the right time.
• Salespeople must be motivated by a strong desire to succeed. An account executive must be committed to your company’s objective and enthusiastic about assisting consumers.

Typical Industries

Every company has some kind of sales department. In the B2B sector, the term “Account Executive” is the most popular. Selling higher-priced products and services is associated with the AE title. In contrast to transactional sales cycles, AEs are utilized for longer and more sophisticated sales cycles. The AE’s job is to provide feedback and to lead the consumer through the sales process.

• Marketing
• IT
• Fashion houses
• Software
• Advertising
• Healthcare

Pros of Account Management

• Money-motivated: With the correct payment plan, account executives are simple to motivate. Providing the correct financial incentives may help you get the results you want.
• Entrepreneurial: To succeed in this job, AEs must be self-starters. Others may need extra assistance or mentorship. Having self-motivated personnel allows you to focus on other aspects of the company.
• Revenue creation is one of the most crucial roles of the firm, and AEs are in charge of it. Having someone on your team who is in charge of this may be quite beneficial to your company.

Cons of Account Executive

• Money-focused: While this is a plus, account executives may often be too concerned with the outcome. If AEs are overly focused on their individual commission check, they may lose sight of the larger corporate objectives.
• AEs who don’t listen: AEs might become so caught up in pitching and closing agreements that they fail to listen. By nature, AEs are talkative, which might lead to them overlooking critical information about their consumers.
• Account executives have a high turnover rate, which leads to quick burnout. Because of the hard nature of the profession and the constant need for competent salesmen, they may find themselves job-hopping.

Conclusion

Within a sales organization, account managers and account executives are only two of the many roles available. While the titles and strategies for each function are different, the end goal for each is to develop the firm.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between an account executive and an account manager?

The account executive is the most senior level of account management.

Is sales executive same as account manager?

No, an account manager oversees the sales and marketing efforts at a company. A sales executive is someone who typically sells products to customers or clients.