Account Executive job description

This page details key information about the Account Executive job description, covering day to day responsibilities to salary expectations.

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What does an Account Executive do?

Part of the sales team, Account Executives (AEs) are responsible for maintaining relationships between a business and their clients.

As the primary contact for specific client accounts, they manage their projects, budgets and contracts. Taking the lead on all communication, AEs arrange regular client meetings to always ensure a positive experience with your brand.

Key responsibilities

While the role will look different in each business, the core responsibilities stay the same. AEs are responsible for:

Building relationships with clients: Develop relationships and close new business with assigned accounts.
Onboarding clients: Take ownership of client relationships throughout the sales process, ensuring client satisfaction throughout the journey.
Identifying new opportunities: Find new business opportunities within the market, working closely with the wider sales team to convert them into customers.
Creating solutions: Identify how your product or service can solve prospective client's challenges.
Generating pipeline: Work with marketing and business development teams to build a strong pipeline within the assigned market. Take ownership of the growth and development of the sector.
Reporting: Internally report on deals and forecast the pipeline in relation to sales targets. Externally share project progress with clients, keeping them informed at every stage.

Skills and requirements

To be a successful Account Executive, you need the following skills:

At least three years of experience selling solutions and managing a sales cycle
Self-starter and self-motivated, with a passion for driving business growth and developing yourself as a sales professional
Excellent at building new relationships
Ability to understand new concepts quickly and explain them with ease
Strong project management skills, with an understanding of how to prioritise tasks
Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
An understanding or passion for the industry

How much does an Account Executive earn?

The base salary range for an AE is incredibly broad, ranging from £60,000 to £140,000.

Pay ranges vary depending on what the Account Executive is selling and who their target market is. For more guidance around salaries, we recommend speaking to our recruitment consultants.

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Career path & progression

With enough experience, AEs might progress their careers into the following roles.

Senior Account Executive

In the Senior Account Executive role (SAE), you will have a broader scope, usually with more complex accounts. Higher expectations exist around strategic account management, so you must have enough experience as an AE before taking this next step.

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FAQs

What is an Account Executive salary in the UK?

The base salary range for a UK-based AE is incredibly broad, ranging from £60,000 to £140,000. Pay ranges will vary based on the seniority of the role and the product that they're selling.

How to hire an Account Executive?

To hire an Account Executive (AE), you should first define the job description:

Consider your needs as a business and the challenges that this new sales hire will solve.
You should set targets and metrics to measure success in the role.
Understand which skills candidates need to achieve their goals.

From there, you can take the role to market. You might choose to advertise the role directly on job boards and LinkedIn, or use a recruiter for access to their niche networks of AEs. By working with a specialist sales recruiter, like 3Search, you will gain quick access to strong sales professionals.

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What businesses hire Account Executives?

AEs are in high-demand across a range of industries, including technology, financial services and business services companies. With the opportunity to specialise in segments of the market, Account Execs might focus on enterprise or SMB businesses, for example.