Have you been looking high and low for the right candidate to send in their account executive resume? You know—the one with rockstar job skills like recruiting clients, negotiating contracts, and skillfully maneuvering through account tasks and purchasing processes?
Finding the perfect SaaS-savvy account executive to represent the face of your company while contributing to its growth and sales strategy can feel elusive, but it doesn’t have to be!
Starting off with three account executive job description samples, advice and tips, we’ll show you how to tell your company story in a winsome way and hook the very best account executive for your business.
How to Write an Account Executive Job Description
Finding your dream candidate for your account executive vacancy can be challenging, but you’ll be on the path to success if you write a winning job description. It can’t be that hard, right? You can write just about anything, right?
Wrong! We’ve seen way too many job descriptions with terrible (or nonexistent) formatting, vacancies that are just one very long 500-word paragraph that’s impossible to read, and job descriptions so vague we weren’t sure what the organization was! Trust us; you don’t want to be one of those.
All of this matters because your job description is basically your pitch to your future account executive. A first impression counts, and it’s important to make it matter.
In an increasingly competitive job market, candidates have more choices than ever. That’s why it’s crucial to present a professional-looking job description that connects with the right people to ensure you get the best possible candidates.
But first things first: what tips should you keep in mind when writing your next job description?
Determine who you need for the account executive role
Everyone is motivated by something: it’s a fact you shouldn’t forget to tap into when crafting a job description. In other words, explain why your company is hiring an account executive. Do you need help with developing a strategy for customer retention? Negotiation with key vendors? Expanding into new markets?
This helps make it clear from the get-go what your potential new hire will be doing on a high-level basis and help them immediately see if the role could be a good fit for them.
Beyond that, try to clearly state and translate the values and qualities you want your account executives to embody. This can take a little work, but it’s essential to bring your vision, preferences, or strategy across the written word. By doing this, you’ll be sure to attract the right talent. For example:
- Account executives must be expert negotiators and often deal with high-value clients. It’s a demanding job, so you should clarify what kind of benefits they’ll get in return.
This means scrapping the vague “competitive salary” line. Instead, offer an honest range so potential candidates can prepare to negotiate a good agreement for both parties. Otherwise, you risk having them move on to a company that offers more clarity before they’ve even given you a chance!
- An excellent account executive should be skilled at empathizing and building solid relationships with potential leads. Double-check that you’ve included these most critical soft skills and underscored the importance of interpersonal or verbal communication skills. (Pro tip: this shouldn’t just be in your Qualifications section but woven in throughout your narrative).
- Your account executives are often the face of your product or service. Getting them equally passionate about your offerings from the get-go is important, so check to see if you’re conveying that enthusiasm. Why do you care? Why should they care?
If you take the time to analyze your job description and answer these questions critically, you’ll be able to ensure your vacancy talks and walks the walk!
Don’t neglect revision
If there’s one thing you shouldn’t forget when getting your vacancy text ready, it’s to edit, edit, edit! It might feel challenging at first, but it’ll be well worth it. Take a few minutes to read and re-read your text, and check it for any grammar or spelling issues.
Then, ask someone else to have a look at it for content, overall flow, and tone. Be open to feedback and suggestions, even if it means scrapping a good chunk of your vacancy.
Once the text is ready, ensure the formatting looks good, and if possible, preview what it will look like once it’s live. Check that there’s enough white space, you’ve used bullet points, and it’s easy on the eyes. After that, just press submit and wait for the account executive resumes to start coming in!
How to Outline Your Account Executive Job Description
Writing a job description might feel about as nerve-wracking as going on America’s Got Talent without an act lined up. With our easy-to-follow outline, it doesn’t have to be!
Job details
Consider this the section where you pitch the company, position, and reason for hiring, all in a few sentences. Keep it short and sweet, but give them enough info to want to keep reading. If they can’t get a high-level overview of those three points in the first section, you’ll probably lose some great applicants before they even make it to the interview.
About the company
It’s essential to know about your product or service, but it also helps your future account executive get to know a little bit about who you are as an organization. Just remember to keep it short!
Don’t write out a play-by-play of your entire company history, credentials, and awards received. Instead, try to convey some of your company’s culture and personality in a paragraph or two, and consider including a CTA so interested readers can learn about who you are.
What you’ll be doing
It’s surprising how often job vacancies skip out on detailing the day-to-day tasks of account executives. Yes, most account executives do many of the same functions, but this section should highlight what’s unique to your role.
This can include mentioning your product or service, any additional requirements you may expect, or something along those lines. It’s better to provide further clarity to avoid confusion, which could make some potential candidates feel underqualified and pass on applying.
- Work cross-functionally with Product and Marketing to best position our VideoX suite
- Brainstorm, create, implement and oversee the execution of PR and communication campaigns (strategy, pitching, events, shoots, content creation, etc.)
- Monitor your TravelAway partners’ performance to ensure our customers receive a top-tier experience
Qualifications
Applicants need to have specific hard and soft skills to make the cut, so this section helps ensure you only get qualified candidates. That said, it’s important not to spell out every possible qualification under the sun!
Only include what’s absolutely essential on day one, and then see what can be learned on the job. It’s okay to have some preferences, which can help you notice standout talent while still giving others a chance.
- Strong verbal communication skills (a second language like Spanish or French is a bonus!)
- 2-3 years background in sales or business development (travel industry experience preferred)
- Experience in Microsoft Office and Adobe products
- Excellent networking and relationship-building skills, ideally with industry contacts
Benefits
You need to position yourself as an attractive company. Use this section to sell your company to potential applicants. Include a salary range, even if it’s toward the broader side, as this helps promote transparency. Plus, include any other perks you offer (both financial and non-financial) which might attract employees.
An Account Executive’s Roles and Responsibilities
Most account executives juggle many hats throughout their careers. A blend of marketing, customer service, and sales, this job requires expertise in (or a quick willingness to learn) a range of roles and functions. While it can be a big pair of shoes to fill, it can be a gratifying job!
Here are some of the most common functions and responsibilities of account executives. While most won’t have to do all of these on the same day, your run-of-the-mill candidate will likely face all of these roles in one form or another during their career.
Communicator
Not only do account executives need to make sure their leads buy the company’s product or services, but they’re also generally the first point of contact for the customers after the sale is closed. For example, an account executive might need to answer complex questions on how their education SaaS product provides enough value to a school district operating on a reduced budget. This means it’s critical to be a skilled communicator who can handle any questions, complaints, or comments from (potential) customers.
- Source business opportunities with accommodation partners in your region over phone, email, and other communication methods to help build TravelAway’s business
- Showcase TravelAway’s value proposition and explain our product and service benefits to partners
- This role requires verbal communication expertise, strong, active listening abilities, empathy, a friendly attitude, and interpersonal skills.
Relationship manager / Customer service
Although an account executive isn’t a dedicated customer service specialist, their role requires handling all regular communication with customers (such as answering routine questions on how to use the accommodation platform or updating a client on the status of their marketing campaign). Ideally, they’ll only escalate to customer service when needed for more serious issues. By providing top-tier service, account executives can retain a strong relationship with loyal customers and demonstrate accountability for the client relationship.
- Nurture your portfolio of partners, functioning as their first point of contact before escalating to customer service
- Manage various account teams and PR programs as their first point of contact, finding solutions to any issues and maintaining a positive relationship
- The role requires a customer-first mindset, outstanding interpersonal communication skills, excellent project management, and attention to detail
Negotiator
An essential part of the account executive role requires closing deals with potential leads. Excellent account executives are adept at working tirelessly to showcase how their product or service solves their lead’s pain points. They’ll do their best to find an agreeable solution for both parties while meeting their sales quota.
- Own the entire sales cycle, ending with closing sales to meet (or exceed) our enterprise sales objectives
- Locate and introduce high-value leads to our services, offer demonstrations, close deals, and start partnerships through networking
- This role requires outstanding negotiation skills, a proven track record of outperforming sales targets, professional verbal communication skills, and a can-do attitude
Recruiter
While you might think of recruiting in more of an HR sense, account executives are trying to recruit customers as part of the company’s sales pipeline. For example, an account executive may “recruit” the HR manager of a bank to start using the account executive’s AI HR recruitment software. This is a significant aspect of the job, so make sure that your future account executive feels confident doing so.
- Perform prospecting activities such as cold calling, emailing potential prospects, or networking at industry events
- Establish camaraderie and introduce prospects to company products that may be relevant
- The role requires excellent negotiation skills, interpersonal communication, a proactive attitude, and a friendly demeanor
Presenter
It’s common for account executives to present the company’s products or services in different settings: conferences, industry events, or at a client’s office. This means they must be a great presenter; otherwise, what kind of first impression will they and your product make?
Having a great storyteller helps your potential leads vividly experience your company and product’s narrative and is more likely to convert customers. Otherwise, your leads might as well just read your company’s website text themselves! Don’t skip over this when looking for your future account executive!
- Present the VideoX product suite at tech and other industry events; must also offer customizable demos for clients on-demand as requested as part of the client outreach strategy
- The role requires confident public speaking skills, excellent verbal communication, a friendly personality, storytelling abilities, and adaptability
