What Makes a Great Account Executive? You Might Be Surprised

Account Executives are the people at the front lines of the sales team. They spend their days talking to prospective customers and closing deals

So what does it mean to be great as an Account Executive? Is it an innate ability to sell water to a whale? The knack to wield PowerPoint like a seasoned pro?

Yes… and no. Account Executives who lead the pack must first develop a combination of skills through practice and time (persuasion and technology included among them). But the biggest skills that’ll give you the edge you’re looking for aren’t as obvious as you might think.

3 Skills that Elevate Great Account Executives

What can we learn from Account Executives who excel at their work? Here’s what sets them apart from the rest:

1) The ability to listen more than you talk

It may sound cliché, but in order to be successful in sales, you need to be a good listener. If you hop on every call trying to pitch your product or service, you’ll miss the vital nuggets of info that’ll help you make a pitch and close a deal with a prospect.

Take the time to understand what the customer wants and needs! Only then can you offer a solution that will truly address their pain points.

Think of it like the 80-20 rule: you’ll find more success if you spend just 20 percent of your time talking and 80 percent of the time listening than you will if the numbers were flipped.

It’s not an exact science, but that guideline should help you figure out what a great sales conversation might look (and sound) like.

2) The ability to empathize with your customer

The best salespeople are able to put themselves in their customers’ shoes and see things from their perspective. They’re curious about what makes others tick and try to understand what it’s like to think and feel the same way.

Empathy in the workplace is a key foundational sales skill that allows you to build trust and establish a real connection with your customers.

When you flex your empathy muscles, you also:

• Define customer problems and potential solutions more effectively
• Build stronger, long-lasting customer relationships
• Encourage additional business from referrals and repeat orders
• Improve the products and services you offer

3) The ability to handle rejection.

Sometimes, it can hurt to hear no.” It can hurt even more to hear it over and over again. In sales, you’re going to get rejected — a lot.

Rejection is redirection. It’s important to be able to take rejection in stride and not let it get you down.

The best Account Executives don’t just bounce back and hop on the next call. They learn from those no's to get more yes' in the future!

• Remember: rejection in sales isn’t personal
• Understand why the prospect said no in the first place
• Review your sales process and see if there’s room for improvement
• Reflect on your skills and bolster any areas that could use a little TLC

Ready to Learn These Critical Account Executive Skills?

While other skills like communication, problem-solving, and time management all have a role to play in your success as an Account Executive, there’s more to the story.

Account Executives who emphasize listening over talking, empathize with their customers and handle rejection with resilience aren’t just okay or good at their jobs. They’re great.

Of course, those skills come with practice. That’s why we created our Account Executive Foundations Course, a 5-week program that shows you the ropes from top to bottom of the funnel, led by seasoned pros who are ready to share their experience.

Ready to see what Career Success looks like in tech sales? We’ve got you covered with our Career Success Catalog.