Does the direct sales executive work more hours than the channel accounts manager?

January 5, 2012 3:05 AM

Does the average direct sales executive work more hours than the average channel accounts manager?

On a high level I understand the difference between both types of roles. But I would like to know the real world differences in terms of stress level, workload, and hours worked.

Salary differences would be nice to know, but not a key concern.

Btw, when I refer to 'direct sales" i mean account managers, sales reps, bdms.

Many thanks!

posted by gttommy to Work & Money (1 answer total)

Best answer: From my perspective as a career direct sales rep, channel reps seem to spend more time wining and dining, playing golf, going to conferences, etc than they do engaged in the face to face close the deal selling. Some of that is the nature of the job. They aren't trying to close a deal as much as motivate the channel partners to buy from him versus the other guy when there is a deal to be had. The channel rep will be dealing with 4 channel partners vying for an advantage to close the same deal, and he has to manage all that conflict while keeping everybody reasonably happy. At the same time the channel rep has a quota to meet, with little direct impact on the sale. It's a different kind of stress than being a direct rep, where you sometimes have more control over the outcomes.

So it's not a matter of one side working harder than the other. They are two different jobs that require different skill sets to succeed, and involve different types of stress.
posted by COD at 5:42 AM on January 5, 2012