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8 Essential Account Management Skills You Need to Build

Divya Bichu
Here is an overview of what account management is, and the skills required to be a successful account manager.
Large companies have various departments to maximize their service and make work simple at the same time. The division of departments and responsibility ensures an organized atmosphere at the workplace. Account management is one such department amongst the many other departments.
Account manager, is the key person in looking after this department. An account manager acts as an interface between the clients and the company. An account management function is usually required by all companies, be it consultancy firms, advertising, public relations, service providers or manufacturers.

What is Account Management

Account management function works closely to gauge the needs of the clients and satisfy them by developing services or products. It deals with the complexity of managing clients and improving services to keep up to their exceptions, and hence, increases business and goodwill.
The main aim of this department is to maximize the value of services and products offered, along with maintaining client favorable relationships. The account management function is not as easy as the job profile sounds. A series of things go into making a "successful account manager".

Account Management Skills

Organization

Organization is the key to this function. When you work on a project or service developing it to maximize customer satisfaction, it becomes important to keep note of every aspect and fold of it, in an organized manner.

Establish the Needs Matrix

An account manager has to establish needs of the clients and work to deliver them. Identifying with the customer needs will only help develop and increase the business value. This is a very important part of professional account management skills.

Barriers to Competitors

The skill to tackle the competitors becomes important, to maximize the value of the business. Here, the customer account manager plays a key role, and is expected to build a barrier for competitors, in order to get maximum sales.

Client Analysis

The account management works to understand and analyze the client. Like having a SWOT analysis done. He has to judge the strength, weakness, opportunities and tests of a client to maximize the value of his product, service through the client.

Conflict Management

Since the account manager plays the role of a mediator between the company and its clients, it is his responsibility to make sure there are cordial relationships amongst the two. They need to be creative too in order to sort out conflicts, if any.

Communication Skills

The most important skill one needs to possess, is "good communication skills". With a strong communication skill, account managers will be able to understand the business strategy.
He has to interact with the clients as well as the internal staff, conduct meetings, intimate the required needs of the client to the concerned department, and so on. Having good communication skills smoothens the entire process.

Updated Knowledge

The account manager must have a good insight of the industry. Updated knowledge of the clients, the competitors goals and strategies, is important, to be a successful account manager. They have to update thems about trends.

Create the Trust Factor

When people have trust in a company, they start to patronize their products and services. The account management team creates this trust factor amongst clients. This requires convincing and innovative skills, to get your clients in the spiral of control.
Maintaining a good rapport with the clients, identifying what they expect out of you, and specializing in delivering the same, are the main account management functions!