I work in the highly challenging, competitive and rewarding world of sales. I have experience working as an Account Manager for several years and as a result I love to read about other people’s ideas, challenges and different approaches to managing situations. Lately I have been reading about sales from well-respected sales professionals from a variety of industries. I could noticed that there are some key things that you should do if you want to be a successful Account Manager. I want to share some of these with you.
- Know your product: and know it better than the back of your hand. I am sure that most sales people would already know this but, it does not hurt to be reminded. As an Account Manager you are the voice and face of the company and the first place your clients will come to when they have any questions, concerns and suggestions.
- Know your clients organizational structure: both the formal and informal structure. Depending on their organization, there can be multiple layers of decision makers and influencers. It is not enough just to know the manager who is purchasing from you. This would leave you too exposed to any changes that might occur within that organization. It is in your best interest to know, at minimum, who is working for the person that is buying from you as well as who the buying person is reporting to. If the buyer suddenly quits their job or gets let go, the person who might replace him/her could be the person reporting to them. Even if that didn’t happen and they bring someone from outside in the organization, that new person would rely heavily on the person below them to be brought up to speed. Imagine how much easier it would be to build a new relationship with the new buyer if you had a warm introduction from the person you were already dealing it.
- Be up-to-date on your client’s business environment. The economy is in a constant state of ups and downs. That’s a given. And depending on the industry you are in, those ups and downs can be frequent and volatile. If your clients cost of doing business increases then chances are, their buying power will decrease. You would want to know that before you get blind sided with it. On another level, it will give you a chance to speak to your client about something other than how much they are looking to buy. It will lend credibility to you as an Account Manager and make your clients feel good about having you in their corner.
- Know your clients customers. It really helps to understand why those customers are buying your clients products. Are there other options out there? What are the things that they like or don’t like about the product? Any piece of information helps. This not only gives you insight on your clients customers but also will eventually give you some insight on your clients competition. Keep in mind, this is where your money is ultimately coming from!
- Know your internal objective of the account. You need to be fully aware of the value of this account to your own company. It is a safe guess to think that the value your company puts on this account is quiet high because they will be dedicating your time and energy behind it. So understand what other opportunities are within the account and maximize your wallet share from the company. If you have done your homework on the company then leverage the information you have gathered.
- Listening and asking the right questions. Sometimes I feel the art of listening seems to be disappearing! In sales we are in such a rush to get our message across that we don’t take into account the other person we are dealing with. You need to be able to understand what the other person is saying and ask relevant questions based on your understanding. Don’t assume anything! As my mentor told me many years ago: Don’t make an ASS out of U and ME.
- Be client focused. This is after all a customer service orientated role as well. Of course there is a large component of sales behind it but it’s not a hard sales role either. Its more maintenance and growth that is your focus. And keeping them happy.
- Communication, communication, communication! I cannot emphasize this enough! As an Account Manager your verbal and written communications needs to be top-notch. Your ability to build one-on-one rapport with your external stakeholders will be crucial in ensuring the good health of the account. The ability to speak in a clear and concise way to get your message across is critical. And internally as well you need to be able to communicate with your internal stakeholders about how the account is doing and what your forecasts will be.
- Business judgement. You need to be able to weigh pro’s an con’s objectively and in a balanced way. The business environment shifts all the time and you need to be able to move with the current. You essentially have two clients for the one account: internal stakeholders and external stakeholders. It becomes a balancing act. You need to leverage all the information that you have gathered and pair it with your business sense to make the right call and execute it.
- Deliver on your promises. And if possible, go one step forward and over deliver. Most of us work in highly competitive market spaces. You need to reduce, and if possible, eliminate any reasons for your clients leaving you. One solid way to do this is by delivering when you promise something. Things go haywire sometimes and people understand that (for the most part!). Businesses live and die because of their reputation and if you are a small business then this is even more crucial.
There are so many other things that I can add to this list and I will in the near future. This exercise has been really helpful for me as well. If you think I have missed anything critical then please let me know and I would be happy to add it to the list. My goal is to add to this as time progresses so that we can all share it.