Account Development Manager Job Description

What is expected of you as a Development Manager?

The role of a development manager can be very difficult. You are the man in the middle, being pulled in different directions by management, customers, sales, developers and other people. If you are doing your job well, nobody notices, the work gets done without drama, and everyone gets what they want.

If things go wrong, you are to blame. Managing expectations and making sure everyone understands your role are the first steps to success as a Development Manager. You and the people you work need to agree on what is expected of you as a development manager.

The Key Account Manager: A Sales Specialist with Knowledge of the Business

The Key Account Manager participates in regular sales reviews with the senior key account management. The Key Account Manager keeps data and information relevant to key accounts for the purpose of conducting analyses that influence account-specific decision making. The Key Account Manager is responsible for generating business in assigned accounts and for the achievement of new accounts for the business.

The Key Account Manager helps in the identification and evaluation of business opportunities by keeping an eye out for business best practices, trends, and principals that will enable the key account department to keep consumers satisfied and loyal to the business. The Key Account Manager plays a major role in the strategy by implementing sales strategies that lead to high consumer satisfaction and building awareness with the key clients. The Key Account Manager is involved in the strategic account planning process in which the financial targets, performance objectives, account management standards, and critical milestones are decided upon.

The Key Account Manager is collaborative with the customer support and resource management departments in an effort to meet account performance objectives as well as the key accounts' expectations through complimentary cross-functional efforts. The Key Account Manager works with senior account management to create and determine departmental strategies, financial requirements, and account management standards. The Key Account Manager is responsible for other duties that are necessary for the proper management of key accounts and duties assigned to him by the Senior Key Account Manager, Head of Key Account Management, Director of Sales, Chief Sales Officer or the employer.

The Key Account Manager needs a bachelor's degree in Sales, Business Management, Communications, Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, Business Administration or any other related field. An equivalent of the same in working experience is also acceptable. The ideal candidate should have at least 5 years of Key Account Management experience and be able to learn quickly and understand account planning in the key account management department.

The candidate will have problem solving skills. A suitable candidate will have demonstrated a great deal of sales experience, having met and even exceeded business targets, and will also have demonstrated an ability to drive sales. The Key Account Manager needs to demonstrate high skills in Ms Word, PowerPoint, and Ms excel in order to create visually and concisely engaging reports and presentations for senior account management and collaborating personnel as well as commercial materials for the key account clients.

Account Managers

An account management career is often suited for excellent communicators with a commitment to client satisfaction. An account manager who is attentive to the needs of their customers can be the difference between a happy customer and one who leaves the company. Account managers work with the appropriate people within their company to resolve problems if they occur.

Customers know who to contact for reliable answers when they need them. Account managers who are effective may go on to an account director position. Some become a director of account services, a high-level role that oversees the entire account management department.

Account managers work from home, on-site or in an office. They can travel to meet with clients and work from home. Account managers sometimes need to be available on evenings or weekends.

The Account Manager: A Tool for Managing Client Relationships

The account executive usually doesn't manage the client after they win the business. After closing a deal, they introduce the new client to the account manager who nurtures the relationship. The account manager should stay with the client account for the duration of the client's tenure with the company.

They might represent C-level clients, mid-management or even project managers. The account manager is the one who handles all relationships, communication, and presentations. Account managers are the main point of contact for your clients once the sales team wins a client.

They are essential to resolving conflicts with the client, smoothing communications with sales and customer support, and understanding the client's goals and pain points in order to best meet their needs. The account manager can bring a sales rep to a client meeting, give credit to other team members, and include profiles about team members in a newsletter or email update. If an account manager leaves the company, sales teams can use account maps to keep the entire org on the same page.

Account maps show the political landscape of a company and highlight the stakeholders who can help you close a deal or grow an account. Account management should lead client success efforts. Consistency in communication and messaging, clear scheduling, and keeping team members on the same page are all possible with a roadmap of your clients' journeys.

Key Account Management: A Strategic Program for the Business

A key account manager is responsible for retaining top customers and nurturing those relationships. They should become a strategic partner and advisor to the client, discovering new opportunities to work together for mutual benefit. Key account management reorganizes the business's teams and culture to develop different approaches to their biggest clients across the company, because traditional account management treats every customer relationship approximately the same.

Key account management is a strategic program that covers the entire organization. The KAM will likely have contact with each level of the business to make sure the customer's needs are met. KAMs can use the map in Lucidchart to simplify their communications.

Sales reps and KAMs can use account maps to find the right people to contact. Track all of the interactions on a single platform. The KAM acts as a visionary because of the strategic nature of the role.

They will be expected to lead both customers and internal executives on key initiatives. If companies can sell on value, they are more likely to be the primary suppliers of large accounts. Only a small percentage of sales executives think their reps are effective at value selling.

You can keep an eye on the market with the help of LinkedIn. You can always stay one step ahead of the competition if you use LinkedIn to monitor account markets. Adding a sales navigator to the company will help keep track of company changes.

10 Top Account Management Skills for Key Account Managers

Most Account Managers don't listen long enough to get a complete grasp of the situation before they start to spout their solutions. Sometimes they hit it, but most of the time they miss the mark. If you think you need to change something in your time management skills, you can simply change some things you do on a daily basis.

Understanding your client's business objectives allows you to manage and execute programs that are in sync with their objectives as well as yours, according to Thom. A client development plan template can help you ask the right questions to help you identify the challenges of your client's business. Patrick Wendrich believes you should be passionate about your products.

Savinides believes that Account Managers should be able to transfer their passion to the person they are talking to. The group was divided on whether formal training was a good place to develop account management skills. Many Account Managers believed they could gain skills on the job if they had formal training.

If you want to see the whole discussion for the 10 top skills for key account managers, please send me a message and I will invite you to the account management skills discussion page on Linkedin. I am really happy that you have found the information useful. Everyone has their own style of being an account manager and they can learn a lot from it.

I am sorry that your manager isn't giving you the encouragement, training and guidance you need. Maybe it is time to find a new manager. If you need help, please contact me at jenny@accountmanagementskills.com.

Business Development Managers

Business Development Managers are responsible for the development of the business side of the organization. They must identify rising business opportunities and build long-term relationships with prospects. That is needed to increase revenue and profits.

Business development is more than one man show. Collaboration with multiple parties from inside and outside the company is what it involves. A good business developer should be able to build relationships, influence, manage conflicts and navigate through office politics in order to get things done.

Good business developers are also project managers. They have to be able to plan and manage projects, calculate budgets, and work ongoing projects. Business Development Managers are always looking for knowledge.

They like to stay up to date with the latest economic issues. Business Developers are always organized and working under constant pressure. Knowledge in Sales Management, Marketing, Strategic Management and Business Planning is a strength they can use to grow your business.

Key Account Management: A Business Model for Strategic Development

Many organizations, both small and big, make the mistake of treating all accounts with the same business model. It is never too late to correct the situation and start looking at your account type. There is a key difference in the account types that organizations like yours have.

The hourglass helps in organizing functions and processes in a B2B company. The roles of marketing, inside sales, sales and strategic account management can be defined by the diagram. The key account manager and the supplier organization need to know what kind of relationship they have with each customer, and what they can and cannot do with it.

It is ok for some accounts to remain at the tactical stage even after a long time of engaging with them, especially if the account does not believe in building a partnership with suppliers or potential in the long run. The account has started moving beyond transactions. The engagements are driven by a small group of people on both sides.

The customer can exit the relationship fairly easily. The cost of a relationship is increasing from your side without visible advantages. To get started with the Account Planning template, you need to identify some Key Accounts and develop a criterion or model that distinguishes them from the rest of the customer base.

According to an HBR report, corporations like Xerox have a lot of resources and have been practicing KAM for years. The same categorization criteria must be followed throughout your organization, and you must have a clear understanding of what a Key Account is. Do not add customers to your Key Account program just because they are friends with the CEO, or because they have been customers for a long time.

Account Managers: How Do You Know Your Goal?

Account Managers thrive in a fast-paced, competitive sales environment. They are skilled at communicating with their clients. Account Managers must be problem solvers who can deal with rejection.

If you have been working in sales for a long time, you are probably at high risk of failing to meet a quota or benchmark. The interviewer is not expecting you to say you have never missed a goal. They want to gain insight into how and why you missed the target, what you learned from the experience, and how you applied that to avoid repeating the failure.

Professional development is demonstrated by your answer. If you have a perfect track record, you should be prepared to discuss any near misses and strategies you have used to avoid them. Account Managers need to form and maintain positive relationships.