The profession of an account manager has always been particularly popular with seekers of quick career scenarios. From the outside, it seems that only activity, presentable appearance and confident communication skills are enough to occupy this niche. However, today's employers have become much more discerning.
Competence set
A customer service manager is a staff unit that is equally common, both in a large business and in a small segment of it.
For each market, there is a certain level of requirements for the set of competencies of account managers. Today, specialists in this profile must have a predominantly higher education in the fields of economics, law or management. Highly specialized enterprises widely welcome the presence of specialized education - it is more profitable for a company that sells metal rolling to hire a manager with an engineering education.
The analysis of vacancies of large companies shows a growing interest in specialists who have completed advanced training courses in the field of effective business management.
Small and medium-sized businesses still welcome managers with secondary specialized education and a minimum set of competencies. The main selection criterion is rather communication skills. Simply put, if a specialist knows how to conduct a dialogue, has the gift of persuasion and is motivated to earn money, then most likely the employer will hire such a specialist.
Completed courses in management, marketing, PR, rhetoric, etc. will be an additional plus for an applicant for the position of a client manager.
Job responsibilities
Most often, the responsibilities of an account manager are related to closing new deals and increasing sales. It is by this criterion that the employer evaluates the performance of a specialist.
A big advantage is that the applicant has experience in the field of sales according to the profile of the company, as well as an existing client base. The base should be understood not so much as a list of potential addressees of services with their coordinates, as well-established relationships with people responsible for concluding transactions.
Often, in order to get a job in a particular company, applicants first get a job in an organization working in the same field, but located below the desired employer. It builds experience and builds relationships with customers.
However, the employer does not always assign product sales responsibilities to the account manager. This position may cover the role of the Customer Relations Coordinator. Most often, such specialists are attracted by companies for IT products, software, accounting and legal services. Representatives of the company do not work in the sales market, but only provide services and ensure the smooth operation of the product.
Salary expectations
Depending on the size of the enterprise and the region, the salary of a client manager varies greatly. In general, a specialist in this position has an average salary of an ordinary office worker.
Most often, the salary of an employee of this profile is formed from the minimum wage that the specialist receives guaranteed, and the percentage of the concluded transactions. It is this floating part of the income that is the main one for specialists. The absence of an upper wage bar most often attracts part-time students, young professionals, and people interested in short-term but quick earnings to work with clients.
Employers are sympathetic to the fact that customer service managers are specialists who often change jobs, therefore, truly valuable employees are ready to motivate them with additional payments.
Repurposing
Successful account managers do not always come from retail direct sales. Large businesses often “create” such specialists from company employees who clearly know the strengths of the enterprise and are able to profitably present it to third parties.
Former analysts, hired advisers and consultants, employees of PR services, assistant managers, etc. can act as a client relationship manager.
In terms of the set of competencies, the position of the Deputy Head of Public Relations is the closest to the account manager. Specialists of this level often undertake public coverage of the company's activities, so they know the strengths of the company better than anyone else.
In small and medium-sized businesses, the functions of a customer relations manager are often assigned as an additional burden to the company's leading specialists, heads of specialized departments, press secretaries, etc.
Those specialists whose main profession has nothing to do with sales can also take the place of a customer service manager. So, often in this capacity, workers in the service sector can act - administrative personnel, workers in the field of trade.
