Account management and sales have a similar set of goals: build strong relationships with clients and increase profitable revenue. Both functions are important in order for your organization to be successful, but they require two different skill sets. Let’s begin by defining the two roles, and then exploring the differences.
What is Account Management?
Account management is a client-facing, post-sale role.
- Once the deal is won, the account manager continues to build a strategic relationship with the customer-ensuring they’re achieving the highest level of satisfaction and advising them on long-term growth strategies.
Skills an Account Manager Needs for Success
Relationship building: this requires communicating effectively and taking a consultative, buyer-focused approach with all client interactions
- Prioritization: account managers should be happy to help their clients, but they must understand which accounts to prioritize
- Long-term thinking: unlike sales reps who tend to think shorter term (i.e. converting prospects into customers and making sales), AM’s must focus on building strategic and long-term relationships and defending their accounts from competitive encroachment
Conclusion
Both have the end goal of increasing revenue, but the paths they use to get there can be very different
- Ensure your people have the skills necessary to build and maintain long-term relationships with key clients
- The Brooks Group’s Strategic Account Management training program teaches participants a highly-practical system for identifying key accounts and developing them in ways that will strengthen the client relationship-and drive additional sales revenue for your company
Are the Two Roles Ever Combined?
Depending on the size of your company and sales force, the two roles may be combined
- Even if your sales team is responsible for strategic account management, it’s important to understand the different skills required so that both roles can be executed successfully
Skills a Sales Representative Needs for Success
Prospecting: self-management and persistence is key
- Developing rapport: rep should be able to identify a buyer’s behavior style and tailor their communication to match
- Questioning: asking open-ended questions to uncover a prospect’s wants and needs and listening to understand, not to respond
- Influencing: a sales rep must have strong product knowledge and confidently demonstrate how the benefits of the product align with the buyer’s needs
- Closing: salesperson must feel confident asking for the sale
