So you have decided your professional path in life is to become an Account Manager. Whether you currently hold this job (either because you’ve been in your position for some time or were recently hired for your role), or are interested in pursuing opportunities tied to account management shortly, you’ve come to the right place. Understandably, you want to be the best at your position that you can be. Account managing roles are detail-oriented, emphasizing establishing and fostering customer relationships as you ensure brand satisfaction. There are many opportunities for personal and professional development in an Account Manager role. If you want to be successful as an Account Manager, you can employ some valuable tips to pay off your hard work. Keep reading to learn three tips for being prosperous in your position.
Find a Mentor and Shadow Them to Gain From Their Experience
Firstly, let’s address those who don’t currently hold employment as an Account Manager but are working towards the role—or even those who recently moved into this position but feel fairly inexperienced. Many factors go into an Account Manager’s job, making it highly useful to have previous experience and understanding of the ins and outs of the position. Plus, more experience looks more desirable when applying for a role and guarantees to set you up for greater personal and financial success within your company.
Our best tip for those who are somewhat of “newbies” regarding account management is to find a mentor with more experience than you. Ask if you can run your questions by them, and since doing is always more effective than simply talking about something, see if you can shadow them in some of their daily tasks, such as calls with clients, managing account matters, or preparing reports. Remember that there should be no stigma about asking for advice—anyone of any age and experience can benefit from swapping tips with colleagues.
Improve Your Conflict Resolution Skills
Account Managers act as a go-between for the customers and the company, which means they are responsible for responding to client questions and complaints and then presenting solutions that work to each party’s benefit (especially those that satisfy the clients). A successful Account Manager, therefore, has strong conflict resolution skills. Being able to deflate stressful situations with a calming demeanor, effective communication, and unique resolution tactics guarantees you’ll be a great Account Manager. You can work on these skills by practicing your listening abilities, improving your communication faculties (there is always room to improve), and focusing on building a greater understanding of people.
Needless to say, having strong people skills is a significant asset for Account Managers who want to be successful at work. This includes staying calm and focused as you listen to the requests and frustrations of others so you can learn what your customer is hoping to gain from the interaction. You want to ensure you build good rapport and a level of trust with your clients since you’re the face of the company that they’ll turn to with their concerns.
Sync Your Customer Data Between Your Data Warehouse and CRM Software
As an Account Manager, it falls to you to stay on top of data and details when managing customer accounts. You work closely with your company’s sales representatives to ensure the highest potential leads are pursued and your current clients’ needs are met. Therefore, you must work with customer relationship management (CRM) software. In such programs, you can keep track of your customer data to ensure nothing falls by the wayside while each customer is being properly interacted with.
A great tip that allows you to go a step beyond merely accessing your data within your CRM software is also to sync it with your data warehouse. Think of all that information on your customers—such as their behavioral data, engagement data, and attitudinal data—that is floating in your data warehouse without being examined; now, consider how much more you could understand about how to target your customers moving forward if you synced this data with your CRM. For instance, simply syncing your BigQuery to Salesforce can yield incredible information for your sales team to pursue, which will lead to greater results.
If you incorporate these three tips, you’ll be able to see your success as an Account Manager grow while your enjoyment of your job increases; it’s no secret that the more secure you are in your role, the more you’ll feel accomplished and content. Feel free to use these tips to skyrocket your success at work and find new appreciation for your job.
