Sales account manager

Key account managers (also known as brand managers) negotiate with brands on behalf of their companies (such as Danone, Unilever or Nestlé, for example), particularly to get their products onto shelves in the big supermarkets, like Auchan, Walmart, Tesco or Casino. These big brands generally group their purchasing teams together in central departments, which is where the exciting negotiations take place.

  • Starting salary (per month)-
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Account management, a career with customer service at its heart

Account managers oversee and develop portfolios of clients - from SMEs to the biggest corporations and institutions - in order to sell them products or services. They often specialise in a given sector (e.g. insurance, banking, construction and civil engineering, IT, etc.). Bringing on board new prospective clients and supporting their existing customers are how they spend most of their days. 

Sectors: banking, finance, insurance, construction and civil engineering, property, urban planning, industry, agriculture, chemistry, etc.

Monthly gross salary of a junior account manager: €2,000 - €3,000

Synonyms: business manager, business management executive, business engineer, SME business manager, technical sales manager

The life of an account manager...

Identifying their client’s needs

Regardless of the sector they work in, first and foremost, account managers need to understand and identify their client’s needs in order to put forward relevant solutions.  

Proposing relevant solutions 

Once their needs have been identified, account managers have to convince their clients that the solutions their company can offer are the best way to proceed. 

Monitoring projects

True project managers at heart, account managers oversee the smooth running and monitoring of a wealth of different projects, from negotiating contracts at the very beginning of the relationship all the way through to invoicing for the services they’ve performed. 

Building customer loyalty

As trusted client advisers, account managers need to be able to anticipate and respond to any requests that may come their way. They may also have to travel frequently to various locations to meet with their clients and prospects. 

Signing new clients

Beyond constantly managing their client portfolio, account managers need to bring on board new customers all the time. 

Fun fact

The Pareto Principle (also known as Pareto’s Law or the 80-20 Law) is a statistical and empirical observation dating from the late 19th century. Still used today in business, it can roughly be summarised as follows: 80% of turnover is generated by 20% of customers. Which makes you want to really take care of those 20%, right?

Skills

Hard skills

  • Canvassing methods
  • Use customer relationship management software
  • Commercial law
  • Use office systems

Soft skills

  • Active listening
  • Systemic perception
  • Logical reasoning

Typical educational background

5 years of higher education, business studies

Within companies

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