The key responsibility of an account manager is to retain customers and work as an intermediary for the organization’s sales team. They are responsible for growing the company’s revenue by empowering its relations with an existing customer.

As an enterprise operating in the SaaS (Software As A Service) environment, we understand the importance of having a strong account manager for the company’s overall growth. Keeping this in mind, we have curated this exclusive guide that discusses account management, the job, and the resources to look for.

Who is an Key Account Manager?

An Account Manager is a professional responsible for building and maintaining healthy client relationships. Their efforts are aimed at two things – 

1. To ensure that the customers are satisfied 
2. To improve customer retention

Their job role requires them to oversee the entire customer life cycle and ensure they are satisfied with the products or services offered. Account managers also conduct research and present unique solutions to assist customers in gaining tangible business outcomes.

Activities of a SaaS Account Manager

A SaaS Account Manager’s work, on a day-to-day basis, includes –

Account planning

This is a foundational activity for an account manager. They have to go through individual customer reports and come up with the best strategic approach to attend to the customer and build a plan to ensure that they turn long-term customers. The manager should also ensure that the strategic account includes the allocated budget, resources, expected revenue, and relationship goals.

Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs)

Once the account plan is drawn, it is the responsibility of the account manager to ensure that the plan is on track. This can be done through a formal review process. Additionally, the process is also used to monitor the health of client relations. The account manager should involve the key players from both sides of the customer relationship. 

The account manager should use this as an opportunity to capture the customer’s voice and demonstrate the value provided to the customer.

Health Checks

In case the account manager does not have the time to prepare a formal review process, they should plan health checks to track customer accounts. 

Whitespace analysis

Their day-to-day activity also includes whitespace analysis, where the account manager analyzes the places where additional products/ services offer more value to the customer. They have to analyze if there are customers who could benefit from alternate products/ services; if yes, then who the customers would be, or if there are any changes in the customer lifecycle, etc.

Selling

The Account Managers’ are also tasked to partner with the company’s sales reps to follow up on sales. While the account managers are not personally responsible for closing the customer deal, it is part of their job to try to bring the customer closer to the product/ service with each interaction. 

Training

As a part of their everyday activity, the account manager needs to convey to the customers the new features and/ or product changes. They are responsible for conveying the value of the changes/upgrades and training them with the product.

Orchestrating

The account manager should also be responsible for overlooking the customer-facing initiatives organized by the other teams. For example, they need to connect the marketing & advertising teams with the users to get testimonials. 

Guiding

The account managers have to act as the customers’ guide to the entire organization. 

Monitoring

They are also responsible for staying up to date on what is happening in the industry and ensuring excellent communication with the customers. This will help identify opportunities so they can do their job more efficiently.

Tools Used by an Account Manager

There are some important tools that an account manager should use to deliver on their job roles and responsibilities. Some of the tools include –

Sales Intelligence Tools: Sales intelligence tools such as LinkedIn Sales Navigator are extremely useful for account managers. These tools help them establish and enhance relationships with both existing as well as prospective customers.

The tools help account managers to –

Grow their network
Generate qualified leads
Build and nurture relationships
Grow revenue

Appointment Scheduling Tools: Account managers can use appointment scheduling tools such as Arrangr to set up meetings with the stakeholders. 

The tools help save hours of account managers’ time by letting people schedule meetings, and a notification is sent to their email ID. 

CRM tools: Communication is a particularly important part of a relationship – be it with the internal teams or with the external stakeholders. Considering this, it is important to know what is being conveyed and who is involved in it. Therefore, account managers, who serve as liaise between the internal teams and the customers, need to use robust CRM solutions/ tools to communicate and track customer relationships at every touchpoint.

Writing a Job Description for an Account Manager

An account manager is a key executive in an organization, especially an organization operating in the B2B SaaS vertical. So, you must find the right candidate for the position.

When hiring for a role of such prominence, you must draft a Job Description that is simple, clear, and precise. The job description for the role of an account manager can be as follows

Account Manager: Brief

Looking for an ‘Account Manager’

The candidate will be responsible for building and maintaining long-term customer relationships. Their role includes taking care of the assigned customer portfolios, analyzing, and building new business opportunities with existing clients, and looking for new sales opportunities.

Account Manager: Responsibilities

1. Act as a liaise between the internal teams and the customers – i.e., be the voice of the customers. 
2. Serve as the main point of contact for the customers and develop long-term relationships with them. 
3. Assist customers at different stages of their customer lifecycle through phone, email, and online and in-person interactions.
4. Nourish key customers into becoming trusted brand advisors. 
5. Work with the Sales team and assist them in closing deals and contract negotiations to increase revenue.
6. Ensure the customer needs and desires are addressed and proper solutions are delivered. 
7. Analyze customer data and draw insights and forecast account metrics.
8. Ensure that both the internal as well as external stakeholders are aware of the status of monthly and quarterly efforts.
9. Monitor and analyze how the customers use the product/ service and help them recognize its value. 
10. Convey and monitor the usage of new features and their value.
11. Help customers with the challenges they might face with the product/ service. 
12. Take up the responsibility to provide excellent customer care and ensure their satisfaction daily. 
13. Collaborate with the sales team to integrate and onboard new clients and strengthen connections with existing ones. 
14. Work to improve the organization’s image and reputation by attending to unique, challenging requests from customers.
15. Read new publications and stay up to date about the clients and the industry to build on their job knowledge.
16. Conduct customer needs assessments at regular intervals.

Account Manager: Skills & Requirements

The candidate for the job role should have –

1. Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
2. Strong listening, presentation, and negotiation abilities
3. Possess the ability to interact with the organization’s key stakeholders, including the C-suite executives.
4. Is capable of handling multiple customer accounts and ensuring timely execution and delivery of projects. 
5. Should have prior work experience as an Account Manager, Junior Account Manager, or a relevant role.
6. Should have prior experience in delivering customer-centric solutions to address customer needs.
7. Should be affluent with MS Office and CRM software. 
8. Should have a relevant degree in Business Administration or Sales. 
9. Researching and analyzing data from existing information.
10. Be results-oriented and always have the best interests of the clients in mind.
11. Good at making strategic decisions.

Account Manager: Preferred Qualifications and Skills 

Key Account management is an especially important aspect that directly impacts the customer lifecycle. Considering the importance of the function, account managers need to have leadership, communication, negotiation, and strategic thinking capabilities. 

Communication: Key account management is a strategic approach that impacts the entire organization. As a result, the account manager will have to maintain close communication with all the departments of the company. Through persuasive communication, the account manager needs to ensure that the needs and expectations of the customers are met. 

Considering this, the account manager has to be an expert communicator in person, on the phone, via email, and across teams since they serve as the link between the client and the rest of the business. 

They must also be very proficient in dealing with C-suite executives and managing operations managers and sales representatives.

Leadership: Account managers are leaders. As an intermediary between the clients and the organization, they have to be extraordinarily strong in managing both parties. They are responsible for making important decisions that bring positive outcomes to the organization’s employees and the clients assigned to them. 

Considering their roles and responsibilities, account managers have to be confident and authoritative when needed. Additionally, account managers should also be visionaries who can lead both customers and internal stakeholders on key initiatives.  

Customer expertise: The top duty of an account manager is to nurture relationships with existing customers. To make this possible, it is of utmost importance that the manager has in-depth knowledge of the company’s customers. This will include domain knowledge (customer’s domain), the customer’s history as well as the current status, and even the customer’s clients. The account manager has to have this information about all the customer profiles assigned to him/her.

To get this level of customer expertise, the account manager should conduct thorough research about the customer and also have a clever idea about the relationship goals and the budget of the customer. 

Skilled negotiator: An account manager works as an intermediatory between the company and the customers. They are responsible for maintaining healthy relationships between both parties. Recognizing that their ultimate goal is to build or improve customer relationships, the account manager has to keep the best interests of both parties in mind and work towards them. For this, they should be able to negotiate the terms, so both parties are satisfied.

To be able to do this, the account manager has to have a good sense of timing, excellent presentation skills, and the confidence to stand their ground when necessary.

Strategic perspective: Strategic perspective is one of the key skills a good account manager should have. Their duty is not limited to building and maintaining healthy relationships with the customers. Rather, they need to focus on the bigger picture, plan for the long-term, and develop strategic ways to retain existing customers. 

Account Manager: Frequently Asked Questions

How does one become a good account manager?

For a professional to be a good account manager, the person has to be customer-focused. This is the most important quality they should have. A good account manager should also be good at all forms of communication. Another important quality they should have is in-depth knowledge about the assigned customer, the customer’s product or service, and the customer’s clients. 

Who does an account manager interact with daily?

To fulfil their job roles and responsibilities, the account manager has to work with the customer as well as the sales team. Further, they should understand each other’s needs and requirements properly. 

They collaborate with both parties to ensure they each have clear expectations for the transaction and identify whether the product or service meets their expectations. The account manager should also be prepared for negotiations whenever necessary.

Wrapping Up

Key Account Management is an especially important organizational strategy. Companies can earn huge dividends by investing in the best manager, which can be of terrific value for overall organizational growth. 

Follow this guide to hire the right account manager and invest in your company’s growth. 

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