See Also:
Account Reconciliation
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants – AICPA
Thirteen Week Cash Flow Report
Accounting Income vs. Economic Income
Activity Based Management (ABM)

Account Manager Definition

The account manager definition is the manager of the customer relationship between a company and the client of one account. It is a very important job. The career path serves two roles in a company: liaison between the company and the customer, and sales person.

Account Manager Explanation

An account manager explanation is the first line of defense for customer relationship management, has many roles. First and foremost, their responsibilities involve making sure that a customer is pleased. In this way, they hear customer complaints and praises before anyone else.
Second, account manager skills involve making sure the client is up-to-date with payment. Software, these days, helps this process. Still, the account manager must make sure that the client has fully paid bills due. If not, it is their job to remind the customer. Collections, a different department from account management, is in charge of reminding the client of unpaid bills if this moves beyond the scope of the account manager.
Third, an account manager is a sales person. They are responsible for selling clients on additional services. Often, they are an expert in “upselling”; selling the client additional or more expensive products. In this way, an account manager qualifications create one of the most useful tools in a business.

Account Manager Example

Devin is an account manager for a major energy company. Client interactions fill his day. Devin loves his work because he can speak with people and practice his skills of persuasion. He is well versed in account manager best practices.
First, Devin begins his day by contacting clients who have not paid their bills. He simply calls them with a friendly reminder. If they continue this behavior, he passes their information off to collections. Devin is aided by software which reminds him who to contact and when. He very much appreciates CRM (customer relationship management) software because he can focus on processing rather than remembering customers.
Next, Devin deals with another client. In this situation, he needs to comfort the client while they are angry. Devin listens to the problem, restates it to the customer, and does what he can to fix it. Due to the fact that his company uses a horizontal management structure, Devin can solve problems himself. In this situation, he is able to turn an angry customer into one who purchases additional services.
When Devin leaves the office he is happy. His work involves pleasing customers as well as his employer. Devin is thankful that he has a job where he can make people happy every day. When he begins every day, he can rise with a smile knowing that his job is to help people get the results they want.

Hire the Right Account Manager

In order to determine which candidates are the right fit for your company, download and access your free white paper, 5 Guiding Principles For Recruiting a Star-Quality Team.