RTM: What is the big shift we are seeing in account management today?

AS: A few years back, in many markets selling was a lot easier. Account managers tended to be product-driven salesmen, often with little real knowledge of the industry or partners to which they were selling.

Often there were few controls on behaviour, and the account manager frequently felt that he owned the account.  People were pretty territorial!  Sales skills, and the ability to close, for example, were rated very highly.

RTM: And today?

AS: Many intermediaries have become much more demanding, and often more powerful. They want to work with people who understand their industry and what they do. And they want deeper relationships – a retailer may want to talk to business development and brand managers, senior directors and even research and development staff.

“Intermediaries have become much more demanding, and often more powerful.”

But whilst industries have become more complex, resources have become scarcer.  So suppliers need to become much better at spotting opportunities and prioritising how they spend their time.

RTM: Hmm, so they need new skills?

AS: Yes! The whole role has moved from selling things to managing relationships.  I think that, to do this,  good account managers need four things. Firstly, organisational awareness. They need to know their own company’s structure and its wider products and services.

Secondly, they need business skills – relationship management, understanding business and finance, selling and industry skills. Thirdly, they are likely to need specific technical skills. For example, understanding how to use what may be a pretty complex customer-relationship management system. And this doesn’t mean just accurate inputting, but also how to forecast and identify new opportunities.

Fourthly, and arguably most importantly, account managers today need to have strong management skills, including project management, communication and team skills and the ability to delegate.