Overall, key account management and selling are very different. The Difference Between Key Account Management and Selling In some situations, account managers are also responsible for nurturing customers to the point of an upsell, and will then bring in a salesperson to handle the financial transaction. So, splitting these client-facing duties into two separate roles helps salespeople focus on bringing in new business and account managers on nurturing a growing customer base - which benefits both your new business numbers and retention rates. It’s difficult for one person to prospect and close well while also successfully maintaining a customer base. However, the functions also require two different skillsets. If your account manager has a quota on his head, it’s harder to trust that upsell recommendations or suggestions for new projects are in the client’s interest. There’s a reason there’s always been a strict Chinese wall between the publishing and editorial sides of newspapers: Journalists are supposed to report the truth, and involving them in ad buys or sponsorships creates the perception of bias, even if nothing unbecoming has happened. Why is there a split between account management and sales?
When you hand off a new client to their account manager, it’s your responsibility to communicate their goals, plans, and challenges - basically, a debrief on everything you’ve gathered during the sales process so your account manager can hit the ground running to help the client achieve their goals.Īfter handoff, account managers should let salespeople know when there are upsell opportunities or potential for new business.ĭepending on who’s responsible or eligible to make the sale, account managers should broach the conversation and work with sales to bring the new deal in, or close the deal themselves. How should account managers and salespeople work together?Īccount management and salespeople need to have open lines of communication. Customer service representatives typically deal with one-off issues, and serve a general customer base rather than being dedicated to a specific group of clients. So is account management just customer service? At smaller companies, these roles may be combined - usually, it’s larger businesses and agencies that can afford to split up new business and account management roles. Account executives generally hold pre-sale roles prospecting, presenting, and closing initial client deals.īut the two roles aren’t always separate. They check in on customers, serve as main point of contact, and handle upsells and contract renewals when appropriate. Account managers nurture and grow client accounts.
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