Business strategist Tara Gentile says that “people don’t buy because what [the product does] is awesome, they buy because it makes them feel awesome.”
Finding an account manager who understands this marketing strategy, along with the job skills that encompass client satisfaction, contracts, and the art of upselling is tricky.
Don’t sweat the job description details! We’ve got you covered. Our three account manager job description samples and guide are guaranteed to bring some outstanding account manager resumes your way.
Write an Account Manager Job Description for Success
Writing a job description is a challenge. It must be informative and short, but it should also be intriguing. You don’t want to bore the reader.
For example, “ABC Corp seeks a self-starter with great interpersonal and organizational skills who can handle changes in a fast-paced environment….” Snore.
It’s tempting just to paste a bunch of bland, general job description stuff for an account manager and let it ride. Yet, account management professionals know what they do; you don’t need to explain the generic responsibilities.
Focus on your company and why it’s great. Or give them some examples of the problems they’ll fix. Perhaps the teams they’ll work with or the programs they’ll work on are especially exciting or unique.
For example, “XYZ Company is a dynamic place to pursue your career. Whether you collaborate with one of our trendy design departments or what we affectionately call our “backbone” production teams, our mission is the same—to build our business using innovation while maintaining old-fashioned integrity, excellent product quality, and employee fulfillment. The Account Manager will focus on deepening the B2C relationship, improving retention and of course, driving growth.”
Grab their attention quickly—otherwise, they’ll skip to the next job opening.
No matter what kind of business writing you’re doing, always be succinct in what you say. This means being clear and concise and choosing your words deliberately. Construct sentences tightly, omit unnecessary words, and always use proper grammar. It’s essential in a job description to get right to your point using language your readers will easily understand.
Why are you hiring, and who do you need on your team?
Make your job description more interesting by expressing why you need to hire a new account manager. Professional account managers understand what their job entails. What challenges do they need to address? Are client tensions a problem? Has your company grown and now needs someone to manage the top 15 percent of accounts? Are your revenues dropping, and you need someone to generate new business?
Explaining what they actually need to accomplish in the role rather than just spouting a bunch of general account management tasks makes for a much more informative and compelling job description. As always, keep it brief, specific, and to the point.
Strong account managers care deeply about their customers, understand the company’s priorities, and are skilled in negotiation. Similarly, these characteristics should be seen in your job description:
- You want account managers to value your customers, but does your writing demonstrate that you value your current employees and will appreciate your new account manager?
- It’s paramount that your account manager understands the company’s objectives, so have you done your utmost to make your goals clear in the job listing?
- Negotiation is a crucial skill for account managers. They’ll appreciate it when you provide a salary range and a discussion of benefits, which will also prove that you value them.
Outline Your Account Manager Job Description to Start
If you’re struggling to get your account manager job description kicked off, we can help. The best way to get your writing started is with an outline. The breakdown below will give you the sections you need to include and what should go in them.
Job details
The role of this section is typically a bit vague, but we recommend using it as an introduction. Give a (very) brief overview of your company and what the applicant’s role will be. This shouldn’t be very long, and it should give the absolute basics. Last but not least, include why you’re hiring. In essence, what is your company, what do they do, and in one statement, how would you describe the job of your account manager?
About the company
This section is usually at the very end of your job description and is your last chance to impress the reader and convince them that you have the right job for them. Finish strong and include some significant specifics about the account management role and your company that make it exceptional from account manager roles with other companies.
What you’ll be doing
This area is where your concise writing skills really come into play. Use action verbs and avoid filler words and jargon. Each item on your list should be short and to the point but descriptive and as interesting as possible.
- Interface with engineers, account managers, and representatives within the customer services group, and various departments within the client company to meet stated goals and objectives
- Establish and maintain high-level relationships with key decision-makers within assigned strategic account organizations
- Serve as a single point of contact for client issues; responsible for overseeing the plan of action to resolve critical issues with key departments within the operating company
Qualifications
Here is where you lay out the minimum requirements for a candidate to be eligible for the position. Education and experience are obvious inclusions, but an account manager is a very diverse role, so it’s critical that you list specific attributes your company needs in an account manager, like leadership abilities, computer proficiency, retail experience, or conflict resolution skills. You also want to list any “nice to haves” that will make the person stand out above the crowd.
Your list of qualifications needs to be thorough and include anything you consider a deal-breaker if the candidate lacks it. Yet, avoid driving away good candidates with a list that’s so long it’s intimidating or challenging to read.
Focus on the critical skills and experience the candidate must have. Again, this can be challenging for an account manager role because they usually perform many functions within a company. Avoid being Captain Obvious. Skip listing generic skills like communication and organization because they’re the basics every management type position will require. Anything like this will be evident in their resume.
- Bachelor’s degree (MBA, preferred)
- 3-5 years of experience fully owning the sales and account management process, including retention, upselling, and cross-selling additional products
- Experience managing and growing quota, ranging from $10-20M annually
- Demonstrated leadership experience preferred
Benefits
Adding a benefits section reinforces the idea that applicants will be treated well and rewarded for their work. Not only that, but it will also ease their worries about compensation: they won’t fear they’ll have to wait until after the interview to know how they’ll be paid. Because of this, many job descriptions put this section near the top to entice applicants, but remember that requirements and qualifications are far more critical in the long run. Save the benefits for later.
When you list company benefits, be as specific as possible while being concise. If you have any special employee programs, list them. If you offer any unique insurance policies, add those, too. For salary, however, give a range instead of a single number as it gives a realistic expectation of wage fluctuation based on a candidate’s experience.
Roles and Responsibilities of Your Account Manager
Account management is a broad area. From the obvious—managing accounts to strengthening client trust, account managers are experts in leadership, collaboration, and building high-level relationships. While not all account managers will do all of the following functions, it’s a great place to glean ideas for your job description.
Client Relations
- Creating, cultivating, maintaining, and even saving long-term relationships with clients/customer accounts is one of the most critical roles for an account manager.
- Partner with clients on troubled accounts to turn around and retain business
- Skill: Relationship Management
Sales
- Another key role the account manager fills is that of a sales leader. Boosting lackluster sales is an important job for any company. The account manager is a leader in this area for most companies and is accountable for creating revenue.
- Identify new up-selling and cross-selling opportunities within existing accounts
- Skill: Sales Generation
Strategist
- A business lacking direction can reach its full potential with the expert skills of a strategist. Higher-level account managers act as senior leaders in creating the business’ mission, goals, and strategies. They help drive the business and build the revenue base by defining how the company will fulfill their clients’ (the market) needs.
- Make recommendations to business stakeholders and executive management
- Skill: Business Strategy
Project Manager
- Even the most talented employees can miss the mark when a business lacks skillful, goal-oriented management. An account manager in a senior role is often called upon to assist with leading projects due to their extensive knowledge and facilitative abilities.
- Manage projects within clients’ accounts to ensure clients’ goals are met
- Skill: Project Management
Business Liaison
- At times, tensions caused by miscommunication or confusion can arise between a business and its client. A true diplomat, the account manager in a client communication role, acts as an intermediary for the client and various business units within the company. This frequently involves leading efforts to address issues.
- Act as liaison between customer and business, communicating clients’ needs and resolving issues
- Skill: Customer Liaison
Development
- A business with waning sales can soar with an account manager who works with internal teams to plan and execute efforts to find new business opportunities and increase revenue and profits.
- Collaborate with the sales and marketing teams to identify new opportunities to grow the business
- Plan, implement, and supervise the company’s financial strategy
- Skill: Business Development
Financial Manager
- Businesses can sharpen a fuzzy financial picture with an account manager who oversees the company’s money. This oversight can cover a lot of areas, including financial analysis, accounting, reporting, and payroll.
- Manage the company’s financial accounts, payrolls, budget, cash receipts, and financial assets
- Handle the business’ transactions and debts and do cash flow forecasting
- Follow proper accounting procedures to reach financial objectives
- Monitor and analyze financial accounting data
- Create financial reports based on data analysis
- Skill: Financial Management
Auditor
- Companies in the building stages often learn as they go and can find themselves needing to run a tighter ship. In a leadership role, an account manager also ensures that audit requirements are met.
- Perform and lead financial audits
- Ensure that audit compliance is maintained
- Skill: Audit Management
