Account Manager Job Description (2022)

Free account manager job description. An account manager is a professional responsible for the oversight and management of sales and relationships with customers or clients. Account managers act as a type of agent that fills a necessary gap between customer service and the sales team. An account manager is assigned to one or more existing clients, accounts, or customers.

Other titles for an account manager include strategic account manager, key account manager, and national account manager. Or account executive, senior account manager, and junior account manager.

What is an Account Manager

An account manager is a liaison between an agency and the agency's clients. In some circumstances, the account manager may handle advertising campaigns and other marketing campaigns for clients. The account manager oversees the agency-client relationship, determining clients’ needs, and determines what they’re looking to achieve short-term and long-term. The account manager assists with brand loyalty and campaign execution.

Account Manager Job Description Sample

Our business is seeking an account manager to help oversee key account management and general account management for our clients and customers. The ideal candidate is someone who can assist with all client needs. Listening to the client and addressing concerns, questions, and other inquiries or requests. Our account manager will work closely with existing accounts and new business to develop strong business relationships. A successful account manager will address customer issues. Work to assess customer needs and assign work to internal teams in order to continue a strong client relationship.

Account Manager Duties and Responsibilities

Below are the job duties and account manager responsibilities:

• Work closely with key customers and key accounts.
• Assess the assigned customer account and address marketing needs, business needs, and more.
• Keep a record of client accounts and build close business relationships with stakeholders.
• When clients have sales requests, connect them with a sales manager of other sales representatives.
• Provide world-class and white-glove experience to customers at all times.
• Assess existing customers’ experiences with the company, service, or products.
• Constantly be building relationships with new customers, existing customers, and present an opportunity to work with the company to prospects.
• Work closely with sales representatives and provide an opportunity to hit a sales target by providing key information about a customer's needs or requests.
• Take on the responsibility of general accounting tasks related to the client (sales, audits, satisfaction, other).
• Manager social media campaigns (Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat), organic lead-gen campaigns, and other organic and paid campaigns.

Entry-Level Account Manager Duties and Responsibilties

• Travels to assigned clients or speaks with clients and prospective customers to develop and close sales.
• Consults with clients and determines the best solution for the identified business problems.
• Quotes product or services prices and credit terms and prepares contracts for orders obtained.
• Works to develop business-relevant solutions for clients and presents those solutions.
• Prepares and delivers daily sales statistics or relationship metrics as directed by the manager.
• Develops and maintains strong customer business relationships throughout the entire buy and engagement cycle.

Account Manager Requirements

Qualified candidates should have the following:

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Business Management, Communications, or another relative field of study.
• Previous work experience in an agency or service business preferred.
• Key interpersonal skills, social skills, and sales skills.

Account Manager Salary

According to Micah Pratt of Business.com says a great account manager is "also customer relations-oriented professional. Clients have to trust their account managers to have their best interests at heart. This is done by nurturing the relationships and going the extra mile to foster an environment that values clients. Being open and honest about the company's prices and business terms and being consistent over time are two key success factors. The trust will compel the clients to remain loyal to the company, even if competitors offer a better price or product."

Account Manager Job Boards

Employers who are posting account manager job advertisements should use the following job boards to post their open position. It's best to use the "niche" job boards before opening the job advertisement up to larger job boards like Indeed, Monster, and Dice.com

Top account manager job boards

• PPAI
• The Ladders
• BuiltIn
• WeWorkRemotely

An experienced account manager looks for open positions on those job boards.

Account Manager Education and Certifications

Most account managers don't require a bachelor's degree. Though a bachelor's degree in business, business administration, marketing, or communications is acceptable for most employers. And while certifications aren't required in this position, SAMA's Certified Strategic Account Manager (CSAM) certification is desirable amongst employers. Another certification is the Benefits Account Manager Certification by NAHU. And while not directly related, the Certified Business Relationship Manager (CBRM®) is a great certification amongst account management positions.

How to Write an Account Manager Job Description

Follow the directions below to write an account manager job description for an advertising, marketing, or another industry-related field.

Write workplace expectations

Depending on the sample job description above, determine the ideal candidate's appropriate workplace expectations. Include those expectations in the job description or job brief.

It's best to describe the objectives of the account manager. Describe the types of clients the account manager works with. What types of relationship-building is expected of the account manager. And ideal "end results" of the account manager is getting hired by the firm or business.

Write daily responsibilities

Include the duties and responsibilities portion of the job description. If unclear how to write these duties, ask the marketing and account managers what "important duties" are of an account manager. Solicit feedback and write duties from there.

Write requirements, certifications, and skills

Include what requirements, certifications, previous work experiences, and general skills are required for the position. Include those qualities under the "Requirements" section of the job description.

Avoid unique job titles

This common practice is intended to attract experienced account managers. An employer lists the job title as "Rockstar Account Manager." Avoid this common mistake. For job seekers, it can be confusing. And can cause the job applicant to provide irrelevant job experiences for the hiring manager.

Include more relevant job titles like, "Entry Level Account Manager." Or "Experienced Account Manager" in the job brief. This will better describe the intended experience level and salary expectations of the role.

Don't use unique job titles

It's best to avoid job titles like, "Rockstar Graphic Designer." Use a common job title like Graphic Designer. Job applicants will feel more confident aligning previous work experience to an industry-common job title.