If you’re a veteran to sales, when you see the topic of “Account Management” one’s mind goes to one of two places: 1) Managing and selling to large accounts, or 2) Managing existing customer account relationships. I’m seeing more organizations today that are structurally blurring the lines of “selling” and “managing customer relationships.”
Ideally, all customer-facing team members are selling and managing relationships. When existing accounts warrant full-time attention to customer service/support, implementation and care-giving, then Account Managers are needed to truly manage and service the account. They may have cross-selling and up-selling responsibilities as well.
But this does not necessarily mean they have account strategy responsibilities or even needed capabilities. Sales Account Executives need to quarterback the account. Without clearly defined roles and responsibilities havoc and missed opportunities may prevail.
Do you have clear delineation of roles and responsibilities between your Account Executives and Account Managers?
