Categories
Professional & Management Sales & Customer Service Soft Skills

Achieving Account Management Excellence

What DO Excellent Account Managers do differently?

 

There’s account managers who seem to just about do enough in terms of generating profitability. And then there is successful Account Managers who are critical to their business and the customers they serve.

This sounds familiar with account management teams across the responsible for developing account managers….so we’re asking the question….

Just what is it that they do differently?

 

What behavioural characteristics do they demonstrate that makes them the Account Management supremo?

There are several key traits that make up what an excellent Account Manager does and we thought we would share what we’ve noticed during our experience of working with account management teams.

COMMUNICATION EXPERTS

The great account managers will continually maintain all channels of communication and will often find themselves making dozens of calls in a day.

And it’s not just keeping their key contacts and stakeholders updated and informed as to what’s going on, but also suppliers and project managers. Excellent Account Managers will never fully ‘switch off’, they’re always available and will religiously check email and remain in the loop, even during periods of annual leave.

How do they do this? Simply put, they are masters of communication.

Superior account managers embrace the latest technology. They use multiple platforms to communicate in a versatile way with their client.

ORGANISATIONAL EXCELLANCE

They call on their organisational skills and are usually known for their ability to do so. Excellent account managers also can organise on a small or a large scale whether it’s a conference call with several parties, a business meeting or an event and their efficiency at organising these is always noticeable and evident. Their productivity is high and they can always call on the right support for the right customer project.

FORMING RELATIONSHIPS

A great account manager possesses excellent relationship skills. They will constantly strive to develop their personal relationships.

These do not happen overnight and are perfected over time and then used to open and establish what will become a long-lasting relationship. The adage that we’ve all heard goes ‘people buy from people’…. there may be an element of truth to that, however people buy value and quality based on a relationship of trust.

Great account managers take the time to understand their contacts, their business, their motivators, their issues, their headaches and what keeps them awake at night and will work on solutions…..they research tirelessly so they are prepared and never take things for granted. Great account managers care for their customers and will very often go the extra mile to ensure deadlines are met.

Another essential component in relationship building is that recommendations are given for new business opportunities emerge which can benefit the account manager.

 

THEY RESPECT BUT ALSO CHALLENGE

Account Managers who are more successful than other account managers  usually manage larger spending accounts and with added responsibility to their customers. They will not be afraid to tell a large spending account that they are potentially not making the right decision, or not selecting the right product or service. They will then present more options and see through to a solution.

Categories
Leadership Development Professional & Management Professional Development Soft Skills

Maximise your Strengths at Work

Is there a problem here?

Logically, everyone knows it makes sense to use our strengths at work, yet not all of us do. Research from strength expert Marcus Buckingham shows that only 12% of professionals use their strengths consistently in the workplace. This can have a huge negative impact on business performance.

Superman has great strength
Use your strengths at work

What does it mean to you?

From working with hundreds of managers and professionals we know that if we ask the question “What are strengths?” most reply:

  • Things I am good at
  • Things I enjoy
  • Things which give me satisfaction
  • Things which motivate me
  • Things that other people ask me to do

In contrast, if we ask you about your weaknesses, you say:

  • Things I put off or delay
  • Things I don’t like to do
  • Things which take my energy away

Perhaps from this you can see it doesn’t make much sense to stay in a role which won’t allow you to perform or enjoy your work. We need to feel a sense of satisfaction and to be motivated to carry out tasks that are useful to other people.

Yet many of us still think we progress our career by “fixing our weaknesses” and attending to “our areas of development”.

What’s the alternative?

Strengths offer a better approach. Don’t just be content with average. We want excellence, so we want to use our strengths and just attend to our weaknesses.

How can you do this?

Here are some tried and tested tips based on Positive Psychology research and principles:

1) Work out what energises you. Spend five minutes at the end of every day asking yourself these questions:

  • What satisfied me the most today?
  • Where did I exceed my own expectations on my contribution today?
  • Where was my performance at its best?

2) Ask for feedback from your colleagues and manager:

  • When do you see me most energised?
  • Which things do I rush to do, rather than put off or delay?
  • Where am I a fast learner in my current role?

3) Plan how to use your strengths tomorrow:

  • Consider what is in your diary and schedule
  • Think again about how you could make these activities more motivating to you
  • Ask for your manager’s support in making this happen.

The business case for strengths

Still not convinced?

If you need more evidence, take a look at the link between strengths and business performance:

Marcus Buckingham presents the Business Case for Strengths

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Your next step

The strengths approach is not only about doing the things you like, it’s about having the focus to perform at your best. It is also about having a work-round, a plan or a colleague to support any weakness. We live in the real world here. No-one is good at everything and this is where being part of a team can help.

In summary, when your manager asks you to do something new, try to take a deep breath, allow yourself a pause and ask yourself this question:

How can I do this in a way that strengthens me?”

Using this question with your team is also a great way to strengthen your leadership style. The bottom line? Using your strengths can accelerate your career and deliver personal growth, so why not start today?