Who is an account manager and how much does he get

A customer service manager is a specialist who is the first to talk about a company’s services or products. Whether a potential buyer becomes a real one depends on his professionalism. Read about how much such an employee is paid and what his responsibilities are, read the article.

Average salary: 50,000 rubles per month

Profession rating

Demand 78% Payability 43% Competition 56% Entry barrier 77% Perspectives 60% The profession of a customer service manager is relevant for many areas of business and is one of the ten most demanded. It depends on the level of work of this specialist whether clients will trust the organization and use its services in the future, whether they will recommend this company to their partners. ContentFrom the history of the professionDescription and characteristics of the professionIn the banking sectorIn salesIn marketingSpecialties, universities and USE subjectsRange of dutiesWho is the profession for?SalaryCareer formulaThe future of the professionRelated VideosComments

From the history of the profession

Back in the century before last, American manufacturing enterprises felt the need for a qualitatively new approach to working with customers. At the same time, the doctrine of a set of management methods – management – was born and professionals appeared who successfully applied it in various areas of entrepreneurship.

Enterprising, resourceful, inventive employees – the first client managers – specialized in working with customers. The success of the organization depended on their effectiveness in the struggle for each buyer and consumer of services.

Description and characteristics of the profession

A customer service manager is a specialist who is actively involved in attracting, servicing and maintaining a circle of consumers of goods and services, planning relationships with them. Other names for the profession are client manager, client manager, account manager.

The functionality of an account manager depends on the industry to which the company belongs. But his main task at a specific workplace is all kinds of interaction with clients, which implies:

identifying and advising potential clients, maintaining relationships with them, analyzing their needs;development of methods and schemes for finding and attracting customers, organizing work with them;preparation of commercial offers;conclusion of contracts;presentation of the company’s products and services;control of payment of bills;control of the completeness of the product range;participation in presentations and negotiations;project implementation support.

The functions of a specialist and the mechanism of communication with clients depend on the professional area.

In the banking sector

The bank’s client manager must have the appropriate education. It is aimed at selling products of a financial institution. His work includes receiving and processing requests from enterprises, advising those who have asked for help, finding and informing customers by phone. The specialist’s area of responsibility also includes the preparation and provision of the necessary reporting.

In sales

A specialist often has to serve those who, not being a client of the company, are interested in its goods or services. He explains the terms of purchase and the specifics of the product. There are situations when a buyer is looking for one product, but later it turns out that other items of the assortment are more suitable for him. The account manager finds out the needs and proposes specifically what will solve the current issue. Moreover, this must be done convincingly – so that the potential buyer becomes a real one.

In marketing

In this area, the largest number of vacancies for client managers. The main function of a specialist is to provide consultations by phone and e-mail. The main task is to interest a potential buyer who has applied to the company for the first time and encourage him to come to its office, store, etc.

The second item on the list of responsibilities is accepting requests for service or consultation. The main goal is to build communication in such a way that it will be followed by a transaction. Thus, in marketing, the customer manager is focused on increasing sales and expanding the customer base.

Specialties, universities and USE subjects

You can often hear that in order to serve customers, it is enough to be very sociable, to be able to manipulate the buyer, not forgetting, of course, about politeness and tact. But this is fundamentally wrong.

The client-manager first of all needs specialized knowledge and education. Employers are most willing to hire an employee from among applicants with higher education. Depending on the line of business of the company, it can be economic, commercial, legal, financial, psychological or technical.

Management graduates are even more likely to be employed as account managers. They are appreciated for their quick understanding of the specifics of the organization, knowledge of marketing and effective communication techniques, and the ability to use them.

There are management faculties in many Russian universities – you can study in different regions of the country. For example:

RosNOU (New University).SPbSU.Bryansk State University named after Academician I. G. Petrovsky.PRUE named after G.V. Plekhanov.MIREA – Russian Technological University.Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.Tuva State University.Sevastopol State University.

In each the tragic hero in antigone essay of them, there are the most suitable educational areas with a level of preparation from bachelor to master:

economy;management;state and municipal administration;finance and credit;jurisprudence;advertising and public relations;psychology;international relationships.

Admission to management specialties is based on the results of the Unified State Exam in the Russian language, social studies, mathematics. Technical educational institutions may require an assessment in computer science, physics, and humanitarian ones – in a foreign language.

Range of duties

The key responsibility of a manager is to find clients and then develop relationships with them. The profession requires you to do whatever is necessary to ensure that important partners are happy with the company, work with it and give it excellent recommendations. Moreover, a real pro must understand that a client is not only a source of income. This approach is easy to read and repulsive. It is very important to be able to balance your own benefit with the interests of consumers.

Often, the responsibilities of a client manager merge with those of a sales manager. This symbiosis is very common in trade. A likely candidate for the position needs to be ready not only to maintain the existing client base, but also to expand it, to increase sales.

Who is the profession for?

According to the results of questionnaires conducted by various employment agencies, men and women interact equally effectively with clients, the age of a specialist also does not matter much. But an analysis of the labor market shows that 71% of vacancies are filled by women under 30, most of them graduated from a university, 15% know English. This is a generalized portrait of a client manager.

When selecting an employee to serve partners, the employer is looking for balanced, patient, friendly candidates and gives preference to them.

In their daily work, the client manager will need:

Excellent PC skills.Knowledge of foreign language. There may be foreign organizations among the clients.Possession of psychological techniques. We’ll have to establish communication with different people. When working with the same foreigners, knowledge in psychology will help predict the likely difficulties arising against the background of differences in views and mentality, and prevent disagreements. Moreover, non-conflict and developed intuition of the employee himself is important.Stress tolerance. Often you have to quickly and independently make very important decisions, work in a limited time.Good diction, pleasant voice, delivered speech. The speed of responses, especially on the phone, makes the first positive impression. If the manager gets lost in the conversation about the service, the interest in the dialogue disappears.Initiative, ability to cooperate with colleagues, dynamics in action, reliability.

The customer service manager is purely mental. He must be erudite, inquisitive, rational, have developed analytical skills. Other conditions include impeccable appearance, availability of a driver’s license (sometimes a visit to the client is required to conclude a transaction).

Salary

The profession is not included in the list of highly paid ones. According to experts, their salary depends on the range of responsibilities, the scale of the organization’s activities, and the region of the country.

An analysis of open vacancies at the beginning of 2019 showed that almost 50% of Russian employers offer salaries from 20 to 40 thousand rubles. In 21.1% of ads, earnings of up to 60 thousand rubles are indicated. According to statistics in 2018, in Russian cities, the real salary of a client manager varied from 20 to 100 thousand rubles.

Career formula

Having gained experience and become a highly qualified specialist, you can count on a solid income. But first, you need to prove yourself well – to show the increasing number of closed deals. This is followed by several career options:

Expansion of powers – servicing VIP clients, communicating with corporate partners, negotiating with top managers of companies.Promotion to management positions – head of customer service, sales or development.

The future of the profession

The need for employees who are able to win over, who are able to solve difficult situations, increases with the active growth of the banking sector, the formation of firms that provide services, advertising, and sales. Therefore, the profession of a customer service manager clearly falls into the category of promising ones.