Main Responsibilities and Required Skills for an Inside Account Manager
An Inside Account Manager is a professional who plays a crucial role in building and maintaining strong relationships with existing clients. They are responsible for managing and growing accounts from within the organization, usually working in an office or remotely. In this blog post, we will explore the primary responsibilities and the most in-demand hard and soft skills for Inside Account Managers.
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Main Responsibilities of an Inside Account Manager
The following list describes the typical responsibilities of an Inside Account Manager:
Achieve
Achieve sales targets and objectives for a specific portfolio of customers.
Act
Act as the main point of contact for all client inquiries and requests.
Act with optimism & enthusiasm.
Address
Address and resolve any issues or concerns raised by clients.
Align
Align Company products and services with customer needs.
Align with regional sales director to support specific pipeline generation needs in the region.
Answer
Answer telephone calls, emails and in person questions from customers and identify their needs.
Assist in
Assist in mapping out organizational structure and tying strategy pipeline opportunities.
Attend
Attend offsite sales calls.
Build
Build long lasting, loyal, and profitable customer.
Carry out
Carry out various quarterly sales campaign projects to increase demand and opportunity within region.
Champion
Champion continuous learning by attending ongoing training (live or virtual).
Collaborate with
Collaborate with colleagues to achieve team and company goals.
Collaborate with sales and marketing teams to align strategies.
Collaborate with senior management on sales goals.
Communicate
Communicate and collaborate with the Inside Sales Manager to resolve customer issues.
Communicate and provide sales intelligence to support and sell seasonal booking programs to accounts.
Communicate proactively with all customers quarterly, to strengthen and expand relationships.
Communicate rates, fees and service strategies with conviction.
Communicate regularly with branch staff in order to resolve customer issues.
Complete
Complete all administrative documents required to process quotations and orders.
Conduct
Conduct complex issue resolution for customers.
Conduct demo, closing, negotiation, proposal, and prospecting meetings.
Conduct effective needs assessment and designs proposals to maximize business potential.
Conduct market research to identify potential clients.
Conduct presentations and provide service overviews online and in-person to property adjusters.
Conduct product demos to educate prospects and close deals.
Conduct regular business reviews with clients to assess satisfaction and success.
Conduct yourself professionally and cast Fuze in a positive light.
Contribute to
Contribute to and be responsible for the revenue growth.
Craft
Craft a compelling narrative to communicate the value to key decision makers.
Create
Create and maintain account plans and forecasts.
Create, manage and close your funnel to consistently meet or exceed revenue targets.
Design
Design and implement sales strategies.
Design win and generate demand by designed sales program.
Develop
Develop and implement account management strategies.
Develop and maintain relationships with assigned accounts.
Develop and oversee customer retention campaigns.
Develop a thorough knowledge of our company and all the products and services that we offer.
Develop expertise in the company's products and services.
Develop new customers using outbound calling campaigns.
Develop strategies to grow existing accounts by evaluating customer use history.
Document
Document information into Salesforce CRM as you are speaking with customers.
Earn
Earn your customer's trust.
Educate
Educate locations about programs and monitor and provide program compliance updates.
Engage
Engage additional Company business opportunities – referring internally as appropriate.
Engage with category managers to effectively utilize vendor programs and insight.
Engage with clients daily via live contact and follow up with all prospects.
Engage with customers to understand their demand and lead the demand through win.
Ensure
Ensure all client interactions are accurately documented.
Ensure all documentation and reports are complete, accurate and submitted within assigned timelines.
Ensure the accurate processing of orders, returns, and credit requests on a daily basis.
Enter
Enter sales orders generated from Profit Centre customers via fax, phone, emails, and texts.
Establish
Establish and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction.
Establish a strong and trusting relationship with clients.
Expedite
Expedite customer material with vendors when required.
Facilitate
Facilitate customer on-boarding.
Follow-up
Follow-up leads, develop the leads to MQL to win.
Follow-up on all marketing and partner generated leads at existing customer accounts.
Follow-up on backorders with vendors and provide customers accurate delivery dates.
Follow-up on leads and referrals to generate new business.
Follow-up on MQLs and qualify for SQL and convert opportunities.
Follow-up on NTD New Customer e-mails for leads.
Follow-up with customers on quotes and outstanding orders.
Generate
Generate and expand new business opportunities through inquiries / requests, emails, and follow-up.
Generate sales reports and analyze data to identify trends.
Greet
Greet customers and handle the sales process from A-Z.
Grow
Grow and retain established customer base.
Handle
Handle administrative tasks related to account management.
Identify
Identify and prospect technology product and services opportunities and maintain your sales funnel.
Identify and understand the needs and goals of assigned accounts.
Identify correct priorities and schedules sales calls accordingly.
Identify customer needs and communicate / market our solutions.
Identify new leads and prospect for new customers.
Identify opportunities for account growth and expansion.
Identify sales growth opportunities including products and NTD programs.
Implement
Implement sales campaigns, close sales, and work to achieve quotas.
Interact
Interact and assist customers who come to the Profit Centre to pick up orders.
Interact with other departments to ensure customer satisfaction.
Interface with
Interface with other departments such as Supply Chain, Finance and Creative to achieve objectives.
Investigate
Investigate and resolve customer issues such as pricing deductions and product returns.
Keep
Keep clients informed about new product launches and updates.
Listen
Listen & learn from others.
Maintain
Maintain customer information within the customer database.
Maintain detailed reports of activities and results through Salesforce.
Maintain high phone activity to ensure all accounts are called on a monthly basis.
Maintain knowledge of policies and market strategy to effectively deal with business competition.
Maintain relationships with established key accounts and ensure that their requests are being met.
Make
Make an impact on your career path.
Make courageous decisions.
Make inside sales calls to prospective clients and identify qualified leads.
Make outbound sales calls to account locations to grow and support sales.
Manage
Manage existing accounts, establishing a book of repeat customers.
Manage Non-Named Account and develop the demand on NV workload.
Manage Non-Named Accounts, end-to-end selling cycle and pipeline for their opportunities.
Manage relationships and engage with new and existing clients to ensure satisfaction.
Manage your monthly, quarterly and yearly forecast.
Meet
Meet or exceed the Profit Centre's gross profit and sales targets.
Meet the measures of success and strive for continuous improvement.
Monitor
Monitor account performance and track key metrics.
Monitor and manage contract terms and agreements.
Monitor customer satisfaction and provide prompt, professional conflict resolution.
Negotiate
Negotiate contract renewals and pricing with clients.
Own
Own and manage sales activities, interact with prospects, and forecasting inside of Salesforce.com.
Own primary relationships with several accounts.
Participate in
Participate in and improve upon in-house brand promotions.
Participate in industry events and networking activities.
Perform
Perform miscellaneous administrative functions.
Prepare
Prepare and deliver sales presentations to clients.
Prepare and sign client contracts.
Prepare business presentations and completes corporate profiles.
Present
Present and negotiates rates with clients.
Present product and service offerings to clients.
Promote
Promote customer relations by soliciting feedback and responding to inquiries.
Prospect
Prospect and develop new customers using outbound calling campaigns.
Provide
Provide clients with product demonstrations and training.
Provide feedback to product and development teams based on client needs.
Quote
Quote and calculate rates for new services accurately.
Recommend
Recommend new solutions and services by evaluating current state and identifying needs.
Represent
Represent the Profit Centre in a professional manner.
Research
Research, prioritize, and plan sales calls for sales growth and business development.
Research product for customers and provide recommendations on our assortment of product.
Resolve
Resolve issues related to customer orders in accordance with our policies and procedures (SPIs).
Resolve service escalations within the defined territory.
Respond to
Respond to client's needs with a sense of urgency.
Respond to inbound calls from both current and prospective customers.
Stay up-to-date with
Stay up-to-date with industry trends and competitors.
Summarize
Summarize the agreement and explain next steps.
Supplement
Supplement business development efforts with outbound lead generation activities.
Support
Support client calls as the SME to drive relationship development opportunity business.
Support Counter Sales and Outside Sales activities as part of the team.
Support team members in maintaining a clean, well maintained warehouse.
Support the Outside Sales and Counter Teams with customer orders and issues.
Support the outside sales team.
Support will also be provided to the Outside Sales function.
Take
Take personal accountability.
Track
Track record of achieving business objectives including sales goals.
Triage
Triage inbound phone calls and inquires.
Understand
Understand both hunting and farming motions within existing relationships.
Understand customers' wants so they can create need and sell on value instead of product.
Understand the purchasing process and identify key decision makers to unlock growth.
Update
Update and renew customer service agreements.
Uphold
Uphold our core values and ethics with every interaction.
Upsell
Upsell and cross-sell products and services to existing clients.
Use
Use multi-line phone systems.
Work
Work closely with the CCG Executive Team and Marketing Department on business development.
Work simultaneously with multiple computer applications and databases.
Work the order desk including sales entry and invoicing.
Work with the support team to resolve client issues promptly.
Most In-demand Hard Skills
The following list describes the most required technical skills of an Inside Account Manager:
Proficiency in customer relationship management (CRM) software.
Knowledge of sales and account management principles.
Competence in analyzing sales data and metrics.
Understanding of the products and services offered by the company.
Familiarity with sales forecasting and pipeline management.
Competence in delivering effective sales presentations.
Knowledge of contract negotiation and pricing strategies.
Understanding of market research and competitive analysis.
Competence in using communication and collaboration tools.
Knowledge of industry-specific regulations and compliance.
Understanding of the sales process and sales techniques.
Competence in using sales automation tools.
Knowledge of financial and budgeting concepts.
Understanding of customer needs analysis and solution selling.
Competence in using data analytics to drive insights.
Knowledge of the company's target market and ideal customer profile.
Understanding of sales and marketing alignment.
Competence in managing and prioritizing multiple accounts.
Knowledge of lead generation and prospecting techniques.
Understanding of contract management and administration.
Most In-demand Soft Skills
The following list describes the most required soft skills of an Inside Account Manager:
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Strong relationship-building and networking abilities.
Active listening and empathy towards client needs.
Adaptability and flexibility in a dynamic work environment.
Negotiation and persuasion skills for contract discussions.
Time management and organizational skills for managing accounts effectively.
Positive attitude and resilience in handling challenges.
Collaboration and teamwork for working with internal teams.
Problem-solving and critical thinking abilities.
Customer-centric approach and dedication to client success.
Conclusion
Inside Account Managers are vital to an organization's success by nurturing and growing existing client relationships. Through a combination of technical expertise and essential soft skills, these professionals excel in delivering exceptional customer experiences and driving business growth.