When the thought of a creative agency comes to mind, we think of artists and writers coming together, producing quality output for their clients. We think of design and concepts that eventually turn into mind-blowing ads, and if a vague thought of cool office spaces with foosball tables and beanbags also appear, that's entirely fine, you're not alone.
But you see, there's also us -- the account managers (surprise, surprise!) We are the ones who stand in the front line, balancing on ropes between our clients and the production team. Our role varies from setting up meetings, answering hundreds of emails, making sure that every deliverable is going according to plan, keeping a keen eye on our clients' accounts, doing monthly reports - the list goes on. It may look a bit crazy, but all it really takes are a few good qualities and you'll be surprised to see yourself handling all these without a fuss! Allow us to show you a few things we've learned about what it takes to be a kick-ass account manager.
All systems ready
First thing you should know about us: we are o-b-s-e-s-s-e-d with organising. Account management is a fast-paced job and so being alert and well-organised is a must. This role requires us to squeeze out every ounce of our multi-tasking skills as we juggle between client demands and agency resources, attend meetings, check our production schedules and make sure that each deliverable is getting done on time.
What team? Hashtag!
As account managers we need to interact with a lot of different people on a daily basis, and this requires us to be good team players. We are skilled in collaborating with our colleagues as well as our client's marketing team in order to reach our goals. At the same time, we're the cheerleaders of our production team, supporting and providing them with everything they need to have in order to produce quality output for each of our clients.
Let's talk about relationships
Though we do occasionally give some pretty awesome relationship advice, it's not the kind of relationship we're talking about. We're talking about client-oriented ones. If you wanna be an account manager, you have to be a people person; it's non-negotiable. Part of our job is to create a genuine bond with our clients in order to ensure that they can trust us in having their best interests in mind. Being good at building relationships gives us the boost to present our proposals, strategies, and close those contracts. Booyah!
We're on the ball
Can't seem to figure out what the client is saying? No worries! We gotchu, fam. You know, being exposed to different kinds of people led us to become these awesome mind-readers. NOT. However, we can share the secret with you: listen actively and ask very well-thought questions. When communicating with clients, these two are the most critical as they fuel our engines for strategy and production.
"Houston, we have a problem."
An account manager should be a good problem solver as well. Not every day is the same for us as we can be presented with sudden glitches along the way. With this in mind, we are expected to be quick in providing solutions, whether it's coming from the client or our team.
We ain't fairies but we make dreams come true
Being an account manager isn't an easy feat. It entails quite a number of responsibilities and these are just some of the basics that you need to have if you want to become one. Yes, it may be stressful and bizarre at times, but at the end of the day, realising that we were partners in making our clients' businesses achieve success gives us this enormous sense of achievement and just makes everything worth it.
