So you want to be a key account manager,
but you just can't catch a break?
I mean, look, it's
a story as old as time.
You can't get the job
without the experience
and you can't get the experience
without the job.
But we're not gonna let that stop us.
Let's figure out together
how to become a key account manager
when you don't have the experience.
Sit tight.
I'll be right back.
Hi Heroes, Warwick Brown
Founder at Account Manager Tips,
Host at The KAM Club
and on a mission to help busy
key account managers get results.
In this video, I am going to explain
where to start, what it takes
and what you need to do
to change professions
and become a key account manager.
Are you ready?
So what does a key
account manager do anyway?
Well, look, basically their job is
to keep their clients
profitable and so happy
that they never want to leave.
Revenue and retention
is what it's all about.
And you want to keep both numbers high.
You're going to do regular analysis
of how much your client spends
and on what and because
you are the expert
you'll let them know how to get the most
from the products and services
you already have.
You're also going to let them know
about the products and services
they don't have by linking your solutions
to their problems,
which is kind of a selling part.
But it doesn't really
feel like selling at all
because most of the time
you're helping them.
It just so happens it's
going to cost a little extra money,
which is well worth it for the pain
that you just made go away.
The main ways that you bring in extra
revenue are to sell
complementary or
upgraded products and services
to get more of your clients business.
Or to improve margins,
and that usually means increasing prices
or finding ways to make it cheaper
to serve your clients.
Key account management is relationship
and service driven.
You know, you're going to meet
lots of different people
within your client base, from end users
to decision makers to CEOs.
The more people that you meet,
the more opportunity
you'll have to improve loyalty
and sell more stuff.
It's a great career
and that's why I've been doing it
for almost 20 years.
It's very exciting and rewarding
because you get to know your client
really, really well,
which means you can help them
get better results faster
and you get to stick around
to see them happen.
So what qualities do you need
to be a great key account manager?
Well, here are some
things to keep in mind.
You need to enjoy working with people.
You need to work well under pressure.
You need to be able to deal
with difficult clients.
Believe me.
You've got to be flexible.
It's not a nine to five job.
I can promise you that.
You've got to enjoy selling
or at least not hate it.
And you've got to be good
at time management.
There is a lot to do
and you've got to take charge.
Ultimately, you are
responsible for everything.
And you've got to communicate well.
I mean, that's that's a
nice little list for starters.
But don't worry, these are all things
that you can learn.
Let's find out how.
It's time to research the job.
Grab a piece of paper divided into three
columns and label each good at,
not good at and don't understand.
Now go to LinkedIn
and search for key account manager jobs.
As you read them,
make a note in the relevant column
of the things that you're good at,
the things you're not so good
at, and the things
you really know what they mean.
What you're really building
is a skills inventory.
Now for the skills
that you have write down
your career stories about the times
when you've shown those skills.
Even if it wasn't as an account manager,
you're going to need those stories
for the job interview.
For example,
they might ask how you managed
a difficult client or
demonstrated leadership.
I'm sure you have some great stories
to tell for those situations.
And if you don't, you know,
it means you've got to start going out
and creating those memorable moments.
For the skills you need to improve,
practice those skills in your role now.
Think outside the box.
Maybe you could polish
your communication skills
by volunteering to chair
the next team meeting
or give your next update
to the boss in a presentation format
instead of just a chat over coffee.
Maybe you're thinking
there's no way I can do that in my job.
If that's you, well,
confide in your colleagues
or your boss that there's skills
you want to develop
and ask for their support
or ideas on ways to make that happen.
Let them know that
your goal is to become a key
account manager someday.
Now, a great place to start in your quest
to become a key account manager
is to seek out a mentor,
keyed up somebody in your company
with the relevant skills,
and ask them if you could spend some time
with them on a regular basis
to learn about their job.
If you don't know anybody
or you don't want to ask,
mention it to your manager
what your career goals are
and see if they can't set you up
with a mentorship somewhere.
You know, I'll be your mentor.
Come and join The KAM Club.
It's my private learning community
helping busy key account managers,
and would be key managers, get results.
Membership is US $24.99 a month, less
if you pay annually,
and you'll find training
coaching courses.
And every week I have open office hours
where you can get some one on
one time with me too.
Learn more at amtip.co/kamclub
Mentorships aren't just for newbies.
All of us at any age,
at any point in our careers
can benefit from a mentor.
So don't be shy about asking
because you think
I'm too junior or I'm too
senior to need a mentor.
I have gained so much wisdom
from colleagues, so don't underestimate
the power of peer
learning and mentorship.
You can ask them
how do they get into key
account management?
What's their advice on what it takes
to be a great key account manager?
What do they find difficult?
What do they love about their job?
What are the skills
they think are essential
and how did they get them?
Think about situations you've encountered
and ask them for their perspective, like
how would you have
tackled this situation?
And what the impact might be to a client?
Ask if you can shadow
some of their client calls.
Many of them are
probably on conference calls
where you can just listen
silently, you know, lurk.
And then ask them questions
about what you heard on the call.
You know, pick their brains.
True or false,.
You can't learn on the job skills
when you're not doing the job?
False.
Look, there's no avoiding the fact
that there's going to be
some core skills that you lack.
I mean, after twenty years in key
account management,
there's still things that I'm working
on every single day.
So you have a choice.
Either you wait to learn them on the job,
which might take years or never,
or you can fast track your learning
and take a course.
It's also really impressive
when a candidate says
they're so passionate
about a career in key account management
that they went out
and took a few courses.
It's a great way
to stand out from a pack of other
would be key account managers
all applying for the same job.
There's lots of great quality
free online courses
available through open learning
sources like edX,
Open Learn and Future Learn on topics
like selling, numeracy,
leadership, strategy, relationship
building entrepreneurship.
And most of them only take a few hours.
I'm doing one right now on strategy.
It's a small investment in time
if you're serious about a new job,
don't you think?
Visit amtip.co/career for my free
key account management career
development plan on Trello.
I've listed out all the skills
that you need to become a key
account manager, plus
where to learn them for free.
Read as much as you can
about key account management.
A Google search will
certainly get you started.
Plus, I'll put a link
in the description for an article
I wrote on the top 15
key management blogs.
It's also really important
to stay informed of business
trends and developments.
Key account managers
really need to understand the impact
of national and world events,
how they relate to their clients
and the opportunities
as well as the risks that they present.
I've got a business trends
list on Twitter you can follow.
So if you're over there,
I'll put a link on the description
in the description below
so you can check that out
or just find me @warwickabrown.
I'm a huge fan of podcasts,
and there is some amazing
free advice to be found on selling
and key account management.
I've just started the key
account managers Spotify playlist,
so you can follow that
as I update it with new episodes
and leave a comment below.
Let me know what podcasts
you think I should listen to and maybe
I'll add them to the playlist.
Now that you've learned a few skills
and you've got some
great examples of success to share, it's
time to update your resume
so that it reads like somebody
with key account management expertise.
Even if you don't have the experience
quite yet.
When you apply for a job,
go through those qualifications
and skills with a fine tooth comb
and make sure you have included
all of those in your resume.
Use the exact phrases
and verbs from the job description.
That way you're going to get past
those pesky applicant
tracking systems and through a real human
who will look at your application.
Now, the hard part,
you've got to tweak
your resume for every key
account management job you apply for.
The keywords, the responsibilities,
the qualifications and the experience
is going to vary from job to job.
So you've got to make it easy
for the hiring manager or the applicant
tracking system, the algorithm,
to connect the dots
and see how relevant you are.
If you include a lot of things
they're not looking for,
it'll be that much harder
for them to see the experience
on your resume that they are looking for.
The easiest way to do this, I have found,
is with a resume optimization
tool like Skillsyncer.
It's the one I use.
It's my favorite.
It will compare job
descriptions with your resume
and let you know what to include
and what to change.
They've also got a nifty
little job application tracker,
which makes it a piece of cake
to stay on top of the status
of each application.
Look, there was a time years back
when I was applying,
I think I had 60 jobs on the go.
It was absolute chaos.
I had no idea whether I
was coming or going.
Now you can get started
with Skillsyncer for free
and their paid plans
are extremely reasonable.
It's like $14.95 a month.
The free plan allows up to
ten scans a month.
But if you're hitting
the job search hard,
I really recommend that you upgrade
to a paid subscription
just temporarily until you land
the job of your dreams.
Which brings me to the final step.
The only way to become
a key account manager is
to apply for key account management jobs.
Now, don't worry,
if you don't have every last skill and
qualification listed on the job description
Here is why
you don't know what
the recruiter is looking for.
They may be flexible
with their requirements.
I tell you many, many, many times
I've been open to hiring somebody
from another industry
or without key account management
experience because I was looking
for a specific skill
and I knew I could coach them
where they needed development.
Sometimes it's about the budget.
I mean, quite frankly,
someone who doesn't have
all the skills or has never done
the job before is a lot cheaper
than a hotshot key account
manager with loads
of relevant experience.
And you don't know how many candidates
have applied, who they are,
what their background is.
I have looked to fill some very senior
and a very well-paid jobs
that just haven't attracted
a single candidate that fit the profile.
I've had to reconsider
what I was looking for
and sometimes a senior job
gets turned into a junior job
because that's all who's applied.
That happens a lot,
especially when there's
like an existing role that's vacant
and somebody is doing
the jobs of two people.
I mean, you can only wait so long before
you've got to make a choice.
Have you ever played out
that drama in your mind.
You know, when you read a job
and then you decide to apply
and then the voices in your head
talk you out of it.
Remember, you got a long way to go
from application to offer,
so don't talk yourself out of it
before you even had a chance
to be considered.
There's a couple more things
I want you to think about.
Don't apply for every job under the sun.
Not only is it
going to be a waste of your time,
because remember
you're tweaking every application, it's
going to mess with your head.
Stick to jobs
that you're genuinely interested in.
Think about hybrid roles.
My first key account management role
also included operations
and account management.
But within 12 months I left
the operations stuff behind
and became a full time account manager.
Remember, you may need to take a pay cut.
When I moved from operations
to key account management,
I took a twenty thousand
dollar drop in salary.
Ouch.
Even though I was customer
facing and had managed 45 staff.
At first
I thought I should be getting a pay rise.
But that was not what the market said.
Ultimately, I had to reset
my expectations downward
because I knew this was a long
term career move and eventually
I would make the money back, which I did.
Now, when it comes
to the interview, well,
that's a whole other video.
All I can say is prepare,
prepare, prepare.
Make copious notes, do your research,
bring your notes to the interview
if you need to, and
make sure that you have at least
half a dozen questions that you want
to ask the recruiter.
Beyond that, there are thousands
and thousands of blogs, articles
and podcasts dedicated
to interviewing skills.
And I'm going to put some links
to a few of my favorites
in the description.
Now, I do offer career
power hours from ninety dollars.
So if you want to grab an hour
with me to help you
with your interview preparation, visit
amtip.co/powerhour.
I know we've covered a lot of ground
in this video and, you know,
maybe your head's like spinning,
so I have links to everything
I mentioned in the description,
including a companion blog post
where I've got everything
written down for you.
Key account management
is such a great career
and it can be all yours
if you put in the hard work,
close the skill gaps and be intentional
about your professional development.
All right, heroes.
Well, that's a wrap.
Like, share and subscribe
please it really does
help the channel out
and I'll see you in the next video.
Until then, bye.