How do you hire an account manager? What skills do you look for?
Hiring an account manager can be tough. The role depends on strong soft skills but these can be hard to pin down.
When account managers are key for growing the success of your business, finding the perfect candidate can seem like a monumental task. Luckily, we hire junior account managers all the time so we know a thing or two about finding them.
Skills to look out for to make a great account manager hire
1 – Communication
It can seem like an obvious one, but account managers are the mouthpiece of your business. They can use their communication skills to inspire client loyalty… or throw all of your hard work down the toilet.
Before you invite your favourite candidates to the interview, take another look at their applications. Great communicators will stand out for their concise, clear writing style. Their fantastic attention to detail will shine through every conversation they have. And when hiring an account manager this is key: they will be communicating face to face, over the phone, by email and through social media, ensuring client loyalty and increasing sales.
Communication is underpinned by excellent listening skills. Be sure to ask complex questions to find out whether your candidate is a good listener. Next analyse their ability to reply, handle information and ask probing questions.
2 – Interpersonal skills
The face of your business can’t be unapproachable. Account managers have to be skilled relationship builders. This skill will really shine through in interviews: is the applicant behaving in a professional, friendly manner? Are they instantly building rapport? Are you comfortable talking to them?
Screening for this kind of skill can be tough because it’s all subjective, but trust your gut.
Next pay attention to the way they manage their relationships. Do they have a great strategy for resolving conflict? Will they be able to draw clients back to your company?
3 – Organisation
Account managers have a lot of work to do. Especially if they’re working solo, they could be managing a good few accounts every day. To keep on top of all of this work they have to be organised.
This should be something that comes naturally to them. It will probably complement their other soft skills – like independence and work ethic.
4 – Business acumen
Are they business savvy? Your new hire has to be able to make strategic decisions to form profitable client relationships. To do this well they need to know your business and competitors inside out. How else will they generate profit?
5 – Independence
Finally, your new hire needs to take charge. They need to be confident in their ability to make relationships, handle conflict, manage records and make sales. These things can only be done effectively with confidence and independence.
Independent account managers resolve problems before they arise, make sales before you lose profit and create relationships built to last.
Now that you know what skills to look for in an account manager, you’re ready to make a hire. Send out your interview invitations and get to it!
If you screen for all of these skills and come up short, check out DigitalGrads. Our job hunters aren’t like anything you’ve seen before because we screen them before they even send an application. So if you’re looking for tried and tested junior account managers, sign up and post your job ad today.