Account Manager

An Account Manager is responsible for the commercial development of a portfolio of existing clients and for maintaining relationships with them to support client retention. They seek to understand how clients’ needs are changing, prepare suitable proposals and follow up on commercial commitments. In French, the term « chargé de compte » can describe this responsibility.

The role combines client knowledge with business development. A new request may lead to a contract renewal, an upgrade or a proposal for an additional service. These options depend on the need identified: additional sales are not the appropriate response to every interaction.

The Account Manager also ensures that information flows between the client and the relevant teams. When an issue arises, they pass it on to the relevant teams, monitor progress and keep the client informed. This coordination does not mean that they deliver every service themselves. When defining the role, specify the commitments they will follow up on and the commercial decisions they can make.

Account Manager, Account Executive and Customer Success Manager: who does what?

• The Account Manager’s focus here is on the commercial relationship and developing existing clients.
• The Account Executive manages sales cycles. The boundary is not absolute: at Salesforce, this role can also develop existing accounts. Explicitly allocate opportunities between the two roles.
• The Customer Success Manager may focus more on adoption and the results achieved by the client. GitLab illustrates this arrangement by distinguishing this role from the one responsible for renewals. This division does not apply to every company.

Job titles alone therefore do not describe how the work is organised. The job description should specify who helps clients use the product or service, who leads commercial discussions and who decides on concessions.

The first challenge is to understand what is changing for existing clients. Their expectations may shift, an issue may remain unresolved or a contractual deadline may be approaching. Without clear follow-up, the company risks preparing a proposal that no longer meets the need or discovering a problem in the relationship too late. The Account Manager brings this information together to guide commercial activity.

Developing the portfolio then requires decisions about which actions to take. Accounts do not all have the same potential or carry the same risks. Focusing discussions solely on sales opportunities can leave issues unanswered. Conversely, handling every request without considering development opportunities reduces visibility of the portfolio’s commercial prospects. The priorities chosen and the information supporting them should be explainable.

The quality of internal coordination also matters. Clients need to understand who is handling their request and what commitments have been made. The Account Manager maintains this connection, but service delivery also depends on the relevant teams. For recruiters, this means distinguishing the ability to follow up on an issue from the ability to resolve it directly.

Finally, performance monitoring should reflect the commercial model. Satisfaction, retention and additional revenue shed light on different aspects of the work. Considering them together helps explain how accounts are developing, without attributing every outcome of the client relationship to one person.

• Gather and restate the needs of clients in the portfolio to identify changes that the offering can address.
• Analyse accounts’ commercial potential and risks to prioritise follow-up actions.
• Prepare commercial proposals tailored to the needs identified.
• Negotiate commercial terms within the limits of delegated authority.
• Prepare renewals and proposals for additional products or services where they match changing needs.
• Follow up on commercial commitments made to the client.
• Pass issues on to the relevant teams, monitor progress and keep the client informed.
• Update CRM information to maintain a record of discussions and organise the next actions.
• Monitor portfolio indicators to adjust commercial activity.

Commercial education pathways can prepare people to manage client accounts: French BTS, licence professionnelle and master qualifications, as well as business school programmes, are among the routes Apec describes for commercial roles. Technical training may also be relevant, depending on the products or services sold. None of these pathways is presented here as a mandatory qualification for working as an Account Manager.

When assessing a course, look at the skills it develops for day-to-day work. Needs discovery helps build a suitable proposal. Making a commercial case and negotiating prepare people for commercial discussions. Portfolio analysis helps prioritise actions, while proficiency with a CRM supports continuity in client follow-up.

The Manager du développement commercial certification lists Account Manager among its career outcomes. It covers portfolio management, negotiation and commercial performance. However, its programme goes beyond the responsibilities of some roles: its entire set of competencies should not be turned into hiring requirements.

GetPro’s assessment method uses a framework that distinguishes criteria that can be verified from a candidate’s career history from those that require further exploration in an interview. Each criterion is linked to an assessment method. Open questions and concrete examples help examine key skills. Reference checks complement this analysis by gathering examples of achievements and collaboration.

This foundation guides GetPro’s general approach. For an Account Manager, the criteria and exercises below are suggestions you can adapt to the portfolio and the role’s responsibilities.

1. Define the criteria based on the portfolio

Specify the activities to assess: understanding needs, negotiation, account prioritisation, following up on commitments and internal coordination. Describe the expected level of autonomy for each.

Distinguish the decisions the person can make from those requiring approval. Use these criteria to compare candidates for the same role, rather than relying solely on their previous job titles.

The ability to connect a commercial priority to specific client information is a positive sign. An answer that does not distinguish potential from risk warrants further exploration.

2. Examine a past achievement

Ask the candidate to describe how they developed an account they know well. Ask them to specify the initial need, the information gathered, the proposal prepared and the stages of the negotiation.

Then ask what they did independently, what their manager decided and what depended on other teams. Do not infer their autonomy solely from the reported result.

Look for a coherent explanation of their choices and the limits within which they worked. If the candidate attributes the entire result to their own involvement, revisit other people’s contributions.

3. Use a case study based on the work they would undertake

Fictional example: a client is approaching renewal, reports a service issue and is interested in an additional offering.

Ask the candidate what information they are missing, whom they would contact and in what order they would act. Invite them to prepare the points for a client discussion, without requiring a solution based on information they have not been given.

Observe whether they distinguish handling the issue from making a commercial proposal. A useful answer also specifies which terms they can discuss and which require approval.

An immediate discount, without clarifying the need or the issue, is something to question. Assess the reasoning before the way the answer is presented.

4. Test portfolio analysis and communication

Present fictional information about several accounts, their needs and their deadlines. Ask the candidate to choose the next actions and explain their priorities.

Invite them to indicate what they would record in the CRM and which indicators would help them monitor the situation. You can then ask them to draft a message to the client and a request to the relevant team.

Check whether each recipient can understand what is expected of them. If the role includes people management, examine this experience separately: commercial coordination alone does not demonstrate it.

5. Cross-check the responsibilities described

During a reference discussion, seek to clarify the responsibilities the candidate actually held, their autonomy in negotiations and how they worked with other teams.

If your company lacks the expertise to assess a negotiation, involve someone in this part of the assessment who can discuss the choices made. Keep observations linked to the role’s criteria to support the decision.