A national account manager oversees relationships with large clients, manages a small number of accounts, and can be part of sales or project management teams. Duties include receiving orders, suggesting new products, and coaching clients. The position varies depending on company size and structure, and can involve sales or project management tasks. The location of the manager’s office can also vary depending on the client.
A national account manager is responsible for overseeing relationships with large account clients, most of whom do business on a national or international scale. Depending on the size and structure of the company they work for, this professional can be part of the sales or project management teams. National Account Managers usually manage a very small number of accounts and may in fact be dedicated to a single client. Duties often include receiving and processing new orders, ensuring projects are completed accurately, suggesting new products or services, assisting with marketing efforts, and coaching the client as needed.
Company size and structure have a lot to do with the parameters of a national account manager position. In large companies, these managers can lead entire account teams, including project managers, customer service professionals, and more. In smaller companies, the national account manager may be responsible for performing all of these tasks himself. Large companies may have multiple National Account Managers, while small companies may only need one.
The actual location of the manger office also depends on the company and the client. A national account manager working with a high-revenue client may well have an office at the client’s location rather than in the company’s own building, especially if the two entities are in different cities. A national account manager who has more than one client in or near one city, in addition to the company’s headquarters, can work from a home office, as can a manager who has clients across a wide geographic area. In other cases, the manager may work from the company’s main office or a satellite office.
The duties of a national account manager vary greatly from company to company. In most companies, the position is responsible for future sales to the customer or customers. This can include new orders for existing products, as well as responsibility for selling products and services that a customer is not currently purchasing.
In some companies, however, sales tasks are handled strictly by the sales department and national account managers are part of a project or account management team. In this case, tasks often revolve around delivering the products and services a customer requests. This means keeping track of the project schedule, ensuring invoices are correct, ensuring contract terms are met, and managing customer service functions. These types of account managers can help clients develop marketing programs if they are reselling products, for example, or they can help train end users if the product is a computer program or other such system.
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