Working with key clients is the responsibility of a special specialist with a fairly high qualification. In the first place for him is an impeccable knowledge of the product range and the specifics of the client's business. No matter how difficult it is to manage valuable customers, this work cannot be abandoned - with successful cooperation, it is quite possible to secure a good reputation, gain recognition, increase income and expand the client base.
How is a KAM different from a regular account manager?
Although a manager working with key accounts generally requires the same qualities as a manager working with most customers, there are significant differences between the two areas.
The activities of ordinary managers are aimed at servicing all existing or potential clients of the company, regardless of their belonging to a certain category. In turn, key account managers occupy a higher position and are largely responsible for the success of the enterprise, since the results they achieve directly determine the further path of its development.
Key account management is also seen advertising data package as a formed business strategy based on effective cooperation with the most promising partners, while standard client management is more related to sales tactics. In addition, ordinary managers do not enjoy privileges when providing client service and rarely have access to other departments of the company. At the same time, they are not required to draw up a plan for attracting individual clients - as a rule, ordinary managers follow existing instructions, transfer requests to other departments and generally focus on a mass audience.
Regular managers strive to satisfy the needs of a large number of customers. In contrast, key account specialists act in the interests of a limited group of customers who are especially valuable to the firm.
How much is the profession in demand in Western countries and in Russia?
Western European and American companies pay great attention to working with key clients and attract qualified managers for these purposes, since this is what contributes to rapid sales growth. In our country, this position is not so common, and its growth in popularity was facilitated by the reorientation of companies' activities to developing relationships with clients, expressed in providing favorable conditions for the consumer. From the employers' point of view, the KAM should concentrate efforts in three areas: interaction with the client, the formation of an individual sales plan and its implementation.
It follows that most companies are interested in experienced specialists who are able to monitor the market, find clients, negotiate with them, determine a sales strategy, study statistics, and also establish contacts with representatives of different levels to agree on the terms of cooperation. The size of the client base also matters here: a small business key account manager works alone or gets an assistant, while large organizations form impressive teams that include representatives of various departments.
What is the salary of a Key Account Manager?
Most often, the level of KAM income varies depending on the value of the concluded transactions. Both the total income and the final profit can be taken into account here. When calculating interest on the received income, an agent's fee is added to it, which, with an increase in the volume of the transaction, can vary from 15 to 5%. Depending on the achieved result, KAM can earn both more than 10 thousand euros and about 10 thousand rubles.