Account Managers and Strategy

I’m a huge fan of the account management function, which is why we do a huge annual conference on the subject every March. We’ve also covered how to understand account managers in a 2Bobs episode, and I’ve delved into the history of account management.

For the record, ad agencies over-index on account management and digital firms (that’s 40% of our client base) under-index on that function. Every firm, regardless of type, though, needs dedicated strategists and planners, too, which leaves AMs wondering where they fit in the big picture on the subject of delivering strategy.

So here’s some thinking on how strategic AMs need to be, and how exactly they pull that off, in six parts:

1. No client interaction should occur without including the account manager. In those settings, sometimes an account person is leading the discussion and sometimes they step back after introducing the SME, but they are always in the loop.
2. We should not shield other employees from the client. So when we argue for the client manager's role, we're arguing for what they are responsible for, not for who interfaces with the client. It's frequently critical to have a researcher, writer, designer, UX person, media planner, or creative director meet with the client in person. But they are never primarily responsible for that relationship.
3. Knowing when to involve an SME is a critical skill. So there are three things that might trigger the direct involvement of a dedicated strategist. The client might ask for it. The account manager might ask for it. Or the strategist might ask for it, while reading through briefs or talking to that account manager.
4. An account manager knows what questions to ask. This is a very valuable skill that very few other employees possess. A skilled account person knows what to ask and how to ask it, and they speak the language of strategy even if they aren't the primary strategist. (So, while an account person knows what questions to ask, the strategist knows how to answer them...or how to correct the client's answers.)
5. Great account managers are too accessible to be viewed strategically. This is definitely not a statement about the degree to which account people are smart—it's only a statement about how clients prefer to manage their own perceptions. In developed cultures, experts are not accessible, and so a strategist who bounces in and out of the relationship (never without the account person) is listened to more carefully. If you look out from the window seat on an airplane because you're trying to figure out why the flight is late pushing back from the gate, you don't want to see the pilot, in uniform, helping load the final bags.
6. The best account people can present recommendations better than anyone else. That's just a skill that's right smack in their wheelhouse. They understand a particular client and they could talk for an hour about the nuances of the politics within that organization. They have excellent presentation skills. They speak the language of strategy, as noted above. They can read a room without getting lost in the actual presenting. They can "sell" ideas. And so on. Yes, someone else can be in the room and even have an active role in presenting, but the spotlight is on the account person.

I’ll end this by just noting a very important point that most firms seem to forget: clients notice deficiencies in the quality of the account management and project management long before they’ll notice deficiencies in the quality of the work itself.