TourismISCO 1420

Sales account manager

Sales account managers serve as intermediators between clients and the organisation, managing both sales and long term relations with the client. They have knowledge about products and services and develop contracts with customers.

Check yourself in a minute: sales account manager

Rate 5 of the 21 essential skills of this occupation (European ESCO data). No account needed.

apply company policies

study sales levels of products

perform data analysis

perform customers’ needs analysis

implement customer follow-up

About sales account manager

As a sales account manager, you are the vital link between your organization and its clients, responsible for managing both current business and building long-term relationships that drive growth. Your role spans the entire customer lifecycle—from identifying and prospecting new leads, to understanding their needs deeply, developing tailored solutions, and negotiating mutually beneficial contracts. You'll maintain detailed customer records, analyze sales data and account metrics to forecast opportunities, implement strategic follow-ups, and ensure clients receive exceptional service. Your success depends on mastering product knowledge, understanding company policies inside and out, and leveraging customer relationship management software to maximize revenues while building genuine business relationships.

Key Work Functions

Core areas of responsibility for a sales account manager.

1

Client Acquisition and Prospecting

  • Identify and research potential new customers within assigned market segments
  • Develop targeted prospecting strategies to expand the customer base
  • Conduct initial outreach and qualification to determine fit with company offerings
2

Needs Analysis and Solution Development

  • Perform comprehensive analysis of customer needs and business objectives
  • Understand characteristics and benefits of company products and services
  • Develop customized solutions and value propositions to address identified customer needs
3

Contract Negotiation and Closing

  • Negotiate pricing, terms, and conditions to achieve win-win outcomes
  • Manage contract development and ensure compliance with company policies
  • Close deals effectively and transition to account management phase
4

Account Management and Customer Service

  • Provide exceptional customer service and resolve client concerns promptly
  • Implement regular follow-up procedures to maintain strong client relationships
  • Build trust and rapport through consistent communication and value delivery
5

Sales Performance Analysis and Forecasting

  • Perform data analysis on sales levels, account metrics, and revenue trends
  • Forecast account metrics and pipeline opportunities to inform business planning
  • Identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities to maximize customer lifetime value
6

Documentation and CRM Management

  • Maintain accurate and detailed customer records in CRM system
  • Produce comprehensive sales reports and account summaries for management review
  • Utilize CRM software to track interactions, forecast sales, and optimize workflow

European Skills Framework

Skills and knowledge areas required for this occupation based on European classification.

Essential (21)

characteristics of productscharacteristics of productsThe tangible characteristics of a product such as its materials, properties and functions, as well as its different applications, features, use and support requirements.product comprehensionproduct comprehensionThe offered products, their functionalities, properties and legal and regulatory requirements.company policiescompany policiesThe set of rules that govern the activity of a company.characteristics of servicescharacteristics of servicesThe characteristics of a service that might include having acquired information about its application, function, features, use and support requirements.apply company policiesapply company policiesApply the principles and rules that govern the activities and processes of an organisation.study sales levels of productsstudy sales levels of productsCollect and analyse sales levels of products and services in order to use this information for determining the quantities to be produced in the following batches, customer feedback, price trends, and ...perform data analysisperform data analysisCollect data and statistics to test and evaluate in order to generate assertions and pattern predictions, with the aim of discovering useful information in a decision-making process.perform customers’ needs analysisperform customers’ needs analysisAnalyse the habits and needs of customers and target groups in order to devise and apply new marketing strategies and to sell more goods in a more effective way.implement customer follow-upimplement customer follow-upImplement strategies that ensures post-sale follow up of customer satisfaction or loyalty regarding one's product or service.prospect new customersprospect new customersInitiate activities in order to attract new and interesting customers. Ask for recommendations and references, find places where potential customers can be located.manage contractsmanage contractsNegotiate the terms, conditions, costs and other specifications of a contract while making sure they comply with legal requirements and are legally enforceable. Oversee the execution of the contract, ...use customer relationship management softwareuse customer relationship management softwareUse specialised software to manage company’s interactions with current and future customers. Organise, automate and synchronise sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support, to increase t...maximise sales revenuesmaximise sales revenuesIncrease possible sales volumes and avoid losses through cross-selling, upselling or promotion of additional services.produce sales reportsproduce sales reportsMaintain records of calls made and products sold over a given time frame, including data regarding sales volumes, number of new accounts contacted and the costs involved.maintain customer recordsmaintain customer recordsKeep and store structured data and records about customers in accordance with customer data protection and privacy regulations.keep records on saleskeep records on salesKeep records of the activities of the sales of products and services, tracking which products and services were sold when and maintaining customer records, in order to facilitate improvements in the s...forecast account metricsforecast account metricsMake predictions on the movement of account measurements and data which give insight into an organisation's financial state in order to aid analyses and evaluate potential risks.customer servicecustomer serviceProcesses and principles related to the customer, client, service user and to personal services; these may include procedures to evaluate customer's or service user's satisfaction.negotiate pricenegotiate priceArrange an agreement on price of products or services provided or offered.build business relationshipsbuild business relationshipsEstablish a positive, long-term relationship between organisations and interested third parties such as suppliers, distributors, shareholders and other stakeholders in order to inform them of the orga...relationship marketingrelationship marketingThe process within Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and focuses on customer retention, satisfaction and lifetime customer value.
Optional (12) — show
consumer goods industryconsumer goods industryThe consumer goods industry refers to a concrete economic sector that produce and sell goods to consumers for they direct consumption, enjoyment or use. Industry that covers a wide range of activities...accounting techniquesaccounting techniquesThe techniques of recording and summarising business and financial transactions and analysing, verifying, and reporting the results.employment lawemployment lawThe law which mediates the relationship between employees and employers. It concerns employees' rights at work which are binding by the work contract.competition lawcompetition lawThe legal regulations that maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive behaviour of companies and organisations.speak different languagesspeak different languagesMaster foreign languages to be able to communicate in one or more foreign languages.deliver a sales pitchdeliver a sales pitchPrepare and deliver an understandably constructed sales talk for a product or a service, identifying and using persuasive argumentation.adapt to changing situationsadapt to changing situationsChange approach to situations based on unexpected and sudden changes in people's needs and mood or in trends; shift strategies, improvise and naturally adapt to those circumstances.use content management system softwareuse content management system softwareUse software that allows publishing, editing and modifying content as well as maintenance from a central interface.use communication techniquesuse communication techniquesApply techniques of communication which allow interlocutors to better understand each other and communicate accurately in the transmission of messages.pose questions referring to documentspose questions referring to documentsRevise and formulate questions in regards to documents in general. Investigate about the completeness, confidentiality measures, style of the document, and specific instructions to handle documents.perform market researchperform market researchGather, assess and represent data about target market and customers in order to facilitate strategic development and feasibility studies. Identify market trends.consumer protectionconsumer protectionThe current legislation applicable in relation to the rights of consumers in the marketplace.

Related Occupations

Occupations that need many of the same essential skills, so the move between them is shortest.

Frequently asked questions

What does a sales account manager do?

Sales account managers serve as intermediators between clients and the organisation, managing both sales and long term relations with the client. They have knowledge about products and services and develop contracts with customers.

What skills does a sales account manager need?

A sales account manager needs 21 essential skills, including characteristics of products, product comprehension, company policies, characteristics of services, apply company policies.

Will AI replace sales account manager jobs?

The AI disruption score for sales account manager is 57/100 (high risk). Skills most exposed to automation: keep records on sales, produce sales reports, maintain customer records. Most resilient: perform customers’ needs analysis, negotiate price, build business relationships.

AI Replacement Risk

57/ 100
High Risk
Low riskHigh risk

This is the average for the whole occupation. The AI Career Shield test (about 10 minutes) shows the risk in your own work and what you can do about it.

Check your own AI risk
View full AI disruption analysis →

Quick Facts

SectorTourism
ISCO GroupHospitality, retail and other services managers
Essential Skills21

What are you missing to work as sales account manager?

The free skill gap analysis compares your skills with what this occupation requires and shows where to start.

Check your gaps