What is a business account manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted expert

Jerri Lynn Kyle

A business account manager oversees the relationship between a company and its clients. They manage accounts, develop new business opportunities, and ensure customer satisfaction. Business account managers work with clients to understand their needs and provide solutions. They also collaborate with sales, marketing, and customer support to ensure a seamless customer experience. Successful business account managers possess strong communication and negotiation skills, as well as the ability to maintain relationships with clients.

What general advice would you give to a business account manager?

Jerri Lynn Kyle

Senior Instructor, Internship Coordinator, Missouri State University

1.Don't be discouraged! Jobs are out there but you might not get your dream job starting out. It's a journey, so try to make the most of every stop.
2.Start building your professional credibility, both with how you perform your job, and how you interact with your coworkers.
3.Finally, be confident, but at the same time be teachable and coachable. Your degree doesn't make you an expert. Sometimes you realize you don't even know what you don't know, and that's okay. You aren't going to know everything and that's why you need to be coachable.

ScoreBusiness Account ManagerUS Average

Salary

5.4

Avg. Salary $68,498

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.4

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.24%

Asian 4.07%

Black or African American 3.24%

Hispanic or Latino 9.82%

Unknown 4.41%

White 78.23%

Gender

female 44.18%

male 55.82%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

6.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a business account manager?

Pros

High earning potential
Opportunities for career advancement
Ability to work independently and manage your own schedule
Opportunity for travel
Opportunity for professional development and training

Cons

High pressure to meet sales and revenue targets
Long working hours and stressful work environment
Inheriting accounts with pre-existing issues or challenges
Needing to maintain a high level of knowledge about a variety of products and services
Can be emotionally taxing dealing with clients who are unhappy or dissatisfied

Key steps to become a business account manager

Explore business account manager education requirements

Most common business account manager degrees

Bachelor's

70.7 %

Associate

13.9 %

Master's

7.8 %

Start to develop specific business account manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	18.37%
Product Knowledge	8.21%
Account Management	6.04%
Financial Statements	4.64%
Business Sales	4.48%

Complete relevant business account manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New business account managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a business account manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real business account manager resumes.

Research business account manager duties and responsibilities

Generate leads, prepare RFP responses, build relationships, identify business/functional requirements, present technical solutions and negotiate contracts.
Add PowerPoint graphical and word text supplemental materials to hold interest and increase memory retention on user trainings.
Prepare payroll for the entire company, including responsibility for investigating and resolving issues.
Utilize marketing development funds strategically with customers, analyzing ROI before committing more funds.

Prepare your business account manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your business account manager resume.

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