How To Become A Client Account Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a client account manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Brian Abraham Ph.D.

Client account managers often work with a company's most important clients. Some companies have one or two major clients that generate a large percentage of their profits, so they might hire client account managers to focus on those specific accounts. First and foremost, a client account manager is a great communicator and a people-person. This job entails being a liaison between a company and its customers.

The responsibilities of a client account manager include serving as the lead point of contact for client's account management matters, building and maintaining strong and long-lasting relationships, negotiating contracts, and close agreements to maximize profits. Furthermore, ensuring the timely and successful delivery of solutions according to client's needs and objectives, clearly communicating progress, and forecasting and tracking key account metrics.

Educational requirements include a bachelor's degree in accounting, marketing, or a similar field. Relevant proven work experience will be given preference. The average hourly salary for the position is $34.72, which amounts to $72,217 annually. Moreover, the career is projected to grow 5% and result in over 20,000 new opportunities across the United States.

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

Brian Abraham Ph.D.

Instructor, Full-time faculty member at Nichols College, Augsburg University

While it is exciting to be starting your first job as a recent graduate, don't be too hasty. Be sure you are entering a positive atmosphere with strong leadership. Take time to ask about the company culture and turnover rates. You can find low and high turnover rate ratios on the Internet for your industry. A high turnover rate company likely has a poor working atmosphere.

ScoreClient Account ManagerUS Average

Salary

5.4

Avg. Salary $69,699

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 54.40%

male 45.60%

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

Key steps to become a client account manager

Explore client account manager education requirements

Most common client account manager degrees

Bachelor's

73.1 %

Associate

10.7 %

Master's

9.8 %

Start to develop specific client account manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	13.27%
Account Management	7.92%
Client Service	4.25%
Client Accounts	3.91%
PowerPoint	3.77%

Complete relevant client account manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New client 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 client account manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real client account manager resumes.

Research client account manager duties and responsibilities

Manage vendor selections, through the RFP, negotiation, and implementation phases.
Manage company tax payments for an organizations annual payroll liabilities.
Update CRM system with details of customer conversations for tracking and trouble shooting.
Develop and improve processes to ensure efficient customer response, tracking and support through existing and enhance CRM system.

Apply for client account manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a client account manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do client account managers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

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1 star

Client account manager reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019

Pros

Meeting with consumers, educating, coaching, discussing products

Cons

None, I really enjoy it