A national account manager is in charge of managing large-account customers, the majority of whom do business on a national or international scale. This professional may be a member of the sales or project management teams, depending on the size and structure of the company for which he works. National account managers typically oversee a small number of accounts and may even be exclusively focused on a single client. Typical responsibilities include taking and processing new orders, ensuring accurate project completion, suggesting new products or services, assisting in marketing efforts, and training the client as needed.
The parameters of a national account manager position are heavily influenced by the size and structure of the company. In large corporations, such managers may be in charge of entire account teams, which may include project managers, customer service representatives, and others. In smaller businesses, the national account manager may be responsible for all of these responsibilities. Small businesses may only require one national account manager, whereas large businesses may require several.
The manager’s office location is also determined by the company and the client. If the two entities are in different cities, a national account manager who works with a high-revenue client may have an office at the client’s location rather than at her own company’s building. A national account manager with more than one client in or near a city other than the one where her company’s headquarters is located, as well as a manager with clients across a broad geography, might work from home. In other cases, the manager may work from the main office or a satellite office of her company.
The responsibilities of a national account manager differ greatly from one company to the next. In most businesses, this position is in charge of future sales to a specific client or clients. This can include both reordering existing products and selling products and services that a client is not currently purchasing.
Sales duties are handled solely by the sales department in some companies, and national account managers are part of a project or account management team in others. In this case, the majority of responsibilities revolve around delivering the products and services that a client has requested. This entails keeping track of project deadlines, ensuring that invoices are correct, ensuring that contract terms are followed, and overseeing customer service. These account managers may, for example, assist customers in developing marketing programs if they are reselling products or in training end users if the product is a computer program or other system.