An interesting discussion broke out the other day about the characteristics of great account managers. Many traits were listed during a brainstorming session and then the group voted as individuals for those traits each thought was most important to being a successful account manager. In the end, we tallied up the votes to see which characteristics were named most often.
Interestingly, being smart or savvy didn't end up getting enough votes to make it a Top 5 candidate. This struck me as odd and I had to spend some time contemplating it before deciding if the group was correct or if they didn't recognize the trait in themselves and therefore decided it lacked importance. After all, if one thought of oneself as being a great account manager but knew from experience that one was more likely to get a call from Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader than from Jeopardy!, one might not want to agree that smarts plays an important role in selling.
Perhaps, being smart is more important in some sales jobs than in others. The group with whom I had the discussion sells advertising and although product knowledge can be complicated in the advertising business, its understanding doesn't require a mensa candidate. A friend of mine sells pharmaceuticals and I think he is smarter than your average bear and probably needs to be smarter than an advertising account manager. Maybe, the amount of intelligence a seller needs is directly proportionate to the smartness of his prospects. If you call on doctors, you need to be able to keep up your end of the conversation!
The characteristics the group thought were most important included the ability to be social/friendly or a good networker, strong product knowledge, understanding client's needs, high degree of honesty/integrity, persuasiveness, determination and passion. Of these, the one characteristic that I believe is the best indicator of an account manager's likely success is passion.
Nobody persuades like the passionate story teller. Take the television evangelist, for example. He whispers and he rants and he cries and he invokes and people send him money. The purpose of the money? So that he can afford to continue to appear on television and persuade viewers to send him more money.
Another great example of a passionate story teller is the politician. They need your vote and your money in order to make the world a better place! Without your support, the people will not have the advantage of their wonderfulness.
When a prospect has been qualified, only the passionate believer will have the drive to get an appointment with the decision maker despite multiple setbacks. Only the passionate believer will then have the courage to stand on the prospect's desk and shout, "Wrong!" when the prospect foolishly attempts to suggest that the seller's product isn't right for them. Only the passionate believer relives his failed sales calls with his wife and children at the dinner table and only the passionate believer wakes up in the middle of the night with an idea that gives him another valid business reason to call the prospect.
Yes, give me the passionate believer and watch us blaze across the sky in a flaming chariot of success!
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