Character Traits of Excellent Agency Account Management
I’m not sure if I’m describing the Boy Scout creed or traits of great account people, but here it goes. I came up with traits, but I’m sure there are more.
As always, tell me what you think. Agree, disagree. Let’s discuss.
Trustworthy
I like to keep this one simple. My view on trustworthiness is being reliable and acting with integrity. You do what you say you are going to do. Lose trust among clients and agency team members at your demise.
Resilient
Bring your emotional support animal to work. You’re going to need it. I heard Frank Lowe (google Frank Lowe Advertising if you're under the age of 40) once say, “advertising is not hard, but it is difficult.” It will test you and you’ll need mental and emotional resilience. An account manager, perhaps more than any other role on the team, should bounce back quickly from setbacks (see also: patience, fortitude and endurance).
Likable
We might think work life is a meritocracy where performance outweighs likability, but we’re human. Humans want to be liked and it’s scientifically proven.* Being liked helps you build relationships and advance your career. We’d probably all agree that excellent account managers are usually well liked or loved. And guess who is more likely to manifest success for their clients and the agency? The likable account person.
Note: for most likable account people, it’s probably natural. If not, I don’t think you should shape shift to be likable. Be yourself, but be aware. For example, I’m quirky and weird, and I don’t curb that when in the workplace. However, I’ve had to dial in the likable (tolerable) side of this so I don’t drive people bananas. Don’t be afraid to adjust your dials a bit if certain relationships call for it.
Critical & Creative Thinker
I’ve been surprised by how many account managers shy away from critical or creative thinking. This has nothing to do with intelligence. We are all intelligent in our own ways. I’m talking about willingness. Excellent account managers want to think. They take a beat and think before they act, they contribute to discussions, and as they advance and become accountable for “thinky” deliverables like briefs, povs, pitches, etc, they inherently know they must schedule time to dig in.
You can be somewhat successful in account management by watching the other departments do all the thinking but I don’t recommend it. Watching work happen shapes you into a list manager, not a true account manager.
If this does not feel natural, yet, I say take a swing. Particularly early in your career you should write a brief, author an email that defends the creative, write a media strategy in a few slides, write a headline or a tagline, think of 5 ideas that might transform your client’s business.
Schedule “thinking time” on your work calendar so you can block out the daily madness and focus. Think, ya’ll.
Translator
TLDR: client whisperer.
Excellent account managers have a unique ability to translate client communication and actions into usable information. If you consider the role of interpreters, they create understanding between two people who do not speak the same language. I think every client and client organization has their own language that must be learned.
For example, when your client says, “Let me take some time to think about it,” can you take that at face value or have you learned that it means an email will be coming soon with negative feedback?
Another example is the ability to interpret client emails. Are they asking simple questions about the media plan or can you sense the questions are a clue that they have doubts about the overall plan?
Leader
This is a tough one to cover because leadership comes in so many flavors. To keep it simple, and because I’m not very bright, I would describe the leadership trait within account management as the desire to be out in front. Not for attention, but for accountability and to set an example.
My friend, Sue Broverman, an expert strategic planner, defined account management as “the designated adult.” I love this because it captures how account management can often feel within an agency. We are usually surrounded by other smart, accountable, creative people but no one carries the weight quite like account management (if you’re doing it right).
You must have an innate desire to say, “I’m responsible for all this shit, and I gladly play this role.”
*Lookie. I googled Likeability:
https://hbr.org/2019/10/why-likable-leaders-seem-more-effective
“...subordinates tend to rate leaders based on their personal liking of that leader rather than the leader’s actual behaviors.”
“Certain psychological principles increase the probability that two individuals will be drawn to each other and experience a positive outcome. Incorporating these principles into your relationships will provide additional ways for you to make friends with the people you meet.”
https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2009/09/16/the-importance-of-being-likable/
“From every angle of human interaction the basic question: “Do I like this person?” is being asked. Being able to get more people to say, “yes” to this question has a huge impact.”