How To Become An Account Manager In Australia?

Are you good at dealing with people and have persuasion skills? If yes, a career as an account manager could be a good choice for you.

Account managers form an integral part of a customer service team of a business. They offer excellent customer service to maximise business growth and support long-term relationships.

You will learn in this article the account manager job description, skills and qualifications you need, courses, degrees, job outlook, salary, potential career paths, and ways to pursue this career.

1. What Is An Account Manager?

Account managers have an in-depth knowledge of their organisation's services and products. They are responsible for building, managing, and nurturing client relationships and contributing to the expansion of the company's business.

They serve customers, suggest services or products to purchase and make targeted sales pitches for existing and potential clients.

2. Who Is A Key Account Manager?

A critical account manager handles the most lucrative and longest-tenured customers that constitute the highest percentage of the organisation's earnings. They are responsible for meeting specific sales volume and profit objectives while meeting quality standards.

Being the primary contact for client issues, they understand and anticipate clients' needs to develop strategies that lead to maximum customer satisfaction and a trusting relationship.

3. What Does An Account Manager Do?

To pursue an account manager career, you must learn about the account manager job description in Australia:

• Develop and manage a portfolio of business clients and invest time to know and understand them 

• Build lasting relationships with customers specific to their organisation

• Stay updated with the organisation's offerings, trends, innovations in their field and their impact on client's needs and operations.

• Train new hires or junior employees

• Identify and meet clients' needs, solve their queries, and keep them happy.

• Develop commercial strategies and sales plans to retain clients 

• Liaise with the company's product development, sales department, and customer service team to meet client's requests

• Represent the company and work as an intermediary between customers and internal teams.

• Periodically contact clients to check clients' needs and propose services, products, and solutions to meet them. 

• Recommend different business products/services based on their budget, purchasing behaviour, and past purchases

• Create presentations and progress reports for customers, executives, and senior members

• Develop and improve the buyer experience

• Ensure timely receipt of deliverables by customers

• Measure sales results and achieve sales and revenue targets 

• Identify cross-selling and upselling opportunities to maximise profits.

• Pitch new services or products to the client

• Identify ways to find new business opportunities and attract new clients.

• Share client feedback with the company's marketing, production, and administration departments.

• Ensure timely payment by the clients

• Perform administrative tasks and duties

4. Relevant Skills For Success

Do you want to know what it takes to become a good account manager? Here are the skills that you need to work in this role:

• Enjoy working with people

• Organisational skills

• Able to perform well under pressure

• Good listener

• Able to work to deadlines

• Good time management

• Analytical skills

• Able to negotiate and sell

• Persuasive

• Confidence

• Able to deal with demanding clients

• Accurate forecasting ability

• Able to work well independently and in a team

• Resistance to stress

• Decision-making

• Client-focused approach

• Self-motivated

• Relationship-building skills

• Adaptable to the evolving market requirements

• Good understanding of the sales cycle

• Multitasking

• Attention to detail

• Knowledge of Customer Relationship Management solutions like HubSpot or Salesforce

• Goal-oriented attitude

• Resistance to stress

• Problem-solving skills

• Knowledge of marketing, management, and sales techniques

5. Qualifications To Become An Account Manager In Australia

You don't need a formal education to work as an Account Manager in Australia.

However, a relevant degree or certification course will give you a sound knowledge of financial management, marketing, and customer relationship management software.

• Gain your Year 12 education certificate

• Complete a three years Bachelor's degree majoring in Commerce, Business, or Marketing. Alternatively, you can complete a Certificate IV in Business Sales course at an RTO or TAFE.

• Relevant internships or a proven track record of generating new business is an added advantage.

• Previous experience in sales as an account manager or sales representative is beneficial. 

6. Steps To Become An Account Manager In Australia

If the job profile interests you, here are the steps to making a career as an account manager in Australia.

Step 1: Get Qualified

To pursue an account manager role, you should earn a bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or commerce. The degree courses help candidates obtain expert knowledge about the role and showcase their professional capabilities to perform the duties effectively.

Some of the recommended options to consider are:

• Bachelor of Commerce

• Bachelor of Business 

• Bachelor of Business Administration 

• Bachelor of Business (Marketing)

Those who do not wish to undertake a degree can also complete a Certificate IV in Business Sales course at a nationally-accredited training institution.

Step 2: Seek Training Opportunities

Internships are an excellent opportunity to gain relevant work experience and develop soft skills that will, in turn, make your CVs more noticeable to potential employers. 

Start looking for internship opportunities while studying in college. It will help land an entry-level role in virtual, telephone, or inbound account management.

Many companies provide on-the-job training to newly recruited account managers to familiarise them with the role and the associated responsibilities.

Step 3: Take Relevant Courses

Many candidates compete for an entry position in the account management profession every year. To beat the intense competition, you can take online or in-person courses to develop job-relevant skills such as:

• Selling

• Face-To-Face Communication

• Leadership

• Teamwork

• Numeracy

• Strategy

• Management

• Problem-Solving

• Relationship building

• Entrepreneurship

These courses are great for differentiating yourself from the pack of aspiring account managers and improving your chances of job success. This small investment of time can help you earn your dream job faster than others.

Step 4: Accelerate Your Learning

Do you want to advance your career in account management? A Master's in Business Administration (MBA) is ideal for enhancing your credentials and skill set and qualifying for senior roles.

Step 5: Optimise Your Resume

Update your CV by mentioning all job-relevant qualifications, certifications, training, and courses. State all the strengths and skills employers look for in the job. Once done, you can start applying for entry-level positions in which you are genuinely interested.

While you wait for the job call, prepare for the interview. You can find online plenty of blogs, podcasts, and articles on interviewing skills and questions.

7. Courses For Account Managers In Australia

Do you want to know how to become an account manager without experience? Graduate with the following courses to develop career-ready skills to make a rewarding career in business advisory and accounting.

The industry-accredited degree courses provide essential legal and financial knowledge to help students prepare and manage financial reports.

The courses develop a strong foundation in management, business law and ethics, financial accounting, taxation law, auditing, and company accounting. Students also learn about the legal, political, and economic factors influencing global business.

A Certificate IV in Business qualification helps students develop a broad knowledge base and skills in many business sales contexts. The course prepares them to analyse and solve issues and offer guidance to others. 

Available as an apprenticeship, this course helps gain real-world practical, hands-on experience and build a professional network as part of their studies.

Bachelor of Commerce

• UNSW

• Deakin University

• University of Western Australia

• The University of Newcastle

Bachelor of Business

• Victoria University

• University of Technology, Sydney

• University of Western Australia

• Deakin University

Bachelor of Business Administration

• Curtin University

• University of Technology, Sydney

• Monash University

• Victoria University

8. How Long Does It Take to Become an Account Manager?

The ideal route to becoming an account manager is to complete a 3-year Bachelor's Degree in Business, Commerce, Business Administration, or Marketing.

Aspiring account managers can also take a 1-year Certificate IV in a Business Sales course. This can significantly shorten your time to get qualified and hired.

Thus, based on your chosen pathway, it may take up to 3 years to work as an account manager in Australia.

9. Work Conditions For Account Managers

Account managers usually work in offices in the public or private sector. They often work full-time for standard hours from Monday to Friday. However, based on the industry, employer, and workload, they may require working in the evenings or on weekends.

Account Managers may need to travel to attend networking events, conduct meetings with clients, or demonstrations for clients.

10. Job Opportunities Of Account Managers In Australia

The account manager job is a versatile role, wherein sometimes you work as a salesperson and other times as a financial advisor. 

Account managers work for various companies, that includes manufacturing businesses, service providers, advertising, PR agencies, and consultancy firms.

An account manager generally begins his career with a junior account manager position, progressing. With experience and consistently good performance, they can take on senior account managers job roles.

These include Senior Account Manager, Key Account Manager, International Account Manager, Vice President of Account Management, and Account Director.

According to popular job websites, an account manager can work in the following positions based on his experience:

• Account Manager

• Senior Account Manager

• Lead Account Manager

• Channel Account Manager

• Strategic Account Manager

• Enterprise Account Manager

• Account Executive

• Associate Director of Accounts

• Executive Director of Accounts

• Director of Accounts

• Digital Account Director

• Group Account Director

• Senior Director of Accounts

• Executive Vice President of Accounts

• Vice President of Accounts

• Senior Vice President of Accounts

An account manager in Australia can take further training to specialise in sales, marketing, and communications and work in the following positions:

• Sales Agent

• Sales Account Assistant

• Lead Manager

• Channel Manager

• Sales Manager

• Brand Manager

• Marketing Manager

• Industry Manager

11. How Much Does An Account Manager Earn In Australia?

The salary of an account manager depends on the level of experience, position, work location, and company size. Account managers also earn commissions on top of their salaries. 

With enough experience, an account manager can pursue senior roles that result in greater responsibility, authority, and salary.

The average account manager's salary in Australia is AU$ 67,540, equivalent to AU$ 29.49 / hour.

Average Salary Based On Experience

• Entry-level Account Managers (< 1-year experience) earns AU$57,887 

• Early career Account Managers (1 to 4 years of experience) earn AU$63,601

• Mid-career Account Managers (5 to 9 years of experience) earn AU$72,608

• Experienced Account Managers (10 to 19 years of experience) earn AU$78,195

Average Salary Based On Location

The account manager's salary in Sydney, NSW, is $85,549 annually. Salary in other Australian cities is as follows:

• Canberra ACT: $101,420 per year

• Brisbane QLD: $90,623 per year

• Perth WA: $84,286 per year

• Melbourne VIC: $83,876 per year

• Adelaide SA: $76,282 per year

• Gold Coast QLD: $74,877 per year

12. Conclusion

Account Manager is a versatile and growing profession where you build connections and develop an outstanding customer experience.

Working in this position, you get a chance to play a strategic role in the growth and development of your company.

Besides being emotionally rewarding, the job gives you strong job security and decent compensation.

So, if you consider yourself fit for this role, take your time! Complete Certificate IV in Business Sales to launch your career in this profession.

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