Working as an account manager during the pandemic

Working as an account manager during the pandemic

Jim Jacob joined Quintype during the pandemic. Here's how he's been working as an account manager remotely.

Jim, how would you define your role at Quintype?

I handle end-to-end customer relations. As I'm constantly in touch with the clientele it's important that our priorities reflect well and this is achieved with a lot of proper communication. Being the face of Quintype for our customers, the role requires me to work parallelly with the demands and growth of the clients. Understanding their needs, addressing concerns and providing adequate solutions timely, are some of the skills I try to master.

Our happiness is directly proportional to our customer's growth. Based on the industry demands, we're flexible to explore new tricks to help them expand and test new waters.

We often need to adjust the focus depending on the client’s particular situation, and how satisfied the client is with the current account status and our offerings. This helps us get more efficient with our service and the growth turns mutual.

You wear a lot of hats. The role demands you to serve as a combination of a salesperson, customer success representative, technical specialist, and financial advisor.

How has working from home been for you?

While it helps save a lot of time usually spent on commuting, I miss the office atmosphere. Being newly married, I am happy to be able to spend more time at home without compromising on my work.

At Quintype, the support has been great. From taking care of issues like laptop replacements, organizing virtual events like fun friday, Christmas celebrations, all the efforts taken are commendable. Also, the team has built a flexible work environment given the pandemic lifestyle. I consider having the option of working from wherever you want and having your close ones nearby as a great stress relief.

Tell us what a normal day looks like for the account management team?

Our day typically starts a group huddle. Because everyone is working remotely, this helps us discuss common client issues, come up with clever solutions and collaborate. As a team, we try to learn from each other and decide on the workflows that need to be in place to best meet their needs, and ensure that we are delivering projects on time making sure everybody is on the same page as a team.

We schedule calls with clients to understand their business plan, their issues, and concerns. As Account Managers, we also interact closely with other teams like Sales, Product, Finance to achieve our goals.

You’ve been working with QT for 3 months. How has it been so far?

The journey has been great so far. I joined Quintype during the pandemic and the entire process - the interview, on-boarding and training was executed virtually. It was a great experience and I would like to thank the Quintype team for all the support and the smooth transition. One thing that motivates me to work is the people here, we have an open culture where we can reach out to anybody for clarifications or help. My team has been very supportive and open to my ideas and feedback. It makes me comfortable and motivates me to work harder.

If Quintype was a friend, what kind of friend would it be?

The friend that inspires you. Quintype has been a great learning opportunity. The team has helped me learn new things and become a better version of myself every day. I think that's a kind of friendship that is hard to find.

What is the most important trait for someone who wants to be an account manager?

Being client-focused is very important. I believe every client is unique and you have something to learn from each one of them. Being empathetic, building strong relationships and effective communication can be really helpful. The clients need to know that their account managers have their best interests at heart. You shouldn't miss out on any opportunity to build that impression.

What do you enjoy the most about your role?

Account managers succeed only when their clients succeed. I enjoy the opportunity to solve business problems for them. In a client-facing role, there is nothing better than bringing success to your clients.

What would your journal entry look like at the end of the day?

Every day is new and different at Quintype, in a client-facing role, you will have good days and bad days. What's important is how you balance it. My journal entry would have the number of clients I had interacted with on the day, the success stories, things that didn't work out, and most importantly the lessons learnt.

Quintype
blog.quintype.com