Relationship Manager. MarketCheese

Relationship Manager — an employee responsible for building a relationship with customers and companies. Their main responsibilities are offering new products and services, solving the problem of clients, and contacting other departments. This position exists in various fields: sales, information technologies, bank services, marketing, etc. The key to succeeding in this position is good communication, love for people, work-life balance, and the ability to handle stress.

Job of Relationship Manager

The position of the relationship manager is very important in business because this person attracts new clients or improves the relationship with already existing customers. In some organizations, the relationship manager works together with the sales manager and marketer.

For work in this position, the candidate should have a degree of bachelor of arts or bachelor of science in business administration and several years of experience in a related field. If a candidate doesn't have enough experience, they can pass an appropriate additional education or courses.

Duties of relationship manager:

communicate with clients and offer them new products;
consult clients on the company’s product and solve their issues;
establish a relationship with the existing clients;
act as a business representative at conferences, outdoor events, and expositions;
develop sales strategies and complete the sales plan;
educate the additional members of the team.

Requirements of relationship manager:

bachelor’s degree in business administration;
experience in a similar field;
knowledge of CRM program;
communication skills;
organization skills;
presentation skills;
problem-solving skills;
teamwork ability;
leadership ability.

This position is well-paid and has various bonuses. The employees offer health and life insurance and coverage of mileage for the fieldwork. Some companies offer different bonuses for the family member, for example, the possibility to use insurance to cover their medical services.

The relationship manager submits to the head of the sales department or the chief financial officer. Their salary sometimes includes the payment of a percentage of the sales (personal or common). The percentage is defined by the employee turnover from sales.

The career path for a relationship manager may be related to customer support. Also, this person may grow into the chief executive officer or chief finance officer. Some individuals continue to develop their careers in sales or open their companies.

This work implies a large amount of communication with people, so it suits extroverts and persons searching for a dynamic environment. Introverts may burn out too fast on this job. This occupation may be quite stressful because the relationship manager should be nice and patient with clients even when they are angry. Also, this job has flextime and deadlines.

Particularities of Relationship Managers

There are two types of relationship managers: client relationship managers and business relationship managers. Both of them communicate with clients, however, these positions have some differences. A client relationship manager develops the client base, they meet new clients and manage the relationship with existing ones.

Client relationship manager contacts sales managers, finance directors, marketers, and other persons that are related to the sales or client communications. They analyze the competitors, and new trends and always search for ways to increase sales. Another duty of client relationship managers is the education of clients aimed to teach them how to manage the product.

A business relationship manager occupies the communications with other companies. They monitor supplies and purchases and oversee the financial state of the company. They contact the suppliers, providers, and business partners. The ultimate goal is to support the business processes of the company and maintain its reputation.

A business relationship manager has a large spectrum of duties and this position may be higher than a client relationship manager. They develop the image of a company and the client relationship manager offers the products to others. The customer’s loyalty is built upon the good quality of the product or service. Nevertheless, these positions require customer intelligence and communication skills.

The job of a relationship manager may look similar to the position of a sales manager. In some companies they are very close, however, they are different. The relationship manager is a part of the sales team, and they don't look for new clients. They don’t do the calls and don’t create quotations. A sales manager offers the products to numerous customers and a relationship manager offers them to one customer.

In the phase of growth the company starts to develop the client base, it needs sales managers. After creating the client base it requires relationship managers to communicate with existing clients. So, the sales manager can turn to the relationship manager. Then they can grow into a financial director.