5 Keys to Account Management Success; 10 Keys to a Strong Customer Partnership

June 13, 2025
Posted by: Dave Kurlan
Category: Understanding the Sales Force

This article sounds like a beast, but it’s one of the shortest I’ve ever written. My backup title was Adventures in Account Management, but I didn’t want to get too cute. Here we go!

I was at the optometrist’s office, waiting for my broken glasses to be fixed, when SHE walked in.

She approached the receptionist and said, “I’m the new rep for [an eyeglass frame company], and I stopped by to introduce myself.”

She handed over her business card and bolted out the door.

Are. You. Kidding. Me?

What She Did Wrong

Let’s break down where this rep went off the rails:

Appearance: Her look was unprofessional. Ill-fitting jeans and not in a good way, a mismatched denim jacket, and except for her shoes and heavy makeup, her look seemed more appropriate for a construction site than a doctor’s office.
Target: She didn’t ask for the receptionist’s name or try to meet any of the four optometrists or three opticians in the practice. No names, no meeting requests, no follow-up scheduled—just a card dropped on the desk. Why bother visiting at all if she is going to do less than what she could have done by sending an email introduction?
Current Status: She didn’t check the frame displays for her company’s products or ask about their inventory. What a missed opportunity!
Growth Opportunity: As a new rep, she should’ve been curious. Are the optometrists, opticians, and patients happy with the frames’ quality, fit, delivery, and service? She should at minimum be asking if there is something she could to help the practice sell more frames, right?
Partnership: Sales is about building partnerships through trust, respect, expertise, advice, creativity, credibility, history, authenticity, caring, and communication. How can you establish that if you’re in and out in 60 seconds?

She spent less than a minute in the building. I wish her sales manager could see how she was wasting everyone’s time. But then I wondered: Could this be what her sales manager taught her to do?

What She Did Right

Let’s be fair. Here’s what she managed to pull off:

She showed up. Getting out the door and driving to another city is something.
She had a business card. Fashion choices aside, she remembered the cards.
She found the door and didn’t let it hit her on the way out.

Yeah, that’s about it. I was embarrassed that her visit was the result of a company’s hiring, onboarding, training, and coaching.

The Real Problem: The Sales Manager

Imagine her sales manager at the end of the day:

“How many visits did you make today?”

“25.”

“That’s amazing! How many orders?”

“None.”

“No worries, it’s your first week. You’ll get ‘em tomorrow.”

Ugh. The problem isn’t just the rep, it’s her sales manager working within a system that let her fail. How do you hire, on board, train, and coach someone and end up with this? Unless the sales manager is dropping the ball, it’s not possible. And who’s allowing the sales manager to fumble? The VP of Sales? The company president? Someone at the top has no clue what their sales team should be doing—or how to make it happen. Unfortunately, that sounds too familiar to me – observing that in way too many companies before we can fix it.

5 Keys to Account Management

To avoid disasters like this, here are five must-dos for account managers:

Dress the Part: Your appearance sets the tone. Look professional and polished.
Know Your Audience: Learn names, roles, and needs. Build relationships with decision-makers.
Check the Pulse: Assess current inventory, displays, and client satisfaction.
Seek Growth: Ask questions to uncover opportunities to improve service and sales.
Build Partnerships: Invest time in creating strong, lasting relationships.