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Key Account Manager
Job Profile (m/f/d)

Key account managers – customer development and strategic management

Key account managers are absolute sales professionals, and ensure that sustainable corporate success is achieved by looking after key customers. They are the permanent contact for a company's most important customers, and build up and expand business relationships and establish a high degree of trust with your key customers. Keeping these key customers loyal to the company is essential to increasing sales. Key account management makes it possible to open up new markets, but also to impress new customers with your own service. Key account managers generate high order volumes with appropriately high turnover. Their work is therefore crucial for the current and future success of a company.

Key account managers ensure that customer processes run smoothly for sustainable customer loyalty. They benefit particularly from their long professional experience. Key account managers stay in close contact with their customers, from analysing potential customers to acquiring new customers, drawing up individual sales concepts and negotiating contracts.

KEY ACCOUNT
MANAGER

  • For applicants
  • For companies
  • For freelancers

Are you looking for a job as a Key Account Manager? (m/f/d)

Do you want to catch really big fish and bind them to the company you are involved in over the long term? As a key account manager, you are the direct contact person for the key customers of your company. You will collaborate closely with other sales managers, and develop a stringent customer strategy. You will keep an eye on the targets set by the management with regard to the annual turnover to be achieved, and therefore actively shape the success of your future company.

Find the latest Key Account Manager job offers

Are you looking for a Key Account Manager? (m/f/d)

You need experienced key account managers to design the interface between your company and your top customers in an optimal way, optimize sales processes and ensure that your company is successful. The key account managers analyse potential new customers, look after your main customers and make an important contribution to the development of new markets.

Find a new Key Account Manager

Are you looking for an exciting Key Account Manager project?

Have you already looked after key customers in a wide variety of different industries and company sizes? You can bring your expertise in dealing with different major customers to a new company and successfully apply your knowledge from previous projects. In so doing, you will act as an intermediary between management and key customers, are the main point of contact, and ensure that there is success-oriented, sustainable customer loyalty.

Find the latest Key Account Manager projects

What is a Key Account Manager?

Key account managers are very aware of the needs and requirements of a company's key customers. They are responsible for creating an intense bond between the main customers and your company (Keyword: perfect customer service). They have an overview of the markets, products, industries and new technical developments in order to ensure the sale of a product or service in the interests of the company. In order to do this, key account managers acquire new customers, look after all aspects of them and bind them to your company on a long-term basis.

What are your tasks as a Key Account Manager?

As a key account manager, you have an important key position in the sales area, and are a part of customer management. You will develop effective customer strategies and successfully mediate between the management and existing customers. In doing so, you will never lose sight of the management's targets with regard to the annual turnover to be achieved. You will carry out the following activities:

  • Customer relationship management
  • Recording of customer requirements regarding the modification of products and services
  • Responsibility for key account-related turnover
  • Cooperation with the product development area
  • Presentation of new products and services
  • Complaint management
  • Planning of various marketing measures and events
  • Be aware of customer goals
  • Be well informed about markets, products, industries and technical developments
  • Provide information about the quality of products and processes
  • Work out new market strategies
  • Analyse and show sales potential
  • Optimize the price-performance ratio

What skills should a key account manager have?

Since key account managers are sales professionals, they will have several years of professional experience. They often start out as junior sales managers, later become a senior sales manager and then take the route to becoming a key account manager. Special expertise in many industries is indispensable. For example, as a key account manager in a mechanical engineering or IT company you will need in-depth technical knowledge. Many employers therefore require key account managers to have a degree in business administration or engineering economics.

The following skills are also required in order to be successful in key account management:

  • Organisation talent
  • Good communication skills
  • Excellent knowledge of English
  • Entrepreneurial way of thinking and acting
  • Negotiation skills
  • Analytical capabilities
  • Good rhetoric and communication skills (by email, phone, personal conversation)
  • Act in a target and result-oriented manner
  • High degree of service and customer orientation
  • Partly: Willingness to travel
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Since key account managers are sales professionals, they will have several years of professional experience. They often start out as junior sales managers, later become a senior sales manager and then take the route to becoming a key account manager. Special expertise in many industries is indispensable. For example, as a key account manager in a mechanical engineering or IT company you will need in-depth technical knowledge. Many employers therefore require key account managers to have a degree in business administration or engineering economics.

The following skills are also required in order to be successful in key account management:

  • Organisation talent
  • Good communication skills
  • Excellent knowledge of English
  • Entrepreneurial way of thinking and acting
  • Negotiation skills
  • Analytical capabilities
  • Good rhetoric and communication skills (by email, phone, personal conversation)
  • Act in a target and result-oriented manner
  • High degree of service and customer orientation
  • Partly: Willingness to travel
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How do I become a key account manager?

There is no classical training for the job of a key account manager. The basis is the completion of a commercial traineeship, a business degree or an engineering degree. What is needed is comprehensive sales knowledge and a flair for dealing with customers. 
One way to get closer to the job of a key account manager is to complete further training. It is advisable to look for certifications, for example from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Many companies train and develop key account managers themselves. This requires several years of professional experience. 

Minimise More info

There is no classical training for the job of a key account manager. The basis is the completion of a commercial traineeship, a business degree or an engineering degree. What is needed is comprehensive sales knowledge and a flair for dealing with customers. 
One way to get closer to the job of a key account manager is to complete further training. It is advisable to look for certifications, for example from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Many companies train and develop key account managers themselves. This requires several years of professional experience. 

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What is the average salary of a Key Account Manager?

Salaries can vary in key account management. The salary can vary between approx. €55,000 and €80,000 per year, depending on the amount of professional experience, the size of the company and the importance of the customer to be looked after. In some cases, the remuneration may even be dependent on success – an increase is therefore always possible.

Minimise More info

Salaries can vary in key account management. The salary can vary between approx. €55,000 and €80,000 per year, depending on the amount of professional experience, the size of the company and the importance of the customer to be looked after. In some cases, the remuneration may even be dependent on success – an increase is therefore always possible.

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What opportunities does a key account manager have on the job market?

In the majority of industries, key account managers are used to look after key customers and organise and control the communication processes between the company and the customer. This applies to everything from medium-sized mechanical engineering companies to large corporations in the consumer goods industry. They all rely on qualified key account managers for their success. Continuous training should be a matter of course for all key account managers. This is the only way to meet the challenges resulting from Industry 4.0 and digitalisation together with the customers. Key account managers are particularly sought after by IT companies, automotive suppliers, and food and consumer goods manufacturers. However, pharmaceutical manufacturers, life science specialists and financial service providers are also on the lookout for experienced key account managers.

Minimise More info

In the majority of industries, key account managers are used to look after key customers and organise and control the communication processes between the company and the customer. This applies to everything from medium-sized mechanical engineering companies to large corporations in the consumer goods industry. They all rely on qualified key account managers for their success. Continuous training should be a matter of course for all key account managers. This is the only way to meet the challenges resulting from Industry 4.0 and digitalisation together with the customers. Key account managers are particularly sought after by IT companies, automotive suppliers, and food and consumer goods manufacturers. However, pharmaceutical manufacturers, life science specialists and financial service providers are also on the lookout for experienced key account managers.

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What employment opportunities are there as a Key Account Manager?

As a key account manager, you have a great deal of responsibility within your company. We can offer you the possibility of a wide variety of different contract models so that you can work there in accordance with your requirements. Be it in a permanent position, as a freelance specialist, in temporary employment or through our workforce management – we will cooperate to determine which type of contract is the best one for you.

Minimise More info

As a key account manager, you have a great deal of responsibility within your company. We can offer you the possibility of a wide variety of different contract models so that you can work there in accordance with your requirements. Be it in a permanent position, as a freelance specialist, in temporary employment or through our workforce management – we will cooperate to determine which type of contract is the best one for you.

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This is how we successfully recruit key account managers

In order to find an attractive position for job seekers and the perfect partners for companies, we operate in accordance with our effective "Find & Engage" concept. That means that we know all about our applicants. We know where their interests and priorities lie, and which qualifications they have. Having a good relationship with our applicants is our be-all and end-all, since this is the only way for us to find the right candidates for every company and every vacancy.

Our recruiters manage to establish contacts between companies and applicants within a very short time using search networks and data analyses. The requirement profile is the perfect match for the professional and personal qualifications of our candidates. Once both parties have got to know each other intensively and have a mutual interest in working together, all of the relevant framework conditions are agreed with us. The applicants are then employed, either directly by the company or on a contract basis via Hays.

Top job offers as a Key Account Manager

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