Amanda Camenzuli has recently celebrated her 5-year anniversary at NetRefer, making her the most senior member of the Account Management team. To mark this occasion, she sat down with us to share her thoughts, experiences and insight into what it means to be an Account Manager at NetRefer.
What’s an Account Manager? In an article in the online publication The Blueprint, we read that;
“Account management is a post-sales function focused on nurturing a company’s relationship with existing clients, usually in a B2B sales environment. [The] two primary responsibilities [are to] retain a customer’s business, and grow that business over time. [They] develop client relationships, reduce turnover, and subsequently help the company grow revenue by offering customers new products and services.”
Amanda opens by giving us an outline of her job commensurate with that of The Blueprint. She confesses that her role predominantly revolves around the idea of relationships, and she has to juggle quite a few at work. In her own words;
“I’m responsible for the client’s journey within NetRefer – be it from a relationship point of view or from a commercial one. I’m also accountable for the client’s overall experience even with other departments to achieve an overall satisfactory level of service.”
She displays a solid grasp of what it takes to retain NetRefer’s clients. She exercises sensibility and care in the way she interacts with clients, always pushing to help them grow their account. She knows that their success is proportionate to our success.
On top of curating her client portfolio, she emphasises the importance of close collaboration with her colleagues. This is key to fine-tuning and implementing strategies that work, while ensuring that they are carried through to a tee. When asked what she thinks about her team, she succinctly but passionately states that; “without a great team, you are nothing. I love the team, I love the bond between us, we rise and fall together.”
When asked what skills and traits it takes to become a successful Account Manager, Amanda provides plenty of insight. She intimates that;
“You just need to genuinely care for what you do. Keep in mind that you are dealing with human beings – not just companies – with their stories and their ups and downs. You need to enjoy speaking to people, apply the best version of yourself, using common sense and empathy at the same time, and logic.
Long-term success in business rests on more than just making profit; it’s about trust. Your client is entrusting his or her business in your hands. Growth will happen if you keep in mind the vision and values of the company, and make sure that you stay focused on achieving great results together.”
The point she makes about “enjoy[ing] speaking to people” deserves some more attention. It’s hard to convey what Amanda is like in person. When meeting her, she instantly gives off an infectious, jolly and vibrant impression. She’s a natural socialite who thrives on human interaction, both at and away from work.
She never forgets to bring the people around her into the picture. She lightheartedly says that a typical day “always has a bit of fun. Starting with myself, I’m admittedly loud, I laugh a lot and crack many jokes. But I would not be able to make it fun without the rest of the team.”
Keeping things fun and the reigning mood positive and upbeat has helped Amanda and her team through several challenges over the years. One of the biggest challenges she faces is her gradual growth in the company that comes with a list of added responsibilities.
She started off in the role of Customer Relationship Manager with a client portfolio considerably smaller than her present one. She used to meet clients regularly – whether locally or abroad – to gather their requests, take in their feedback, and then work on it all to come up with results.
However, as online publication Kapta points out, a major discrepancy between Account Management and Customer Relationship Management is
“that CRM does not have the same depth and personalization that Key Account Management needs for success. While CRM collects data on every customer possible, Key Account Management focuses only on a very exclusive group of segmented customers.”
The data gathered becomes a key component in optimising the sales process to create more future leads. An Account Manager, on the other hand, provides a silver service and personalised experience for existing clients to build long-term relationships, and therefore, facilitate retention.
Five years later, and now fully immersed in her newer role of Account Manager, Amanda understands that; “working within the Commercial team entails much more responsibility. We’re the heartbeat of the company but it’s how all parts interconnect that’s the priority because each piece relies on all the others.”
Amanda’s positive outlook and steadfastness shine through when she says that no matter what the challenge is, there’s a solution. However, one more challenge she highlights that can be a high hurdle to overcome is when she – as an Account Manager – must deal with a counterpart who doesn’t share the same values as NetRefer does – in a nutshell, Clear, Fair, Trusted.
Despite these bumps along the way, she claims that the advantages, positive experiences and memories far outweigh them. To name a few, she mentions all the award ceremonies she’s attended, all the times travelled to other countries to meet clients and other stakeholders, the fun times in and outside of the office with her team, and the time she’s spent with Raphael Arnold’s – CEO and Founder of NetRefer – family.
Our interview with Amanda comes to a closing note with her giving a few tips on what mindset to adopt when coming to the role. She says;
“Be yourself – don’t be scared to face challenges together. Everyone does mistakes but we should own them and move on. I’m myself everywhere I go with all my clients. “they trust me, they know my good intentions and together we are a very good team.”
This is why her first piece of advice to new joiners is to communicate openly and without reservation. She adds that we’re here for the business and we need to make it work. She also nudges new joiners to get a hold of Managers, Heads, and C-Level to get a better and more complete picture of who we are at NetRefer.
And despite her assertiveness and forthcoming attitude, she adds a personal note of encouragement. She says that before she took up the position, she hesitated as she wasn’t sure she was up to the task. Then, she heartened herself, knowing that she was capable of so much more. And as a result, she’s now NetRefer’s most veteran Account Manager with a consistent streak of positive reviews and feedback from clients.