Many people can find the prospect of working in the IT industry intimidating, and there is often the perception that working in this sector will come with a steep learning curve. There are many transferrable skills you can utilise, particularly in a role such as Account Manager, and we at CT focus on how your previous expertise and experience can benefit the sector, rather than what you don’t know.
To give you more of an insight into what it’s like working as an Account Manager at CT, we’ve asked Steph Markham to answer a few questions regarding the job role, and life here at CT.
Can you describe your job role as an Account Manager at CT?
My job as an Account Manager is to work as the liaison between CT and a number of key customers, understand their business and work with them to implement the best possible IT solutions for their business. My main priority is understanding and addressing customers needs and wants on a day to day basis in order to develop strong relationships with members of their team at every level.
What does your average day look like?
Everyday in the Account Manager role is different.
Most of my days start with checking & responding to urgent emails or calling customers to catch up.
Covid obviously changed our ways of working and I started at CT right in the midst of the first lockdown, so a lot of customers I have only spoken to on the phone or on Teams calls. Now, when it’s possible to meet customers face to face, I always try to do so as this allows me to see the day to day wants and frustrations my customers have and also the best part of building relationships is having a brew and a good natter with someone.
Some days I will be out on at customers sites having meetings with directors and key members of staff then other days I will be in the CT office or working from home doing anything from creating proposals to reviewing financial accounts or having internal meetings about projects due to start or in flight.
I am working on projects with a few customers at the moment which involves me getting the best possible hardware pricing from our suppliers, liaising internally with project management/project engineers and our technical presales function in order to get the best possible way of utilising IT and supporting our customers at a high and strategic level.
Obviously some days are quieter with less frequent meetings which allows me time to catch up on any admin work I need to do, make plans for future projects and have a good catch up with other members of the sales team.
What makes a good AM?/ What skills are required for this job role?
I think the main quality an Account Manager requires is the ability to listen to the customer and really understand their wants and needs.
Being a good ‘people person’ obviously helps and having confidence to just pick up the phone and speak to people, even if you don’t fully understand the technical aspect of the conversations is invaluable.
What do you enjoy most about working at CT?
The people (and dog) aspect is definitely the best part of working at CT, the atmosphere in the office is great and we always have a laugh whatever is happening around us.
What’s the most challenging aspect of your job role?
I would be lying if I didn’t say the job was sometimes frustrating, as we are effectively middle people in a relationship and sometimes this does not align completely and it is our job to come to a compromise.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job role?
The most rewarding aspect of my role is being able to turn around a relationship and fully overhaul a customers IT ways of working. It is great to see a customers life made easier by something I have recommended and had implemented.
What have you learnt during your time of the Account Management team at CT?
I have learnt that no question is a stupid question. Before I worked at CT I had no prior IT knowledge, so I felt like I was always asking stupid questions. Not once was I made to feel like inferior or silly for asking these questions and even now if I don’t know the answer to a customers question I know there will always be someone around who does know to support me.
What would your advice be to people looking to join the Account Management team at CT?
Do it! We are a really friendly team who will do anything to support someone new in our team, so whatever background or experience you have it is worth making the jump.
If you’re interested in working as an account manager please see our current opening, or if would like to hear about our other roles available please visit our vacancies page.
