What do you do if new technology is changing the role of account managers?

Assess the available tools with an open mind. Dive deep into learning the capabilities and best practices of CRM platforms, data analytics dashboards, and communication tools. Experiment with integrating them into your daily workflows and measure the impact on your efficiency and results. Proactively seek out training and certifications to expand your technical skill set. At the same time, don't neglect the human touch. Technology should augment, not replace, your ability to build strong relationships and provide personalized service. By adapting to new technology while maintaining your core strengths, you'll position yourself as an indispensable partner to your clients and stay ahead of the curve in an evolving industry.

Embracing change is always part of growth and success. The world we live in is constantly evolving and we must take personal responsibility to adapt through education and stretching outside out of our comfort zone, whether new technologies, processes or taking on a more challenging role…this is when the good stuff happens!

Embracing change means not being afraid to change. Some people don't like change because they don't want to learn new things. It takes time and can be troublesome. Successful salespeople have an internal locus of control, meaning they are aware that success is determined by themselves. If they do not learn new technologies, they will be left behind, especially in the tech industry. They will explore which technologies can help improve their performance and how these technologies are influencing the industry. By being aware of the need for change and embracing technology, they can gain advantages and stand out from competition

Technology even AI cannot change the range of human emotion or an AEs EQ or creativity when selling and building relationships. Technology will help you accelerate and deliver your strategies faster and in a repetitive manner. Learn it- embrace it- excel at it.

Sales skills mostly involve soft skills like communication, listening, persuasion, and influence, as well as building relationships and earning trust. These skills cannot be replicated by machines, but technology can help sales perform better. For instance, using video conferencing to stay in touch, automation for data input, providing sufficient data, and using data analytics to gain better insights about their accounts. By upgrading their skills and use technology, account managers can perform better by utilizing technology to improve customer satisfaction. For example, facilitating collaboration during project implementation, minimizing miscommunication in project delivery, and gathering important feedback from their customers.

Always focus on your skills and what you bring to the table. The tech is always secondary. Always make sure you’re providing the most about of value to your customers.

The customer advisor would match the term customer advisor right at the beginning of building the rapport. Customer service representatives serve customers. They have already decided on my company. So bring on the new technologies for upselling and cross-selling!

Well, I prefer the term "Value Consultants" to "Account Managers," to be honest, as the primary function of the role has evolved from 'managing revenue' to 'creating value' a long time back. The advent of technology over the years has made many day-to-day tasks easier and more streamlined, but the success of the role has been tied more or less to the relationships being fostered. It has become even more relevant to have a genuine interest in knowing the organizational goals as well as the goals of the person (POC) to be able to identify value creation opportunities. This mentality would help move the relationship from being 'Vendor-Centric' to 'Partner-Centric,' providing a personalized and enriching customer experience.

Embrace technology as an enabler, not a replacement. Technology can’t develop a wide network of individuals with whom you share information and strategy, and ultimately people do buy from people they like. Until we’re all in the Matrix, AI won’t replace a human relationship.

People have bemoaned change and the pace by which things change for millennia. With technological advances creating tectonic shifts in all aspects of life and with knowledge doubling occurring on average every 13 months, there is no time to "work to embrace" change. Today, change produces either growth or decline. The future is being created now and change catalysts have the edge.

If new technology is changing the role of account managers, there are several steps by mu point of view that can be taken to adapt to these changes: 1. Stay informed: Keep up to date with the latest technological advancements in the industry and understand how they are impacting the role of account managers. 2. Embrace technology: Instead of resisting change, embrace new technologies and tools that can help improve efficiency and effectiveness in managing accounts. 3. Upskill: Invest in training and development to acquire new skills that are relevant to the evolving role of account managers, such as data analysis, digital marketing, and customer relationship management software.

Innovation is part of the cycle that allows Account Managers to actually sell new products, solutions or services to their customers. As such technology like Cognitive A.I. or A.I. are part of innovation that enables us to deliver better fit solutions reducing TCO at a faster ROI. Wild stories of how wrong A.I. is are already old news since the likes of ChatGPT are very advanced now. What is missing is companies training their staff on how to use A.I. and how to formulate questions so that the output is valuable. Here it's not A.I. that is the 'dummy' but the employee that doesn't get trained in its use.