Account managers are the liaison between a company and its clients. Finding the right person to fill this role is essential. Whether you’re a candidate or a hiring manager, you’ll need to brush up on account manager interview questions before making any big decisions.
If you’ve made it to the interview stage, take some time to review the 15 questions below. You can practice formulating answers that highlight your skills as an account manager. If you’re hiring for the position, see what responses a standout candidate would give.
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Asking the Right Account Manager Interview Questions
Account managers focus on maintaining customer relationships and supporting clients. This role is often the direct connection between the client and your company. The best interview questions help determine if a candidate has the right personality and skill set for the job.
Of course, you’ll want to prepare for standard interview questions, such as “What is your greatest weakness?” (Be sure to spin your weakness into a positive!) However, it is more likely that a hiring manager will ask questions specifically related to the account manager position.
These kinds of questions assess a candidate's hard skills, soft skills, experience, and expertise. The interviewee then has the opportunity to shine and showcase their skills.
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- Why are you interested in this position?
- Describe your experience generating sales reports.
- Can you explain your process for onboarding new clients?
- Can you explain your previous experience managing accounts?
- How do you build relationships with customers?
- What is your preferred method of contact with clients?
- Consider a time you had to deal with an angry customer. How did you handle the situation and what was the outcome?
- What are ways you might make suggestions to improve the company’s relationship with clients?
- Describe a time you upsold a client.
- You notice that you are behind target revenues for the quarter. What are the steps you take to fix it?
- A client is considering ending business with your company. Describe your customer retention plan and process.
- How do you build relationships within your team?
- Discuss your experience with CRM platforms.
- How do you prioritize your job tasks? Explain your process.
- Are you familiar with our industry and the role you will perform?
1. Why are you interested in this position?
With the current job market, it is not unheard of that candidates will apply to every job that they see — even if they are not qualified.
“Why are you interested in this account manager position?” seems like a simple enough question. However, responses help a hiring manager weed out inexperienced or unqualified candidates.
Crafting the Best Response
For this one, honesty is the best policy. Take the time to explain your interest in the account manager position and explain any relevant experience, such as similar roles you may have had in the past or any internship experience you might have listed on your resume.
If you have previously worked in sales, customer service, or managed a team, be sure to mention that, too. An account manager is customer service focused. Demonstrating your experience in sales or customer service will be a plus.
2. Describe your experience generating sales reports.
As an account manager, you will be responsible for generating sales reports to determine if there is an increase or decrease in sales on the accounts you manage. A hiring manager will likely ask you about reports to determine if you can keep track of the fine details of multiple accounts.
Crafting the Best Response
Don’t answer this question with a simple “yes.” Elaborate on your experience.
Think about a time when the report data told a different story than what your client discussed with you. Talk about those kinds of scenarios and how you used data from the report to resolve the issue.
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3. Can you explain your process for onboarding new clients?
Each company has its own onboarding process for new clients. But a personal touch to onboarding will go a long way in maintaining a client relationship.
Hiring managers will want to know if you’ll go the extra mile for clients, especially in the onboarding phase. Will you help new clients if there is a problem? Will you be available to answer client questions?
Crafting the Best Response
Use this question to demonstrate your ability to connect with clients on a personal basis. You should describe your experience with onboarding a client and how you established a good, working relationship with that client.
Obviously, you won’t know the onboarding process of the company you are interviewing with during the initial interview, but do your best to describe your ideal timeframe for reaching out to new clients to check in.
4. Can you explain your previous experience with managing accounts?
Again, hiring managers are looking for qualified candidates that possess the necessary skills to manage multiple accounts at once.
A hiring manager will want to know if you have the abilities to multitask, pay close attention to small (and sometimes, big!) details, and maintain multiple relationships with clients at once.
Crafting the Best Response
Draw on your previous experience managing accounts to thoroughly answer this question.
Mention any experience you might have and showcase any relevant skills, such as customer relationship-building skills, time management skills, and listening abilities (which, is a valuable skill every account manager should possess).
5. How do you build relationships with your customers?
A hiring manager needs to know that you can do more than simply answer a client’s email with the appropriate response. To build a strong client base, you’ll need to create more personable relationships.
An account manager is often the face of the company and the first point of contact for a client. A hiring manager may ask you to explain how you build relationships with your customers in order to better understand your personality and your processes.
Crafting the Best Response
Answer this question by highlighting your personal relationship skills. Think about how you interact with customers and describe it in detail.
- Do you check in with your clients, even if it's not scheduled?
- Do you send hand-written thank you notes to new clients that have just been onboarded?
- Are you an effective listener ready to take on your client’s concerns and questions?
Make a list of the ways you interact with your customers and use this list to describe how you build relationships.
6. What is your preferred method of contact with a client?
As an account manager, you will need to keep in near-constant contact with the clients on your roster. Sometimes that means calling them on the phone, emailing them, or instant messaging them.
Your hiring manager may likely ask you which method of contact you prefer when dealing with clients. Hiring managers know that each method of contact requires a certain skill set. This question helps determine if you have the customer service skills needed to do well in the position.
Crafting the Best Response
When answering this question, explain the many ways in which you contact your clients.
If you primarily use email, be sure to mention that you keep emails professional and to the point. If you prefer a phone call because it is more personal, mention your game plan for starting a phone call.
Do you ask about the weather or your client’s day before talking business? Or do you get straight into the topic? Your answer to this question will tell the hiring manager a lot about your customer service and relationship-building skills.
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7. Consider a time you had to deal with an angry customer. How did you handle the situation and what was the outcome?
In an ideal world, every client would be happy with the service and help they receive from their account manager. However, sometimes that is just not the case — whether it be a mistake made by the account manager or technology will not cooperate.
How a candidate deals with adversity will tell a hiring manager if the candidate’s skills and abilities are right for the role.
Crafting the Best Response
Consider a time when your client was not happy, and think of how you solved their problem.
Was the problem bigger than what you could handle and did you need to call in other team members to help solve the problem for your client? Did you already have a solid relationship with your client?
Describe the situation in detail, and own up to your mistakes if it was your fault. Then, discuss how you solved the problem — and kept the client!
8. What are ways you might make suggestions to improve the company’s relationships with clients?
Account managers are team players and often are leaders in their departments. You may be asked to train other members of the department or make improvements to certain processes, like the onboarding process.
A hiring manager will want to know if you have the skills needed to take the initiative to make positive changes in your department.
Crafting the Best Response
Highlight a time when you stepped up to lead your team members and make changes to processes.
If you found a better way to onboard a client, describe the original process, and what you did to make it better. If you’ve noticed that clients were experiencing difficulty with your CRM, explain how you workshopped the problem.
Think about the things you have done that have improved the experiences of your clients and coworkers. Use those as a springboard for suggestions.
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9. Describe a time you upsold a client.
Part of being a great account manager means you’re able to understand your client’s needs — and you’re able to understand the business needs of your company.
The hiring manager will want to know if you’re able to identify when a client could benefit from extra services your company offers and what you’ll do in order to encourage your clients to make an additional purchase. Can you recognize a sales opportunity when it is in front of you?
Crafting the Best Response
To answer this question, think about your previous experience with clients. Be sure to discuss how you clearly identified that your clients needed extra services, the steps you took to convince your clients to purchase an add-on service, and the (successful!) outcome.
10. You notice that you are behind target revenues for the quarter. What are the steps you take to fix it?
While you, as an account manager, might not deal with direct sales like a member of the sales team, it is still your responsibility to make sure your accounts are profitable and hitting quarterly targets. A hiring manager may ask you to explain what steps you’ll take if you notice you’re behind target revenues for the quarter in order to determine if you have the skills needed to be flexible, adaptable, and teachable if needed.
Crafting the Best Response
Answer this question by detailing the steps you take to assess and evaluate your accounts. Explain how you use the data generated from sales reports to determine which account is lacking on the sales side of things. Then, explain your plan for how to catch up before the end of the quarter and your tactic for the next sales quarter.
11. A client is considering ending business with your company. Describe your customer retention plan and process.
As the direct point of contact for your clients, you will likely be the first team member to know if a client may churn. That is why it is important to have a well-thought-out customer retention plan.
Expect a hiring manager to ask you about your customer retention strategies. Refer to any experience you have persuading clients to stay with your business.
Crafting the Best Response
Before you answer, consider your prior experience with customers. Be sure to discuss how you reached out to clients who were thinking about leaving. Then, describe the ways you kept your customers informed and satisfied with your company.
Did you offer your client your personalized discount on services? Was the reason the client considered leaving something as simple as a troubleshooting issue?
Think about the things you did to keep clients on your roll, and discuss them in detail.
12. How do you build relationships within your team?
As an account manager, you will be expected to work closely with other members of the sales team and across departments. Because of this, account managers need to be team players.
Crafting the Best Response
Being a team player is extremely important for your company’s goals. Highlight how you build trust and relationships when answering this question.
Make a list of the things that make you a person others want to work with. Mention how you actively listen to other members, make time to meet with your team, stick to your commitments, help others when help is needed, and keep the workplace professional.
13. Discuss your experience with CRM software.
CRMs, or online systems for customer relationship management, are increasingly popular in the sales world. As an account manager, you will be working with CRM software daily.
Hiring managers want to understand your experience with CRMs, or, at least, you are familiar with the software.
Crafting the Best Response
Recap your experience with CRM software. You’ll want to discuss how you learned to use the software and how you maximize the software to run reports, contact customers, gather customer feedback, and automate some of your processes.
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14. How do you prioritize your job tasks? Explain your process.
Account manager wears many hats. These professionals are responsible for customer retention and satisfaction, handling complaints, collaborating with departments, analyzing reports and data, and so much more.
Hiring managers know the role of the account manager can be demanding and will ask you to explain how you prioritize your tasks. They’re looking to determine your organizational skills and adaptability.
Crafting the Best Response
Think about your past experience working in previously demanding jobs. How did you prioritize tasks?
Each task of the account manager position is important, but some carry more weight than others. Think about which tasks will help you further reach your goals and discuss why you prioritize those tasks first.
Be sure to include what you do if you don’t complete a task during the work day.
15. Are you familiar with our industry and the role you will perform?
This may sound like a simple question, but hiring managers need to know you are serious about the industry and the role you will perform as an account manager.
You’ll be expected to know the industry, how your role as account manager fits into the overall goals of the company, and how to successfully retain clients and resolve issues.
Crafting the Best Response
Take this question as an opportunity to show off your industry knowledge, relevant skills, and past experience in similar roles.
Before heading into the interview, research the company and memorize any relevant facts and numbers regarding how the company has performed in the last few years. You’ll impress the hiring manager with your research and effectively show your interest in the position.
Preparing for an Account Manager Interview
Before heading into an account manager job interview, take the time to refer to this list of questions. Consider making bullet points with potential responses, and review your answers before the big day. Soon, you’ll find the perfect account manager job for you.
