Strategic Account Manager interview questions and answers
These sample Strategic Account Manager interview questions evaluate account management skills and help you hire the best candidates to build relationships with key clients.
Strategic Account Manager Interview Questions
Strategic Account Managers manage a portfolio of key clients and aim to develop strong, long-term relationships. This is an important role for every company, as profitable client relationships help businesses sales quotas and business objectives.
During your hiring process, ask the following interview questions to identify candidates who are target-oriented and possess excellent customer service skills. Dynamic personalities who actively seek out new sales opportunities will stand out. Make sure candidates understand your brand and your client needs and are able to suggest creative ideas to drive growth.
Future hires will use their communication skills to contact clients and coordinate with internal teams (e.g. Sales Executives and Product Managers.) Situational and behavioral interview questions can help you assess how candidates approach work-related challenges and contribute to your company’s success.
Operational and Situational questions
- How would you negotiate with a long-term client who requests a significant discount?
- If an Account Executive faces complaints from a customer, how would you advise them to resolve the conflict?
- How would you prioritize work, when you have to address problems from different clients at the same time?
- Where would you look for new sales opportunities, if you struggled to reach sales quotas?
Role-specific questions
- What CRM software (e.g. Salesforce) are you familiar with? What other tools have you found useful for your job?
- How do you like to communicate with the Product Management team about new features/services?
- What was your client portfolio like at your previous job? Do you have more experience with B2B or B2C customers?
- Are you familiar with our products/services? What do you think is our competitive advantage?
Behavioral questions
- Describe a time when you managed to close a deal with a major client. What did you do to ensure a successful close?
- Have you ever made a mistake that costed a client? If so, what did you learn from that experience?
- What was your most challenging sales cycle in past positions? Did you work individually or on a team to overcome difficulties?
- Do you prefer email, phone or in-person communication with clients? Why?