Account Managers

 

Factofrance has 21 account managers. Their responsibilities include the management and development of an individual client base, looking after a support team and the analysis of global risk. Just three aspects of an extremely engaging job which also demands good relationship skills, an analyst's intuition and an ability to think outside the box.

Yannick, Account Manager at Hervet Factor.

Once a client's signature has been secured by a sales technician, the account manager takes charge of the client relationship. This handover can often take place at the time of signing. “We get involved in the signing process for the more complex accounts, which enables us to meet the client in person and makes for a smoother client handover from the sales technician to the account manager,” explains Yannick of Hervet Factor. “One of the interesting things about the set-up at Hervet Factor is the fact that we don't have team admin. managers. So you need to have good organisational skills and be a strong team player to succeed in this job.

Sales support and follow-up

 

Denise, Account Manager at Factobail.

"Our job has come a long way: bofore it was more about arranging loans and managing situations on an ad hoc basis. Today it is all about anticipation: factoring has become a profession in its own right." Each account manager manages a client base comprising between 60 and 90 accounts. “I manage 80 client accounts, all of them in the IT sector," says Denise, of Factobail. I visit the client once or twice during the year to review the relationship, and this enables us to keep informed about the client, to assess the risks associated with the account and so modify our debt acquisition policy if necessary. On top of these meetings, there are naturally other issues the client will want to deal with, so you always have to be ready to pick up the phone. Account managers will typically be out visiting clients two or three times a week, something which they both greatly appreciate," she points out.

Taking the side of the client

 

“Negotiating skills are an essential asset in these meetings. Their purpose is to make sure that the contract is adjusted to keep it in sync with the development of the client's business The great thing about having a large client base is the sense of variety gained from having to assess the very different risks of, say, the industrial sector and the services sector."

“Taking the side of the client means adapting to their needs and their working methods. The management of major accounts requires a good deal of forethought, aimed at customising the products we offer, planning a work schedule and developing the appropriate software support. Each client has different needs; it is our job to be flexible and tailor our service accordingly, ” remarks Vincent, former account manager in the Factofrance Large Accounts department and present-day Group Director.

Global risk analysis

 

The other part of an account manager's job is overall risk management of the client base. “We base our risk assessment firstly on internal factors such as litigation and late payments, as reported by our teams. We also have an early warning system, in response to which we can raise the level of capital reserves set aside for the client, according to our evaluation of the risk. Where the Large Accounts are concerned the sales risks are less significant, given that these clients are large companies and generally better protected.”

Assessment involves constant analysis and processing of all available information. “At Hervet Factor, we have access to two sets of data, given that for each operation we have two clients- the Hervet bank, which acts as our sole capital provider, and the end client,” says Yannick. Our clients therefore benefit from a bigger picture approach.”

Managing a team

 

The success of an account manager's dual role- client account management and global risk analysis- is dependent also on their team. A team is usually made up of an admin. manager and three or four delegate-managers. “The admin. manager provides technical assistance to the account manager,” Eric points out. “Their work involves risk monitoring, building up an overview of the delegate-manager accounts and planning the daily work schedule. Each delegate-manager manages a portfolio of between 20 and 25 clients. He or she is the client's point of contact for everyday matters. For us, the main source of information is the client meetings we attend.” Everybody agrees: the system is a team-based one! As is the case for risk analysis, information flow is a key factor in sales, and has to be two-directional.

One business sector, one account portfolio

 

There are two sector specific account portfolios at Factofrance: one for logistics, the other for graphic designer companies.

“There are three main advantages to specialization: it allows for a greater sensitivity and reactivity to the client's debt recovery, credit protection and financing expectations, and enhances the evaluation of invoicing procedures. From a sales perspective, it also becomes easier to build up a client base thanks to deeper knowledge of the business sector and its main players.”