New Account Manager Introduction Call

The main idea behind making a new account manager call is to introduce oneself to the client. That objective makes total sense if your account managers are in the practice of regularly (2 x per year min.) calling their clients in a follow up capacity. They would have a relationship established with the client and a precedent set whereby the client knows to expect a service call from them. Under those circumstances we can assume the client would like to know about the change in personnel. If, however, that is not the practice, the clients may in fact be getting a different impression of the call then what the caller has intended.

Some Get the Wrong Message
One client complained recently that the only time he heard from his financial institution was when something was wrong or they had turnover at the account manager level (which was frequent). He was somewhat annoyed and complained to us “why should I give up my time to take a call from someone that just wants to introduce themselves?” His logic was that he only dealt with someone at that level in the organization once a year (if that) so he did not have a relationship with them. He mentioned that it was not like they were in regular communication and then all of a sudden they were gone and it was a stranger calling him. He barely knew the other account manager! As he put it, “What do I care if you are new? What does that do for me?” That may seem a little selfish but can we really run the risk of calling just to introduce ourselves and having it be a call that has no value to the client?

Not the Only Reason to Call
Of course, the introduction is not the only reason new account managers make that call. They also want to find out if there is something else they can do for the client. Unfortunately, the way those calls usually start is with the account manager nervously saying that they are calling “just to introduce themselves”. It’s unfortunate because even though the account manager has other reasons for the call the client hears what they said first the loudest and that is what they focus on.

So, does this mean those new account managers should not be making those calls? No! They definitely need to. The call has to be structured however to be primarily for the clients benefit. Make the main reason for calling a desire to check in with them and see if they are happy with their services and make the introduction secondary.

Here’s an idea of what the start of a call like this could sound like:
New Account Manager: Hi it’s Bob calling from ABC Bank – this is just a service call to see how everything is going with your accounts and investments that you have with us do you have a quick minute to talk?

Client: Yes

New Account Manager: Thank you and I promise I won’t take up much of your time. By the way, my name again is Bob and I am taking over for Sally. So tell me, how are your services?

It is a simple and subtle shift but an important one. If the clients want to discuss the change in personnel and to know more about the new account manager then that’s fine – we can accommodate. Let them lead that however, and if they do not, keep the focus of the call on them.