Chris Van Veen Marketing Communications

Account Management

Between 2002 and 2006 I worked as an Account Manager for PC Connection, Inc. Presently, I'm working at Apple, Inc. on the Business Team at their extremely successful location in Nashua, New Hampshire. This too is essentially 'account management' work, but of a slightly different kind.

Since my career path had been exclusively in marketing communications management, this was a departure for me. Would I like the work? Would I be successful? Would I be challenged?

In very short order, I found the answers to all three questions to be 'Yes.'

At first, a career heavy in marketing and comparably 'light' in sales might seem incongruous for someone who loves the sales cycle. Actually, it isn't. My sales success had everything to do with the principles of marketing.

• First, I understood that rote regurgitation of 'features & benefits' isn't a winning formula. You have to be able to 'speak in the language of the customer.' That means understanding how a CFO's needs might differ from those of a CTO, and then capitalizing on that knowledge in a sales situation.
• Second, marketing success means understanding the competitive environment. After all, how can you effectively market without a good sense of who you're marketing against? Sales is the same way. You need to frame a product or service with respect to the other players in the market, and make sure the tally sheet is in your favor.
• Finally, marketing really joined at the hip with sales. The two aren't mutually exclusive pursuits. In marketing, I needed to know the customer and I needed to know the competition. I needed to know what to exploit and how to do so.

In looking back at my success with PC Connection and my current success with Apple, I stick to a few core philosophies:

• I am the face of the company to every customer. PC Connection is a billion-dollar company with numerous departments and Groups, and Apple is even larger and more well-known. Customers, however, want a single point of contact. They don't want to be shuttled from one person to another or from one department to another. Therefore, I make it my goal to represent the entire company.  I get answers, solve problems, and represent the Company in an exceptionally professional manner. In a competitive market, differentiation is key; paying attention to little details pays off in the long run.
• Active listening was crucial. I recognize that sales opportunities didn't always present themselves in an obvious fashion. Order-taking isn't the essence of sales and account management. I found that listening to concerns and probing for pain points was a good way to uncover opportunities that would help me grow my account base. Customers walking into the Nashua Apple Store may not know of our Business Service offerings. At PC Connection, an order for Microsoft licensing might eventually evolve into  an opportunity for servers. The key is to listen for opportunities and adapt the approach afterward.
• Keeping the eye on the ball. PC Connection was ruthlessly metrics-driven and everything was monitored; same at Apple. Phone time, gross profit, gross margin, sales revenue, and even the product mix. I understood this as a positive, and made sure I kept my eye on monthly & quarterly performance.
• Exceeding customer expectations. In the world of IT sales, there are numerous competitors. PC Connection was a 'Tier One' supplier, but there were several such companies in the markets we served. My goal was to exceed the expectations of each customer I served. I knew that would be to my advantage, and it clearly was.

I really enjoyed my time at PC Connection and did well. The same holds true for Apple...what a time to be with this company! At PC Connection I was a member of the Achiever's Club in 2003 and 2004 and was just shy in 2005. In 2004 I was one of the lucky few to be sent on a trip to Atlantis in the Bahamas, a memory that I'll always cherish. In my second year at PC Connection I was named a Team Lead thanks to the respect I earned from my peers and management. I rose to Senior Account Manager after 2005.

In late 2006, I left PC Connection to take a role as marketing communications manager with a small, venture-capital-funded maker of tunable ICs for mobile wireless applications. I left PC Connection with an abundance of respect from colleagues and management alike. Many of my best professional references come from PC Connection.

In hindsight, Account Management is very rewarding work, especially in a competitive marketplace. The desire is always there out out-perform your competition, win business, and satisfy customers.