Relationship Manager: Roles and Responsibilities

If you're looking for a career that involves managing and nurturing relationships with clients, then a relationship manager position may be right for you. Relationship managers are responsible for developing and maintaining long-term partnerships with their clients through excellent customer service and support. In this blog post, we will explore the roles and responsibilities of relationship managers in more detail.

What Does a Relationship Manager Do?

A relationship manager’s main responsibility is to handle relationships with clients and business partners. A typical day of work as a relationship manager involves:

• maintaining communication with clients
• discussing updates or changes with clients
• meeting with clients to discuss their needs
• researching potential new business opportunities
• attending networking events
• monitoring and reporting on sales performance and service delivery
• writing reports or proposals for clients

Your roles and responsibilities as a relationship manager might vary slightly depending on the industry or type of business you work in. Some relationship managers also choose to specialise in a particular industry, such as:

• Banking and Finance
• Community services
• Civil services
• Real estate and construction
• Information technology
• Healthcare
• Marketing

A marketing agency’s relationship manager, for example, might spend most of their day organising campaigns and acting as a liaison between the client and the execution team. They might also be required to conceive and pitch marketing strategies to clients.

In contrast, for a relationship manager working at a bank, their day of work might consist of providing financial advice and assistance to clients and managing their investment portfolios to ensure financial success.

Required Skills & Personal Qualities

Excellent relationship management is about communication, conflict resolution, and interpersonal skills. A successful relationship manager would also have to develop extensive knowledge of the various technical aspects of their industry and business.

Strong communication and coordination skills are imperative to liaise with clients, customers, vendors, and execution teams. Relationship managers might also be responsible for liaising between different teams and departments and meeting deadlines. Strong organisational skills and good time management are crucial for this role.

Apart from people skills, a good relationship manager should also be a strategic thinker who stays on top of industry trends and explores cross-selling opportunities. Staying up-to-date with the technical aspects of their industry allows relationship managers to quickly develop new sales plans and identify growth areas for clients. A thorough understanding of the products or services being sold is also crucial for them to provide solid recommendations that improve clients' satisfaction.

Types of Relationship Managers

Relationship managers can also be further divided into two main categories - client relationship managers and business relationship managers. While these roles and responsibilities may not be clearly defined in smaller firms, relationship managers working at larger corporations are often specialised in either field.

Client Relationship Manager

The main responsibility of client relationship managers is to nurture strong relationships and trust with clients. It is paramount to showcase the values of the products or services being sold and how they align with the client's businesses and potential growth. A genuine connection is the best practice for a company to cultivate customer loyalty and communicate clients' needs. Companies that are trusted draw more return customers than their competitors.

Client relationship managers work closely with the head of sales, senior executives, product managers, and other decision-makers in the sales department. They work to boost the brand and resolve issues for existing clients in a collaborative effort.

Business Relationship Manager

A business relationship manager's remit is to manage communications within business units in a corporation or with outside stakeholders such as suppliers, vendors, communities and government organisations. Through forming positive bonds with these entities, relationship managers supervise departments responsible for tracking costs, purchases and budgeting. As such, they help facilitate effective resource management and execute company standards that aid the company's success. The need to grow trusted relationships with business stakeholders lies at the heart of business relationship managers.

Relationship Manager: Job Description

A successful relationship manager should possess interpersonal skills, sales skills, and extensive knowledge of the company's products and services. Building strong rapport with business stakeholders is instrumental in understanding the client's needs, providing customised solutions, and cultivating their trust in your firm.

The duties and responsibilities of relationship managers can vary across industries, but they involve tasks of similar nature. Here are a relationship manager's duties and responsibilities which you may read in the job description:

• Build positive ties with customers, partner firms and suppliers to discuss their needs
• Locate key contacts of prospective clients to develop new business opportunities
• Set up one-on-one meetings with clients to introduce the company's products, services and latest launches
• Address customers' complaints and pain points promptly to maximise customer satisfaction
• Notify the sales team of any opportunities to upsell or cross-sell existing clients
• Offer excellent service to sustain a positive reputation for the corporation
• Negotiate new deals with business stakeholders
• Liaise with internal departments to ensure client's expectations are met
• Research and monitor competing businesses to satisfy and retain clients proactively

Interested in becoming a relationship manager? Contact us at Hays, and we will be more than happy to help you land an ideal job.