Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a guest post from Damian Davila, Content Marketing Consultant at idaconcpts.com.
While your grandpa’s idea of the ultimate account executive might be Clark Gable in the 1940s movie The Hucksters, there is little doubt that our era’s idea is more in tune with Don Draper. Partially based on the life of Draper Daniels and the track record of Rosser Reeves, the “mad man” is capable of everything: writing copy, directing visual, planning media, managing the client relationship, and getting the big accounts . As he has said more than once, “You didn’t want it until I told you you wanted it.”
Still, this “modern” idea of the account executive (AE) or manager (AM) is outdated. Given the growth of specialization in the field, the AE’s role and importance is diminishing. The rise of agencies dedicated solely to digital projects further complicates the role because the faster pace demands a higher focus on client project management.