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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Business Account Manager Intern

💰 $18 - $28 / hour

SalesAccount ManagementInternshipCustomer SuccessBusiness Development

🎯 Role Definition

The Business Account Manager Intern partners with Account Managers, Sales, Marketing, and Operations to ensure excellent client experiences and to help grow assigned accounts. Responsibilities include day‑to‑day account support, CRM data hygiene, reporting on account health and KPIs, assisting with renewals and upsell proposals, and preparing client‑facing materials. This role is a blended client‑facing and operational position designed to build skills in relationship management, sales processes, and data‑driven decision making.


📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Sales Intern or Sales Development Representative (SDR)
  • Customer Service Representative or Client Support Associate
  • Marketing Intern or Operations Intern

Advancement To:

  • Account Manager / Business Account Manager
  • Customer Success Manager
  • Sales Representative or Business Development Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Sales Operations Analyst
  • Marketing Coordinator (campaign and client-facing)
  • Product Specialist or Onboarding Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Manage day‑to‑day communication with a portfolio of small to mid‑market business accounts: respond to client inquiries, triage issues to internal teams, and ensure timely follow‑up that preserves client satisfaction and retention.
  • Prepare and maintain accurate CRM records (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) for assigned accounts, including contact details, activity logs, opportunity stages, renewal dates, and contract terms to support pipeline visibility and forecasting.
  • Assist Account Managers with account onboarding by coordinating kickoff meetings, collecting required documents, ensuring configuration/setup tasks are completed, and confirming client readiness for launch.
  • Support upsell and cross‑sell opportunities by researching client usage, preparing proposal templates and pricing models, and drafting business cases for internal review with Account Managers and Sales leadership.
  • Generate weekly and monthly account health reports and executive summaries that highlight KPIs, churn risk indicators, revenue trends, and recommended actions to improve account performance.
  • Coordinate with finance and billing teams to validate invoices, track billing issues, and escalate discrepancies to ensure timely collections and accurate revenue recognition.
  • Conduct competitive and market research to identify trends, potential threats, and expansion opportunities within assigned accounts; present findings to the account team to inform strategy.
  • Prepare client‑facing presentations, business reviews, and renewal packages that synthesize data, recommend next steps, and support relationship growth.
  • Monitor service level agreements (SLAs), delivery milestones, and project timelines for client implementations; proactively communicate delays or blockers to both clients and internal stakeholders.
  • Assist in managing the sales pipeline for assigned accounts by qualifying inbound leads, scheduling meetings, and tracking opportunity progress toward close.
  • Support the renewal process by compiling contract histories, preparing renewal proposals, tracking approval workflows, and following up with clients to secure signed agreements.
  • Maintain and analyze usage, adoption, and engagement metrics to identify at‑risk clients and surface proactive outreach opportunities to improve retention.
  • Collaborate with Customer Success Managers, Product, and Support to triage technical issues, coordinate bug fixes or feature requests, and provide timely status updates to clients.
  • Execute targeted outreach campaigns (email, phone, social) to drive product adoption, promote new features, or re‑engage dormant accounts under guidance from the account team.
  • Assist with RFP/RFI responses by assembling supporting materials, pricing, case studies, and client references to accelerate sales cycles for renewals or expansions.
  • Participate in client meetings, take detailed notes, document action items, and ensure responsible internal owners complete follow‑up tasks within agreed timelines.
  • Maintain accurate reporting dashboards (e.g., Excel, Google Sheets, Looker, Tableau) to visualize account metrics and provide actionable insights for Account Managers and Sales leadership.
  • Support onboarding and training sessions for clients by preparing training materials, scheduling sessions, and tracking completion and feedback.
  • Help implement client success initiatives such as quarterly business reviews, loyalty programs, or referral campaigns and measure their impact on retention and revenue.
  • Assist in escalation management by documenting issues, coordinating cross‑functional resolution, and communicating status and outcomes to clients and stakeholders.
  • Contribute to process improvement by documenting account management playbooks, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and automation opportunities to increase team efficiency.
  • Support ad‑hoc strategic projects such as pricing pilots, beta programs, or regional account rollouts, including coordination, tracking, and post‑mortem analysis.

Secondary Functions

  • Maintain CRM hygiene by routinely auditing contact and opportunity records, merging duplicates, and ensuring accurate segmentation for targeted campaigns.
  • Compile competitive intelligence and case study materials for sales enablement and marketing teams to leverage in business development efforts.
  • Assist in tracking incentives, discounts, and promotional approvals to ensure offers align with company policy and margin objectives.
  • Facilitate internal knowledge sharing by preparing handover documents for account transitions and updates for the broader sales organization.
  • Support legal and compliance reviews for client contracts by collecting required documentation and coordinating with legal counsel as needed.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proficient with CRM platforms such as Salesforce or HubSpot; able to create and maintain account records, opportunities, and reports.
  • Strong Excel and Google Sheets skills: pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, charts, and basic macros to analyze account performance and produce dashboards.
  • Experience with presentation tools (PowerPoint, Google Slides) to create polished client decks and quarterly business review materials.
  • Familiarity with BI and reporting tools such as Tableau, Looker, Microsoft Power BI, or Google Data Studio for data visualization and KPI tracking.
  • Basic SQL knowledge for extracting and validating account data from databases (preferred but not always required).
  • Comfortable using collaboration and project management tools (Asana, Jira, Trello, Slack) to coordinate tasks and document timelines.
  • Working knowledge of billing and invoicing processes, contract lifecycle management, and basic commercial terms.
  • Ability to prepare pricing models and ROI analyses to support upsell and renewal conversations.
  • Experience handling inbound support tickets and escalating technical issues to product/support teams with clear problem statements.
  • Familiarity with email automation and outreach tools (Outreach, SalesLoft, Mailchimp) to support targeted client communication.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional verbal and written communication skills for client interactions and internal stakeholder alignment.
  • Strong organizational skills and attention to detail to manage multiple accounts, deadlines, and documentation simultaneously.
  • Analytical mindset: able to interpret data, identify trends, and recommend actionable next steps to improve account outcomes.
  • Relationship‑building and interpersonal skills to develop trust with client contacts and internal teams.
  • Problem‑solving and critical thinking, particularly when triaging client issues or designing remediation plans.
  • Time management and prioritization to handle competing requests and maintain high responsiveness.
  • Proactive attitude with a customer‑first mentality and a bias toward action to prevent churn and drive satisfaction.
  • Team player with the ability to collaborate across Sales, Marketing, Product, and Support functions.
  • Adaptability and eagerness to learn in a fast‑paced, evolving environment.
  • Professional presentation and facilitation skills for client meetings and internal briefings.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a Bachelor's program.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Finance, Economics, Management, or a related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • Economics
  • Information Systems
  • Communications

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 0–2 years of related experience (internships, co‑op, part‑time roles in sales, customer service, or operations).

Preferred:

  • Prior internship or coursework in account management, sales, customer success, or business operations.
  • Demonstrable experience using CRM or analytics tools, preparing client materials, and collaborating with cross‑functional teams.
  • Strong academic record and evidence of leadership, teamwork, or extracurricular customer‑facing roles.