STEP 1
Build the Ideal Candidate Profile
To find the best person for the role, you need to understand what the role involves. You can complete this with the hiring manager to define the role, its contribution, and the skills needed.
Relationship Manager
Customer ServiceComplete with job descriptions, skill profiles, and interview templates. Use this Relationship Manager hiring guide to help you make the right decisions, fast.
HOW TO HIRE A RELATIONSHIP MANAGER
What does a Relationship Manager do?
A Relationship Manager is a type of sales professional who is tasked with developing and maintaining customer relationships that lead to continued business and growth. They seek out new customers and clients and advise them on how they can meet their needs through various products and services on offer.
Day to day tasks of a Relationship Manager
- Setting and exceeding sales targets
- Understand the specific needs and aims of clients and use your relationships to help them realize new opportunities
- Continue to develop and grow client base
- Own and maintain a portfolio of clients and drive revenue from the portfolio
- Improve customer satisfaction of managed accounts
RELATIONSHIP MANAGER DEFINITION
A Relationship Managers’ primary responsibility is to source new business and maintain relationships with various customers in order to achieve continued growth. Because of this, they require key skills that enable them to be able to connect with customers in a variety of circumstances and have strong business acumen.
HIRING PROCESS
Relationship Manager Hiring Process
STEP 2
Write A Job Description Based On Skills
Once you understand the requirements for the role, you’ll need to understand the skills for success. You can then write an effective job description to promote your role.
STEP 3
Selecting The Ideal Candidate
See which applicants have the right skills for the role. Send all your applicants a Vervoe skills assessment from the expert library, or customize one for your organization.
STEP 4
Interview Top Performers
Your skills assessment results will identify top performers. Focus your time on interviewing those that have met or exceeded your requirements. Assessment results will also help guide which skill areas to focus on in the interview.
STEP 5
Making An Offer
Once you assess your candidates against these skills, you’re ready to offer the top performer(s). You should base your offer on the value that the candidate would bring to your team and your business as a whole. It is also important to ensure your compensation and benefits packages are competitive in the industry and help you attract and retain the top talent.
BUILD THE IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE
Skills needed for a Relationship Manager
A relationship manager must be customer-focussed and sales driven. Because each customer is different, a relationship manager needs to have skills in resilience and learning agility. They must also have exceptional written and verbal communication skills and a closing mindset.
- Adaptability
- Organization
- Communication
WRITE A JOB DESCRIPTION BASED ON SKILLS
How to write a Relationship Manager job description
Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position. Here’s what to include in your Relationship Manager job description:
- Job Title
- What position are you hiring for?
- Summary
- What makes your company unique? What would it be like to work for you?
- Responsibilities
- An overview of the role’s day-to-day activities, and how the position contributes to the organization
- Requirements
- Skills a candidate must have to perform the job successfully
- Benefits
- Details of compensation, benefits, and any perks on offer
SELECTING THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sample skill tests for a Relationship Manager
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Question 1
CommunicationQuestion Type: Audio
In a 2 minute audio recording, describe your rapport-building strategy for a new client.
Question 2
AdaptabilityQuestion Type: Video
As you prepare onboarding of a new client, you discover a new member of the sales team over-promised on what we can deliver. How do you handle the situation?
Question 3
OrganizationQuestion Type: Text
How do you prioritize which clients to connect with, and when?
INTERVIEW TOP PERFORMERS
How to interview a Relationship Manager
Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The interview should focus on any skills that require development that were highlighted from the skills assessment.
Now you know that candidates can do the job, the interview becomes more of a relationship building exercise where you can get to know the candidate on a more personal level, understand their motivations, and how they would fit in with the team.
MAKING AN OFFER
How much does it cost to hire a Relationship Manager?
The US average for a Relationship Manager is $66,041 according to Indeed.com while the reported average salary on Talent.com amounts to $88,311. These differences in average salaries highlight how important commission and industry is.
United States
Relationship Manager salaries in the United States range from $57,646 - $138,500 (USD). Relationship Manager salaries in the U.S vary a lot depending on the industry, commission structure, as well as the location.
Source: Source: Talent.com
United Kingdom
Relationship Manager salaries in the United Kingdom range from £24,000 - £75,000 (GBP). Relationship Manager salaries in the UK vary a lot depending on the industry, commission structure, as well as the location.
Source: Source: Glassdoor
Australia
Relationship Manager salaries in Australia range from $91,085 - $145,008 (AUD). Relationship Manager salaries in Australia vary a lot depending on the industry, commission structure, as well as the location.
Source: Source: Talent.com