Account Manager Review

As an Account Manager I am in a very sales-centric role. After starting at Softcat I spent a large proportion of my first 3 months cold calling and marketing in order to build up my own client base. Although this is a continuous process my day to day role has now developed in to more Account Management; which consists of quoting, dealing with vendors, processing returns, training on new technology and communicating with both colleagues and customers to provide a great service.

I came in to the industry with very little knowledge about the offerings of the thousands of different technology vendors who operate in the channel today. My knowledge in these areas has grown massively to the point where I can comfortably talk at length with customers about a multitude of vendors. My professional skills in regards to formal emailing, self branding and calling has developed massively as I use all of these skills on a daily basis.

The role is very enjoyable. There are plenty of work incentives and activities ranging from Football teams to free nights out. During work hours there is a great culture and atmosphere in all of the offices which keep work entertaining. Work is kept entertaining with a role that changes all the time, it’s rare that you are kept doing the same thing for a long time.

As i am now the 5th intake of Apprentices there has been a lot of development in the Scheme. From speaking with previous Apprentices is seems that Softcat are very active with reacting to Apprentice feed back. This means that the programme for us is very well structured and there are a lot of precautions in place to ensure any problems are dealt with.

I have a dedicated Apprentice Manager who sits next to me on our team, this means i have a quick to access point of contact who can help with just about anything. Beyond this, there are multiple layers of people who support the apprenticeship scheme, meaning i have plenty of people who i can go to for instant support.

We only see our training providers once a month as they often have to travel around multiple offices. They are on hand to call/email at pretty much any time to offer support, which is often great. Sometimes it would be more convenient to have a local provider but the phone/email support is good enough for most queries.

It’s good to learn a little bit more about the technical side of the industry as a lot of the day to day focus of my roles is on the sales side and how we can sell more of our products. The training provided is useful to continue to develop knowledge on the more technical side of the role.

There are plenty of extra activities, some for the less competitive and some for more competitive. There a are multiple sports teams/ events. Gym access and out of work events put on for Softcat employees by vendors or Softcat. These consist of things such as Bowling, Go-Carting and nights out.

Yes

Softcat is a great place to work and has a great culture. I think that any of my friends would love the role as it keeps you busy, creates great opportunities and career progression. Comparing my apprenticeship with others i would definitely recommend this scheme to all of my friends.

Do research on the company and role before applying/ going for an interview. The role can often be demanding so it would be key to confirm that the role you want is suited to you. Knowing about the company and the apprentice scheme gives a better understanding of the role.