National Account Manager Review

Seeking out sales and growth opportunities within a portfolio of customers. Managing internal and external staff. Achieving sales, volume and margin targets whilst managing spend. Travelling throughout the UK and holding review meetings with all manner of customer base from own business MD's to regional directors of multi naitonal. Flexible role with a varied skill set.

On the course the most I learnt was about project management. part of that was down to the individual taking the training, his knowledge of the subject appeared boundless, the way he was able to get his point across and have you reflect on your own experiences was exceptional and I was very impressed with this part of the course.

At times it has been very difficult to find the time during a busy work life to fit in the training. I also had to sit external exams at the same time which was hard to accomplish. However the subject matters were interesting, the discussion opportunities were insightful and the other members of the course were interesting.

The programme is structured into monthly workshops on different topics. The tutor will talk through the back ground and reasoning to a topic and then you are split into groups to discuss your take on it or how you would implement this in your workplace. At the end of each 1 day topic you have a verbal assessment which is recorded and a written assessment. The structure works and is easy to follow.

The difficulty with doing a course as involved as this and managing that within your employment is a juggling act. Whilst my employer would give me the time to work on my course, I found it too hard to switch off from my customer base and got behind on the back of it. Something always seemed to take precedent and once you are behind on your course, it's hard to catch up again.

Initially very little. The trainer we had was inflexible in their approach and I don't think understood how to help you work in a way that was beneficial for you. Once that person was changed and we had a more experienced trainer we were advised there are many ways in which you can demonstrate your learning and this speeded up the process and made it a lot less overwhelming.

There have been many elements of the course that has helped me in my day to day tasks and activities. Unfortunately having to also do two additional courses at the same time meant I struggled with the overwhelming volume of work that was expected of me. The actual course content was excellent and I have learnt from it.

There are no additional extra curricular activities to get involved in for the course I did. However, as is standard these days we had a whatsapp group for us all to share ideas and quick wins. We also had contact with other people in the business to talk things through with.

Yes

Because they are thorough in their approach and the portal is easy to work around. I would suggest to anyone that has to do additional qualifications at the same time as undertaking the course that they don't attempt that. Clear the qualifications first and then start the course. Unless your business can afford for your priorities to change.

Be prepared for the level of involvement and commitment to the workload. 1 course a month does not sound a lot but the workload that creates is quite hefty when combined with a day job. If your employer is giving you time to do the course, take it! But you will be pleased when it is completed.