ABSTRACT

Account handling is not a business for people who are already insecure. It's an occupation for people who are self-confident communicators, with at least a hint of charisma and some brainpower. Combine this mixture with personal sensitivity, attention to detail and an appetite for interesting work, and you should have a good account handler. As there are usually many more accounts in an agency than there are board directors. As an account handler, it's very easy to lose hold of your work as so many others attempt to take control. Indeed, whenever an agency short-circuits its account handling system by cutting out its account manager, it's probably heading for trouble. Account handlers usually try to develop an expertise in at least one kind of advertising or product area, like fast-moving consumer goods or 'white goods'. The account executive is responsible for doing the work, and acting on his colleagues' judgement. Account handlers are paid so that everyone else can make assumptions.