Job Title: Client Relationship Associate

Job Summary & Deliverables

A client relationship associate (CRA) manages client relationships and ensures customer satisfaction. CRA performance objectives include:

• Retain clients through contract renewals
• Know and escalate when a client is potentially at risk for leaving or reducing services
• Ensure that client thinks of us first – every single time they need something
• Know the client inside and out – c-suite to operators
• Demonstrate evidence of cross-sell/upsell activities

CRA responsibilities: Establishes client relationships with engaged clients to deepen reliance and use of services; includes understanding client expectations and needs, and developing strategies to meet them; fosters relationships with key client stakeholders to increase retention and loyalty; collects and uses client data to improve service; explores and escalates opportunities for developing enhanced or new services based on client feedback and needs, remains current in competitors' strategies to improve the business operations; effective planning for engagement actions required and decided; responds to client queries promptly and facilitates communication and resource time between clients and other practices. Builds effective working relationships with clients’ C-level in the capacity as the strategic account associate for the company.

Primary job responsibilities

• Create and foster client relationships: Build trusted relationships with the key client c-levels, users, and stakeholders and understand needs of each group and find constructive solutions to meet these. Act as the company’s representative and keep clients well-informed about company solution offerings, company news, service features, and product developments. CRAs should monitor client communications and experiences for any issues they might have with the company and its products or services. When/if client concerns or issues are known or uncovered, CRA will proactively engage client and any internal resources and attempt to resolve client concerns as quickly as possible.
• Retain clients through contract renewals: Understand competitive pressures internal and external to each assigned client. Understand, identify and document competitive threats and competitor relationships with assigned clients. Close sales through contract renewals. Manage exceptions when necessary to retain client contracts. Facilitate reselling action plans for clients when appropriate.
• Know and escalate when a client is potentially at risk: Understand client engagement levels with the company, both with objective automated scoring and through direct communication with clients. Identify and manage at-risk clients to appropriate levels (high, moderate, low), with efforts to lower at-risk levels through relationship building and communication. Engage company SMEs and/or leadership and escalate as appropriate at-risk clients using best judgment. CRA develops a client save strategy and reengagement plan when needed.
• Ensure that client thinks of us first: Initiate and facilitate communication and needed action between client’s leaders, stakeholders and users and the company’s SMEs and teams. Manage an ongoing, relevant communication process with client stakeholders. Identify opportunities proactively, bring in SMEs to present and provide info as needed. Develop and maintain working, usable knowledge on current company offerings and the relevant value to clients.
• Know the client inside and out: Manage client info, update CRM systems when significant changes occur to the FI and/or FI leadership. Engage in robust client feedback sessions. Listen, use crucial questions, and share feedback with company stakeholders in a consistent, concise method. Communicate changes in trends, expectations, client needs and competitors’ narratives to Leadership when encountered and appropriate. CRA should track and manage key vendor contracted relationships for potential negotiation opportunities, both as a TPM/VPM engagement or as one-off projects. CRA should know the general opportunity timeframes, existing vendor tech stack, client decision makers and general buying culture of a client.
• Demonstrate evidence of cross-sell/upsell activities: Expand clients’ services by building trusted relationships to create deeper engagements (measurable horizontal and vertical business growth within clients) through direct selling and referral selling efforts. Track wins objectively through increased work orders, product purchases and new contracting activities. Be very knowledgeable with company’s value props and resources across all practice offerings relevant to assigned clients. CRA effectively diagnoses client needs and provides usable opportunity info in direct selling or SME referral selling efforts quickly and consistently.

Success profile

• Ownership mentality; does not wait for things to get done, takes initiative to ensure deliverables are met, on time through own efforts and proactive communication.
• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written); provides clear guidance and direction that employees understand; ability to communicate with C-level executives.
• Excellent time management skills; organized and able to manage own workload, leveraging resources effectively.
• Strategic planning abilities; develop strategies and plan tasks to think into the future with an intentional focus on driving success.
• Technical knowledge and effective use of Microsoft Office Suite, including Dynamics and Teams, functional knowledge of company software products (with ability and willingness to learn new software programs as necessary).
• Problem-solving skills; able to assess and make effective decisions using available resources; looks for root causes before acting; resists reacting without sufficient information. Ability to work under pressure while successfully motivating the team and keeping the workplace from becoming overly stressful.
• Demonstrates critical thinking skills by asking probing and powerful questions, looking at the broader picture; capable of conducting a what-if analysis; open to and considers perspectives of others.
• Self-motivated and capability of organizing and prioritizing work to achieve required results.
• Instills a teamwork environment to reach company goals. Equality-focused team member that ensures clients and peers feel heard.
• Approaches work with a positive, can-do attitude. Sees opportunities rather than barriers.
• Persistent in finding the right answer, not settling for the easy answer; demonstrates initiative and persistence in the face of obstacles.

Required capabilities

• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• At least 5 years’ experience in banking or related, adjacent industry
• At least 5 years’ experience in client/customer support, consulting, and/or product sales
• Vendor management, contracting and banking operations experience preferred
• Industry knowledge, including FI challenges, regulations and general market trends