In the Life of Elaine Sullivan

Senior Account Manager, Marketing Solutions

Overview

Elaine joined Rosetta's Marketing Solutions group (then SimStar) in September of 2004 as an Account Manager. "Lanie", as she is affectionately known, quickly hit the ground running―making a major impact on developing two accounts.  With her unparalleled ability to bring strategy, focus, and "warmth" to a client, she quickly earned the respect of her clients and the internal teams and has been instrumental in growing her book of business from the first day she arrived.  As the recipient of the "most likely to be smiling" award, Lanie has the ability to work hard, get "it" done, but always bring a smile to others.  Lanie was promoted to a Senior Account Manager within 1 year of service.

 

In my role as Senior Account Manager, my main function is to build client relationships.  This means proactively recommending solutions to client problems, initiating these solutions internally with the help of my project manager, and basically becoming the "voice of the client" during the development of these projects. 

 

Senior Account Managers are expected to have superior leadership skills and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.  The fast-moving nature of our clients' businesses requires flexibility and effective and efficient communication skills.  For example, adjusting marketing plans to address a newcomer to the competitive landscape, preparing communications to work with the moving target of a launch brand or developing additional strategies and tactics to complement new industry guidelines are all in a day's work.

 

Not only do Senior Account Managers build client relationships, but they also serve as the main contact and integrator with all of our clients' partner agencies.  These peripheral relationships are just as important to our clients' businesses as our direct client contact.  In order to bring the most successful solutions to our clients, we must not only know the best programs we can implement, but also how to best integrate with all marketing efforts to reach the overall brand objectives.

 

From an agency perspective, Senior Account Managers work with their account teams and all of the agency departments to leverage the combined expertise and experience of the team to deliver the highest quality programs for our clients.  Internally, nurturing and developing junior account staff is one of the important roles of Senior Account Managers.  By taking time to understand the strengths and passions of junior staff and developing a cohesive team dedicated to client service, the job becomes more than just a job, but a fun and enriching experience.