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National Account Controller
Probably the most misused job title in the sales structure. The guilty parties are those employers who offer the title without the responsibilities (and salary)
in order to satisfy the employee’s need for status.
As a result, there is obvious disparity in the average and maximum salaries paid to Controllers. Big Co.’s with much larger structures, and further divisions by product or trade channel, invariably have more levels in the hierarchy. As such, Controllers may well carry similar responsibilities in their large companies to those Sales Directors of small or medium companies.
Furthermore, medium and small companies are less likely to have a multi-level structure that incorporates a Controller between NAM and Sales Director as a distinct responsibility. More often therefore, the job title of National Account Controller, will be used as a ‘free’ benefit, offering valuable status to those employees at no cost to the employer. Conceivably, some organisations consider the Controller job title a lever to enhance buyer seller relations.
Conversely, in some large companies there is an over population of Controllers (also possibly guilty of exaggerating the level), who are actually paid the salary levels of Senior NAM and NAM, but given the benefit of the title as an ‘experience’ differentiator against their peers, with perhaps the only real difference being a larger, more strategic, customer account.
20 years ago, the status and seniority of a National Account Controller was very clearly defined as the leader of a cluster of NAMs. They were without direct customer handling responsibility, yet took greater control of the customer contact strategy, ensuring the ‘man marking’ between buyer and seller hierarchy was efficient. They were also charged with coaching and development of the junior to middle ranks of the sales team; to be a Controller was indeed recognised as a position of high esteem and awarded to ambitious Senior NAMs on merit of true performance and strength of leadership skills.
In time the role was discretely phased out in an effort to streamline structures. Genuine Controller levels have largely disappeared, and it is no surprise that Sales Directors now take on direct customer handling more than ever before, as every so-called salesperson needs to be hands on with the buyer community.
Today the title appears to be returning, albeit in a compromised definition. In many instances it is a bestowed status, though arguably at the level of Senior NAM; solely charged with managing customers, but none of the other leadership responsibilities.
THE SIMMANCE PARTNERSHIP
“Almost half of women, have either left the industry, not been promoted, or more likely they have migrated to other commercial functions such as Trade and Shopper Marketing, as well as Category and Market Strategy & Planning.
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