Essential Work Sample Exercises for Hiring Top Account Managers

Account Managers serve as the critical bridge between your company and your clients, making them one of the most influential roles in determining client satisfaction, retention, and revenue growth. The best Account Managers possess a unique blend of relationship-building skills, strategic thinking, problem-solving abilities, and business acumen that can be difficult to assess through traditional interviews alone.

While resumes and behavioral interviews provide valuable insights into a candidate's past experiences, they often fall short in predicting how candidates will actually perform in real-world scenarios specific to your company and clients. This is where carefully designed work samples become invaluable in your hiring process.

Work samples allow you to observe candidates demonstrating the exact skills they'll need on the job, providing a window into their thought processes, communication style, and ability to think on their feet. For Account Manager roles specifically, these exercises reveal how candidates build rapport, handle difficult conversations, develop strategic plans, and solve complex client problems.

The following four work sample exercises are designed to evaluate the core competencies essential for Account Manager success. By incorporating these into your interview process, you'll gain objective data points that help distinguish truly exceptional candidates from those who simply interview well. These exercises also give candidates a realistic preview of the role, helping ensure alignment between their expectations and the actual job requirements.

Activity #1: Client Relationship Rescue Role Play

This role play assesses a candidate's ability to navigate a challenging client conversation while maintaining the relationship and finding solutions. Account Managers regularly face situations where they must address client concerns, manage expectations, and turn potentially negative situations into opportunities to strengthen the partnership.

Directions for the Company:

• Select an interviewer to play the role of a dissatisfied client who is considering not renewing their contract.
• Provide the candidate with background information 24 hours before the interview, including:
• Client profile (company size, industry, how long they've been a customer)
• Products/services the client currently uses
• Brief history of the relationship
• The specific issue (e.g., missed deadlines, perceived lack of value, competitor offering)
• The role play should last 15-20 minutes, with the interviewer staying in character as the frustrated client.
• The "client" should begin with clear dissatisfaction but be open to solutions if the candidate handles the conversation well.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the client background information provided.
• Prepare to handle a conversation with a dissatisfied client who is considering not renewing their contract.
• During the role play, demonstrate your approach to:
• Actively listening to the client's concerns
• Asking clarifying questions to fully understand the issues
• Acknowledging the client's frustration
• Proposing realistic solutions to address their concerns
• Setting clear next steps to resolve the situation
• Your goal is to salvage the relationship and create a path toward renewal.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the role play, the interviewer should provide specific feedback on one aspect the candidate handled particularly well (e.g., "I appreciated how you acknowledged my frustration without making excuses").
• The interviewer should also provide one piece of constructive feedback (e.g., "I would have felt more confident in your solution if you had asked more questions about our specific needs").
• Give the candidate 5 minutes to reflect on the feedback and then 2-3 minutes to demonstrate how they would adjust their approach based on the feedback received.

Activity #2: Strategic Account Growth Plan

This exercise evaluates a candidate's ability to analyze an account's current status and develop a strategic plan to grow the relationship and revenue. Strategic account planning is a fundamental skill for Account Managers who need to identify opportunities and create roadmaps for account expansion.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a mock account profile with the following information:
• Client background (industry, size, business goals)
• Current products/services they use
• Contract value and renewal date
• Usage data and satisfaction metrics
• Potential areas for growth or expansion
• Provide this information to the candidate 24 hours before the interview.
• Allocate 20 minutes for the candidate to present their plan and 10 minutes for questions.
• Prepare questions that challenge the candidate to defend their recommendations and priorities.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the account information provided.
• Prepare a 12-month strategic account plan that includes:
• Analysis of the client's current situation and needs
• Identification of 2-3 key opportunities for account growth
• Specific recommendations for additional products/services that would benefit the client
• Timeline for implementing your recommendations
• Potential challenges and how you would address them
• Expected outcomes and how you would measure success
• Be prepared to present your plan in 20 minutes and answer questions about your strategy.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, provide feedback on one strength of the candidate's strategic thinking (e.g., "Your analysis of the client's pain points was particularly insightful").
• Offer one area for improvement (e.g., "Your timeline might be too aggressive given the client's implementation constraints").
• Ask the candidate to take 5 minutes to revise one aspect of their plan based on the feedback and explain their adjustments.

Activity #3: Client Communication Exercise

This exercise assesses a candidate's written communication skills and ability to translate complex information into clear, client-friendly messaging. Effective communication is essential for Account Managers who regularly need to update clients, explain technical concepts, and maintain professional relationships through various channels.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a scenario that requires the candidate to craft an important client email, such as:
• Communicating a service disruption or product issue
• Explaining a pricing change
• Introducing a new feature or service
• Responding to a client request that cannot be fully accommodated
• Provide relevant background information about the client and situation.
• Allow the candidate 30 minutes to draft the email during the interview process.
• Alternatively, this can be assigned as pre-work with a 24-hour turnaround.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the scenario and client information provided.
• Draft a professional email that:
• Has a clear and appropriate subject line
• Addresses the situation directly but tactfully
• Provides necessary information without overwhelming detail
• Maintains a positive, solution-oriented tone
• Includes specific next steps or action items
• Reinforces the partnership with the client
• Your email should be well-structured, error-free, and written in a tone that aligns with professional business communication.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After reviewing the email, highlight one aspect of the communication that was particularly effective (e.g., "Your explanation of the technical issue was clear without being condescending").
• Provide one suggestion for improvement (e.g., "The email could benefit from a more empathetic acknowledgment of how this disruption impacts the client").
• Give the candidate 10 minutes to revise the specific section of the email based on your feedback.

Activity #4: Client Issue Resolution Case Study

This case study evaluates a candidate's problem-solving abilities and cross-functional collaboration skills when addressing a complex client issue. Account Managers must frequently coordinate with internal teams to resolve client problems while managing client expectations throughout the process.

Directions for the Company:

• Develop a realistic scenario involving a client issue that requires coordination across multiple departments (e.g., a product malfunction affecting a client's critical business process, a billing dispute involving complex contract terms, or an implementation delay affecting multiple stakeholders).
• Include details about:
• The nature and urgency of the issue
• The client's business impact
• The internal teams involved (product, engineering, finance, etc.)
• Any constraints or complications (timing, resource limitations, etc.)
• Provide this information to the candidate 24 hours before the interview.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the case study information provided.
• Prepare a comprehensive plan to address the client issue that includes:
• Your immediate response to the client
• The internal stakeholders you would engage and how
• A step-by-step approach to resolving the issue
• How you would keep the client informed throughout the process
• Any preventative measures you would recommend to avoid similar issues in the future
• Be prepared to present your plan in 15 minutes and answer questions about your approach.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the presentation, highlight one strength in the candidate's problem-solving approach (e.g., "Your prioritization of the client's immediate business needs showed strong customer advocacy").
• Provide one area for improvement (e.g., "Your plan could benefit from more specific timelines for each step in the resolution process").
• Ask the candidate to spend 5 minutes refining their approach based on the feedback and explain what they would do differently.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should we allocate for these work sample exercises?

Each exercise typically requires 30-45 minutes, including time for the activity, feedback, and the candidate's response to feedback. We recommend selecting 1-2 exercises that best align with your specific Account Manager role rather than attempting all four in a single interview process.

Should we use the same exercises for candidates with different experience levels?

You can use the same basic exercises but adjust expectations based on experience. For senior candidates, you might introduce more complexity into the scenarios or evaluate their responses with more rigorous criteria. For junior candidates, focus more on their approach and potential rather than expecting polished execution.

How should we evaluate candidates' performance on these exercises?

Create a structured scorecard for each exercise that aligns with the key competencies you're assessing. Rate candidates on specific elements (e.g., relationship building, strategic thinking, communication clarity) rather than giving a single overall score. This helps reduce bias and provides more actionable insights for comparison.

Can we customize these exercises for our specific industry or client base?

Absolutely! These exercises are most effective when tailored to your company's specific context. Use realistic scenarios based on actual client situations you've encountered, modify the product/service details to match your offerings, and adjust the communication style to reflect your company culture.

Should we share these exercises with candidates in advance?

For most of these exercises, providing information 24 hours in advance is recommended. This allows candidates to prepare thoughtfully, which is realistic for the actual role where Account Managers rarely need to develop complex plans on the spot. The role play elements still test their ability to think on their feet while the preparation demonstrates their organizational skills.

How do we ensure these exercises don't disadvantage candidates from diverse backgrounds?

Review your scenarios to ensure they don't require specific cultural knowledge unrelated to job success. Provide clear instructions and evaluation criteria to all candidates. Consider having diverse interviewers evaluate responses, and be mindful of different communication styles that may be equally effective but differ from your organization's current norms.

Account Managers are the guardians of your client relationships and drivers of revenue retention and growth. By incorporating these work sample exercises into your hiring process, you'll gain valuable insights into how candidates will actually perform in the role, beyond what their resume and traditional interviews reveal.

These exercises not only help you identify the most qualified candidates but also demonstrate to top talent that your company takes a thoughtful, rigorous approach to hiring—signaling that you value excellence in client management. The investment in a comprehensive assessment process pays dividends through stronger client relationships, improved retention, and accelerated growth.

For more resources to optimize your hiring process, check out Yardstick's AI Job Descriptions, AI Interview Question Generator, and AI Interview Guide Generator.

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