When you’re growing a business, the right people make all the difference and nowhere is this more evident than in your sales and account management teams. These are the individuals responsible for winning new business, strengthening client relationships, and ultimately driving revenue.

For UK SMEs looking to scale, hiring Sales and Account Managers is about finding professionals with the right blend of skills, mindset, and alignment with your growth ambitions.

So what exactly should you be looking for?

 

Why these roles matter in a growth phase

 In high-growth environments, Sales and Account Managers play a dual role:

  • Sales Managers and Consultants are your front line, identifying opportunities, closing deals, and expanding market reach.
  • Account Managers protect and grow your existing business, nurturing client relationships, spotting upsell potential, and ensuring delivery excellence.

Together, they form a revenue engine that, when built correctly, scales with your business.

 

What to look for: Core competencies

It’s not just hard skills (technical) that you should be looking for, it’s also just as important to find people with the right soft skills (behavioural).

There are a number of must-have hard skills that you should be looking for. These are the quantifiable, experience-based capabilities that form the foundation of success:

  1. Proven Sales or Account Management experience

  • Look for a track record of achieving targets, growing accounts, or increasing market share.
  • In fast-growth businesses, experience in start-up or scale-up environments is a bonus.

  1. Commercial awareness

  • Candidates should understand the wider business landscape: Business goals and strategy, pricing strategies, margin pressures, and how their activity contributes to profitability.

  1. CRM and tech savviness

  • Familiarity with platforms like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Pipedrive.
  • Comfortable using data to inform decisions, report pipeline progress, or segment customers.

  1. Proposal writing and presentation skills

  • Essential for B2B roles, the ability to create and deliver compelling pitches can set your business apart.

 

While hard skills get candidates through the door, soft skills are the growth accelerators, and  determine long-term impact, especially in smaller, fast-moving businesses.

  1. Resilience and adaptability

  • Growth is rarely linear. Sales and account professionals must stay motivated through change, uncertainty, and shifting targets.

  1. Emotional intelligence (EQ)

  • The ability to read clients, respond empathetically, and navigate complex interpersonal dynamics is crucial, particularly for retaining and growing key accounts.

  1. Curiosity and proactivity

  • The best people don’t wait for leads, they ask questions, seek improvement, and spot opportunities before anyone else does.

  1. Collaboration and internal influence

  • In SMEs, silos don’t work. Look for team players who can influence across departments and align with marketing, delivery, and leadership.

  1. Accountability and ownership

  • Growth-focused SMEs need people who act like owners, taking responsibility, solving problems, and driving outcomes without being micromanaged.

 

Cultural fit and long-term alignment

 Skills are essential, but alignment with your business values and growth vision is what turns a good hire into a great one.

In a growing SME, the impact of one person is amplified. Every hire affects your team dynamics, your client relationships, and the pace at which your business can evolve.

That’s why cultural fit matters just as much as capability, perhaps even more so.

When hiring Sales or Account Managers, it’s important to look beyond what’s on paper. A candidate might tick every box in terms of experience, but if they’re not aligned with your way of working, your pace, or your ambitions, the fit simply won’t last.

And for a growing business, the cost of a bad hire, in time, energy, and opportunity, can be significant.

Cultural fit isn’t about hiring people who think the same or come from the same background, it’s about shared values, mutual expectations, and the ability to contribute to your business as it grows and changes.

The right candidate will be energised by the opportunities and challenges of working in an SME. They’ll be comfortable with rolling up their sleeves, wearing multiple hats, and solving problems without always having a roadmap. They’ll be excited by the prospect of building something, rather than maintaining it.

That sense of buy-in is what builds long-term alignment. You want someone who’s not just looking for a job, but a journey.

Ask yourself:

  • Do they understand what it’s like to work in a growing business?
  • Will they thrive in a fast-paced, agile environment?
  • Do they believe in your product, service, or mission?
  • Will clients trust them when they represent your brand?

When you hire someone who’s aligned with your vision, they won’t just perform, they’ll help shape what comes next.

Your next Sales or Account Manager should help you hit this year’s targets, and prepare for next year’s opportunities. That means finding someone who brings results, yes, but also ideas, initiative, and a genuine desire to help the business succeed.

 

At Precision Hire, we work closely with SMEs across the UK to identify and attract high-calibre professionals who not only meet today’s needs but are ready to grow with your business.

Need help hiring for growth?
Let’s talk about finding the people who’ll help you scale with confidence. Contact us today for a chat.