If you’ve ever looked at an agency budget and wondered why account management costs what it does, this episode covers the real reasons behind it. You’ll learn how this role keeps your marketing aligned, prevents costly breakdowns, and protects the work you are actually paying for. This helps you avoid the silent operational risks that eat revenue.
Before we dive in, I highly recommend listening to the episode itself.
Hearing Sarah and Jay talk through their real experiences brings a ton of clarity, and it’ll make everything in this blog click even faster.
You can listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and Amazon.
Account management is one of the most debated and misunderstood agency expenses. As someone who lives deep in the operational trenches, I see exactly how much this role impacts the flow of work. Jay and Sarah broke it down clearly in this episode, and I want to expand on it from the operations side.
Most leaders assume account management is some sort of light admin layer. It is not. It is actually the function that keeps the marketing ecosystem stable when everything around it is moving fast.
From my seat, I see how small misalignments turn into big problems. A missed detail. An unclear goal. A gap between strategy and execution. These seem tiny until they compound and slow your pipeline.
That is the job of account management. Catching the small stuff earlier than anyone else.
Account managers translate leadership goals into clear direction for the team doing the work. Without that translation layer, projects drift, timing slips, and priorities get muddy fast.
Jay talked in the episode about his old AM days, and he is right. AMs are constantly preparing, checking assumptions, and keeping everyone synced on what actually matters.
Most leaders do not realize how much time sits behind a single meeting. Prep, context gathering, internal coordination, and post-meeting follow-up all happen before and after the part you see.
Here is the one allowed bullet list:
This is why AM hours add up. It is not fluff. It is friction prevention.
Account management is not project management. It is strategic glue. It is oversight. It is the thing that ensures every part of your marketing machine connects back to the outcome you care about.
Our AMs track changing channel trends, AI shifts, audience behavior, and competitor moves. Without someone watching the horizon, your strategy ages faster than you expect.
When revenue leaders evaluate marketing, they often look at output. Creative. Content. Campaigns. But output only works if the foundation is solid.
Here is what account management protects you from:
Jay and Sarah talked about the snowball effect in the episode. I see it every day. When no one owns alignment, the cracks spread fast.
With account management, everything feels smoother and more predictable. Without it, everything feels scattered.
Jay spent a decade doing account management before starting StringCan, and he and Sarah see the human side better than anyone. They both talked about how AMs take on a lot of client stress, and I see that too. It is one of the roles where thinking ahead is the actual job description.
From operations, I care about sustainable workloads, clear runways, and strong communication loops. Account management makes all of that possible. When the role is removed to save budget, the work becomes reactive and inconsistent. The cost shows up in missed execution, not in the invoice.
Q: What is the difference between account management and project management?
A: Project management handles tasks and timelines. Account management handles strategy, alignment, and communication.
Q: Why does account management take so many hours?
A: Because prep, internal alignment, review cycles, and follow-up all happen behind the scenes. The smoother your experience is, the more work AMs are doing.
Q: Does removing account management save money?
A: Not really. It usually creates scattered work, slower delivery, and misalignment that costs more in the long run.
Q: Can AI replace account managers?
A: No. AI supports them, but judgment, nuance, and relationships still come from people.
Q: How do account managers help with strategy?
A: They connect every task back to larger goals, make sure priorities stay clear, and keep execution focused.
This episode features Sarah Shepard, StringCan’s COO, and Jay Feitlinger, our CEO. They bring deep experience in account management, demand generation, and scaling marketing operations for mid-market teams. Their insight comes from decades in the agency world.
If you want help strengthening your marketing operations or preventing workflow breakdowns, reach out to our team anytime.