Lauren on Strategic Account Management at Funnel: Building Long-Term Partnerships
Lauren has built her career around fostering strong client relationships. As a Strategic Account Manager (SAM) at Funnel, she focuses on long-term partnerships with some of the company’s largest customers. In this post, Lauren shares how she got into sales, the nuances of different sales roles at Funnel, and what makes working with high-value accounts so rewarding.
Can you introduce yourself and your role at Funnel?
As a Strategic Account Manager at Funnel, I focus on managing and growing a portfolio of key enterprise customers. I work closely with them to ensure they maximize the value of Funnel while also identifying strategic opportunities for expansion. It’s all about building long-term relationships and helping our customers succeed at scale.
I’ve been at Funnel for nearly two years now. My path into sales was not entirely planned. I studied business management and marketing in college, initially hoping to go into creative marketing. But after graduation, I landed a role in a business development program at a global SaaS company, which gave me a strong foundation in sales. After spending a few years in direct sales, I realized that what I enjoyed most was working with customers beyond the initial purchase. Transitioning into account management felt like a natural fit, allowing me to focus on collaboration and long-term growth. I found Funnel through LinkedIn while searching for a company that valued development, culture, and teamwork. After visiting the office, I knew it was the right place for me. The energy, collaboration, and vision stood out, and I wanted to be part of it.
At Funnel we have different sales roles. What is the difference between an Account Executive, Account Manager and Strategic Account Manager?
Each of these roles plays a crucial part in ensuring our customers have the best experience with Funnel, from the initial engagement to long-term growth. While they share common goals, their responsibilities differ significantly:
- Account Executives (AEs) handle new business. They engage with prospects, understand their needs, and guide them through the sales process-everything from initial conversations to negotiations and closing deals.
- Account Managers (AMs) work with a broad customer base, ensuring they get the most out of Funnel. They focus on retention, expansion, and upselling while maintaining long-term customer relationships.
- Strategic Account Managers (SAMs), focus on existing large enterprise accounts and new business opportunities for companies typically generating over a billion in revenue. These accounts are complex, requiring long-term strategic planning, deep stakeholder management, and a tailored approach to expanding Funnel’s presence across different teams, departments, and regions.
Together, we build lasting partnerships that drive real impact.
What does a normal day look like for SAM?
No two days are the same, but my work revolves around relationship-building, strategic planning, and problem-solving for our key accounts. Since these customers require long-term planning, my focus is on retention and growth rather than short-term transactions.
A typical day starts with reviewing account health, tracking project progress, and aligning on key initiatives. I spend a lot of time engaging with customers through quarterly business reviews, renewal discussions, or ad-hoc check-ins. In-person meetings are particularly valuable, as they allow us to build deeper relationships beyond day-to-day business discussions.
Internally, I work closely with teams across Funnel to ensure our strategies align. That includes preparing contracts, updating account plans, and mapping out how Funnel can support different business units within an enterprise. Many of our customers operate across multiple regions, so a big part of the job is figuring out how to expand our partnership across their entire organization.
What’s the most rewarding part of working with high-value, long-term accounts?
For me, it’s the ability to build deep relationships and play a role in our customers’ long-term success. It’s not just about securing renewals-it’s about understanding their business goals, optimizing their strategies, and ensuring Funnel helps them scale efficiently.
One of the most fulfilling aspects is seeing the direct impact of our partnership. Whether we’re streamlining their data processes or helping them integrate new teams, it’s rewarding to know we’re making a meaningful difference. Many of our customers are industry leaders, and working closely with them gives me unique insights into different approaches to data-driven decision-making.
Beyond the business side, there’s also a personal element. When you work with a customer for multiple years, you get to know them beyond their job titles. Celebrating their successes, whether it’s a promotion, a new initiative, or even a shared personal milestone-adds another layer of fulfillment to the role.
How do you collaborate with other teams like Product, Customer Success, and Marketing?
Collaboration is a huge part of my role, as managing strategic accounts requires expertise from multiple areas of the business. It wouldn’t be possible without support from different teams across Funnel, each contributing their unique strengths to ensure a seamless customer experience.
- Customer Success partners with us to ensure customers are driving adoption, overcoming challenges, and hitting their goals.
- Solutions Consultants are invaluable when it comes to technical aspects, whether it’s troubleshooting integrations or assisting with data setup.
- Product plays a key role, especially when customers have big plans that require new features or enhancements. We often work closely with the product team to align roadmaps with enterprise customer needs.
- Marketing helps us showcase success stories, share insights, and highlight best practices from other enterprise businesses.
- Legal assists with contract negotiations, especially when dealing with large, complex agreements that take time to finalize.
Given the scale of the customers we manage, coordination between teams is crucial to delivering long-term success. By working together, we ensure that every customer receives the right level of support, whether they are integrating Funnel for the first time or expanding their usage across global teams. The goal? To leave our customers saying, “Wow.”
Interested in working at Funnel? Explore our current job openings!
