Account Manager

The Opportunity

The New Business Account Manager is a dedicated client relationship business partner that is a vital extension of our sales team. As a critical customer facing role, this position is accountable for developing, maintaining, and enhancing relationships with new and existing customers and financial professionals. This position is focused on driving internal and external partnerships and strategies that will result in long term growth and policy persistency. Working closely with clients, brokers, external vendors, and various departments at MassMutual, this role will be responsible for managing new business timelines, gaining a granular understanding of their client’s business needs, establishing and documenting processes to support those needs, and ultimately the successful onboarding of newly sold business. Our Account Managers are the primary point of contact for aligned agency partnerships for all onboarding, service, and support issues across dedicated distribution channels for all new business. This role is a true extension of our distribution partners; focused on creating a small company feel by reducing complexity and noise in the new business process. Their success directly impacts our sales funnel and the opportunity to generate the “next” piece of business.

The New Business Account Manager will support one of the following business lines:

• MMSD Life New Business, Operations

• MMFA Life New Business

The Impact

The Account Manager role ensures customer satisfaction by providing support in firm meetings and discussions covering strategy, performance, new products, regulatory changes, and market developments. This role will regularly engage aligned firms, key firm contacts, Financial Professionals, and General Agents.

As an Account Manager, you will be accountable for the below, and other duties as assigned:

• Proactively own and manage their assigned book of business with the utmost professionalism to establish and exceed client expectations including managing pending inventory by closing inactive cases to help ensure the New Business and Underwriting inventory consists of active cases. This includes actively managing dialogue on issued cases with a goal to drive increased placement rates.

• Serving as a subject matter expert for administrative, customer service and account management team key duties and responsibilities including resolving basic to complex problems, escalations, and issue resolution around the new business process, while collaborating with the internal teams, as well as organizational leaders across all levels in Operations and MMFA and MMSD Distribution channels. This includes offering solutions, accommodations, and options to best support a customer’s needs.

• Executing on exceptional communication skills and leveraging their strong working knowledge of MassMutual products, processes, and services including educating firm’s New Business staff on process and procedure and ensure timely communication of any changes.

• Preparing, distributing, providing regular status updates to clients and appropriate departments in written and verbal form, as well as act as liaison between MMFA/MMSD firm new business staff and internal teams to drive resolution on all service issues, escalations, and exception requests.

• Participate in sales office visits with Distribution partners to address opportunities, present to large audiences and educate the office staff on policies / procedures, obtain feedback on service experience, and solicit recommendations for service improvements across New Business and Underwriting. Actively engage with their distribution customers to help improve workflow, make recommendations based on data and ultimately generate stronger relationships to grow the business.

• Ability to establish critical relationships with internal and external stakeholders and build a network of resources to navigate a complex new business acquisition process, ultimately ensuring consistent follow through on expectations.

• Demonstrated strength and ability to interface with and influence key decision makers/clients through use of negotiation skills, dealing with ambiguity and conflict management.

• Demonstrated strength and understanding of customer expectations and "sense of urgency" resulting in the ability to influence the organization to meet and exceed customer expectations.

• Partner with Compliance, Field Risk Management and other business partners on regulatory matters and risk management escalations impacting our firms.

• Identify opportunities for improvement and deliver feedback and coaching to improve knowledge, experience, and ease of doing business for both internal and external stakeholders related to Underwriting and New Business.

• Manages and/or participates in projects and initiatives that address overall service needs, driving self-sufficiency with firms, focus on ease of doing business, and promote Customer Centricity.

Minimum Qualifications

• High School Diploma or equivalent

• 5+ years of experience in financial services with strong knowledge of Life and/or Disability insurance

• Ability to travel up to 15-20% of the time throughout the year in various US locations

Ideal Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree

• Life or Disability case management and/or underwriting experience

• 7+ years of related relationship management experience

• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills.

• Ability to collaborate, negotiate, influence, build trust and maintain strong working relationships.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

• Demonstrates ability to analyze information and use data to drive key communications and decisions.

• Identifies and communicates process improvement ideas with colleagues that creates efficiency, reduces risk, and/or improves quality.

• Utilize critical thinking skills to make business decisions impacting internal and external stakeholders.

• Effectively navigates through an ever-changing environment.

• Strong business acumen including knowledge of Company, products, and services.

• Ability to effectively communicate pertinent processes, results, best practices and expectations in presentation formats to firm audiences and business partners.

• Ability to work quickly and independently with strong attention to detail and sensitivity to deadlines.

• Works well in diverse, fast paced, and dynamic professional environment.

• Demonstrates strong energy level and a passion for service and performance excellence. Provides and promotes a best-in-class service experience.

• Able to work in multiple systems.

• Extremely organized, detail-oriented individual who is capable of self-managing and multi-tasking in a fast-paced, demanding environment.

• Ability to communicate difficult decisions or negotiate with others to reach mutually beneficial solutions; seeks win-win.

• Able to collaborate effectively with supporting business areas to seek options and resolve issues in a timely manner, respectful of procedures.

• Ability to support team and business coverage needs – notably around peak business months and commission close dates.

What to Expect as Part of MassMutual and the Team

• Regular meetings with the team

• Focused one-on-one meetings with your manager

• Access to mentorship opportunities

• Networking opportunities including access to Asian, Hispanic/Latinx, African American, women, LGBTQ, veteran and disability-focused Business Resource Groups

• Access to learning content on Degreed and other educational/informational platforms

• Your ethics and integrity will be valued by a company with a strong and stable ethical business with industry leading pay and benefits

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MassMutual is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer Minority/Female/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/Individual with Disability/Protected Veteran. We welcome all persons to apply. Note: Veterans are welcome to apply, regardless of their discharge status.

If you need an accommodation to complete the application process, please contact us and share the specifics of the assistance you need.