What is an Account Executive in Marketing?

What is an account executive in marketing? What does account executive training consist of?  In most agencies, an AE's first day consists of: A "fill out all the paperwork" meeting with your HR/accounting person A quick tour of the office, introducing the new account executive to the team as you walk through A lecture about protecting passwords from your IT staffer And a reminder that their first client meeting is at 10:30 am.  That morning. No worries -- you'll train them later, right?  Unfortunately, many an agency has incredible intentions of starting a training program for their account executives but usually client work trumps training and it doesn't happen. One of the reasons it doesn't happen is because usually the agency owner is the one who is supposed to develop the training.  Enough said. But let's say you really are serious about developing an internal account executive training program.  What does it need to include? What to Expect of an Account Executive in Marketing Understanding the big picture: Why does a client hire an agency? What does an agency owner look for in an account executive How does an agency work and make money Agency accounting (AGI, etc.) How does an account executive influence AGI for better or worse Getting the work done: Work flow/process inside agencies Serving as the client advocate inside the agency and the agency advocate with the client Helping clients be a better client Helping the agency become invaluable to the client The money pits and how to avoid them The business of business: How businesses make money Business metrics/KPIs The different levels within a company and what each of them can do for/with the agency Identifying business problems and delivering [...]