The direct answer
Account managers create value in client conversations. They do not create value assembling the same pre-meeting context again and again. The prep should be system work. The relationship is the billable part.
The fact: Salesforce researchers found sales reps spend just 28% of their week actually selling. Account teams live the same math: most of the week goes to preparation and administration.
SOURCE: Salesforce, State of Sales (5th edition, 2022) — Read the research
The fact: 86% of business buyers expect sales reps to act as trusted advisors, but 84% say reps don't take the time to understand them.
SOURCE: Salesforce, State of the Connected Customer (6th edition) — Read the report
That second number is the cost of a manager who is always prepping instead of listening. The client can tell who actually knows their business.
The Meeting Prep Play
State the meeting. The system pulls the account history, the open items, and the last three touchpoints, and drafts the agenda and the questions that matter. The manager reviews it in minutes and spends the saved hour on the relationship, or on the next client.
Time given back
Run the math on your own team. Count the weekly prep hours, then imagine a third of them back. That is the order of magnitude, and it is why this play usually becomes the standard across an agency once one manager tries it.
Where to start
One manager, one real meeting this week. Run the play. Score the brief. Let the team see the draft before you pitch the idea to everyone.