Podcasts
Key account managers as agents of change
Are you just managing accounts, or are you changing your organisation? Daniel Santos, former Sales Director at GSK and current LBS Sloan Fellow, argues that
Key account manager role
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Papers and articles
Supply-side views of QBRs
In this exploration of Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs), Clientshare interviewed 100 stakeholders for their insights from the supply side of key account relationships. The authors identify the frequent pitfalls, such as overemphasis on operational detail and insufficient strategic dialogue, and propose separating innovation-focused discussions from routine operational reviews. Emphasising a proactive, customer-centric mindset, they argue…
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Other
Key account manager role
This presentation takes a comprehensive look at the role of the key account manager, and the competencies (learnable skills) and attributes (values-driven behaviours) required to fulfil it. Different competencies and attributes may be dialled up or dialled down according to the maturity of the supplier and the nature of the key account, which should be…
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Podcasts
Defining the Key Account Manager’s job and what it takes to do it
Armelle Dupont (Group Customer Experience Manager, Vetropack) explains very clearly the considerable depth and range of responsibilities expected of her company’s key account managers – and selling doesn’t get a mention! John Bailey (Director Of International Key Accounts & OEMs, Hiab) agrees. Both companies specifically match each key account manager with the customer they will…
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Papers and articles
Key Account Managers talking KAM
Gwenola Ducamp of Vetropack and Matt Sankary of ShipMoney are key account managers in very different sectors – manufacturing and financial services – yet they share a lot of the same challenges. In this conversation they share their current issues, how they are approaching them and look at the future, especially the role of technology,…
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Papers and articles
Alliance Management and KAM: mirror images
Supplier alliance management and key account management have converged over the last 20 years and are now closely connected. Mike Nevin’s case studies demonstrate the very substantial value that can come from working with the ecosystem – beyond traditional, two-party buyer-seller pairings. His 52 best practices in strategic alliances is a great checklist that applies…
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AKAM Workshops & Conferences
What’s wrong with key account manager remuneration?
Dr Diana Woodburn highlighted the principal issue, i.e. that the role of the key account manager is broad, cross functional, complex and long term, whereas they are predominantly rewarded for sales – which is sharply focused, functionally narrow, relatively simple and short term. Hence often poorly matched to the customer’s needs and timelines. Dr Diana…
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Diagnostics and tools
Sample role profile: Key Account Manager (KAM)
Do you think your Job Description properly represents your job? Does your company understand what you do? Are you tasked with coming up with the definitive key account manager Job Description or recruitment ad? This sample key account manager role description is a great help with any of those issues. Starting with an established model…
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Papers and articles
Joining the dots: from KAM to bidding
Bidding and bid management are an important part of KAM. Some companies try to separate them, contrary to what Jeremy Brim and AKAM believe – that business growth comes from generating sustained, focused momentum, driven by Key Account Managers. Key account managers are a superpower when bidding, bringing a great level of insight and connectivity…
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Papers and articles
When KAM corrupts
This article summarises a longer paper on ‘Boundary spanner corruption: a potential dark side of multi-level trust in marketing relationships’ (also available in Member Resources here). These aren’t familiar terms to practitioners, but perhaps they should be – boundary spanner corruption is becoming an increasing threat in relationships between key account managers and their counterparts!…
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