Productivity is something that everyone seems to struggle with, and key account managers are no exception. Sales reps spend only 28% of their week selling, down from 34% in 2018, according to research by Salesforce. That’s why it’s critical to make the most of your time so you can complete all the necessary tasks and still have time for strategic planning, client engagement, and professional development within a 40-hour work week.
Striving to be a trusted advisor while developing your skills and managing the litany of demands of being a successful KAM can be challenging, especially if you don’t have a strategy in place to make the most of your available time. This takes careful planning and efficiency, otherwise you may find yourself working longer and harder than you should.
That’s where a success strategy comes in. This plan helps you shift from reactive mode to proactive mode, giving you more control of your schedule. Creating this strategy helps you be the best KAM possible, hit your goals, and still have time for the other things in life.
What is a KAM Success Strategy?
A KAM success strategy is a personalized plan that takes into account your specific goals, clients, and company objectives always to be your best. It helps you overcome your day-to-day challenges, like competing demands, an undefined process for working with your clients, too many accounts to manage, and a lack of digital tools to support KAM processes.
It doesn’t matter if you know what you need to do if you’re constantly treading water and simply trying to keep from drowning in a sea of tasks. But taking the time to create your personal KAM success strategy enables you to navigate each day, week, and month more efficiently. It helps you make the most of your time and allows you to rise above the minutia to find space in your schedule for strategic essentials to up your game.
Creating your success strategy helps you structure your day, maximizes your efficiency, helps you plan for the unexpected, and can be adapted as your situation evolves over time.
The Elements of a KAM Success Strategy
There are four main elements included in a success strategy. These include:
- Playbooks to guide you through common situations. This enables you to simply act instead of wasting valuable time reinventing the wheel each time these situations arise.
- Disciplined time management to block off time to focus on specific tasks daily on a routine basis.
- Ruthless prioritization for boosting productivity and reducing stress. This enables you to know when to say no and what takes precedence without hesitation as situations arise.
- Technology to streamline and automate processes. This makes space in your schedule for more creative and strategic activities.
How to Create Your KAM Success Strategy
Now that you know what a success strategy is, it’s time to build yours. Take the following steps to develop your success plan. And, if you have an existing plan that’s missing some of the elements listed above, follow these steps to update your current plan and incorporate the missing elements as you revise your strategy.
Identify Activities and Tasks
Start by creating a list of the main activities and tasks that take up the majority of your time during a typical day and week. A great way to do this is by using a time tracker for a few weeks to determine exactly how you’re currently spending your time. Completing a time audit like this also gives you a clearer understanding of how long tasks are actually taking. This is helpful since it’s not unusual for people to misjudge how much time is needed to perform specific activities.
Define Attributes
Next, you need to define the key characteristics of each action on your list. These details to identify for each activity include:
- Time: How long it takes to complete.
- Urgency: How time-sensitivity it is. This may involve whether it is a client request from a happy customer versus one from an at-risk one. Some unexpected tasks must be handled without hesitation and others can wait until later in the day.
- Predictability: Is it a regularly scheduled meeting or is it an unexpected message from a client?
- Enjoyment factor: How much you enjoy completing the task and how easy or difficult it is to focus when doing the specific activity.
Create a table or spreadsheet containing this information for easy reference.
Plan Your Work
Once you have completed an inventory of your common activities and defined their attributes, you’re ready to start planning your work. Keep the following tips in mind as you determine when and how to complete predictable tasks, how to prioritize unpredictable tasks, and create your playbooks for how to handle common situations as they arise:
Determine the best time of day for essential tasks: It’s best to consider your level of enjoyment and ability to focus when doing activities as you plan your work. So, plan to do the things you enjoy the least when you are most alert, which is often early in the day. Doing this gives you a sense of accomplishment and sets the tone for the rest of your day. Then, plan tasks you enjoy the most for later in the day when you find it more difficult to focus. This helps you keep your level of productivity consistent throughout the day and helps you make the most of your time.
Group similar tasks: Blocking off time on your calendar to complete similar tasks enables you to focus and get into a flow state of work. So, for example, if you’re preparing quarterly business reviews (QBRs) for your accounts, you can allot a time block for each step to complete the work more efficiently. This might include a one-hour block to do research before preparing the QBRs, one for creating and emailing QBR invites, and one for creating the presentations.
Use time blocks: There’s a theory that each activity takes as long as you allow it to. So, set a time constraint and stick to it and remain focused on the activity at hand. When a designated block of time ends, stop working on whatever it is, take a break, and move on to the scheduled time block.
Break larger projects into smaller time blocks: Instead of blocking off multiple hours at a time for larger projects, try breaking them into smaller weekly time blocks for steady progress toward project completion.
Include buffer time: It’s inevitable that unexpected tasks pop up, so don’t block off every minute of every day. Build flexibility into your schedule for the what-ifs that occur. And, if you don’t have any unexpected tasks on a given day, you gain extra time for other tasks or you may even finish early on some days!
Budget Time for Additional Activities such as:
- Personal time blocks: Schedule some personal time into each workday to allow you to refresh and take breaks. These can include things like a short 10- or 20-minute walk, coffee with friends, or time to read a book. Building time like this into your workday boosts productivity by keeping you fresh and focused.
- Learning and professional development time: Scheduling time for activities like taking an online course, reading a business book or article, or listening to podcasts helps you continually build your skills.
- Relationship building time: Building relationships internally and outside your company is essential to maintaining a strong network and should occur at least once a month.
Create and Implement Your KAM Success Strategy
Building your success strategy is only the beginning of boosting your productivity. Be patient with yourself as you implement your plan. Remember that it takes time to adjust to a new routine.
Plus, using a success strategy isn’t something you create only once. You should fine-tune and adjust your plan over time to address your needs and adapt as your situation evolves. Ultimately it helps you shift from reactive mode to proactive mode and gives you the bandwidth to become a trusted advisor to your clients. It also gives you time to continually develop your KAM skills and improve your abilities to meet your career goals.
Want more details on this topic, check out this eBook or video on building your own success plan.
Looking for additional ways to boost your KAM success? Register for the KAMGenius online training program.
