It doesn’t matter if you’ve been a key account manager for a decade or two or are new on the job; everyone can improve. Improving your key account management game and taking it to the next level means that you are up to date with the latest trends in Customer Success or Account Management, and you’re trying new strategies and approaches for your key accounts to see what works and what doesn’t.
In the early days of Key Account Management, it was hard to find useful information online that wasn’t just regurgitated sales speak, but in 2019, there are hundreds of resources available with a few clicks that can really change the way that you approach KAM for the rest of your career. Along with the Kapta blog and website, today we want to show you our top key account management resources, coaches, and training programs you should follow, read, join, or sign up for to take your key account management game up to the next level.
To be a successful key account manager well into the future, you need a proven track record of helping your customers grow their accounts through the products and services your company offers. Jermaine Edwards offers an excellent blog that is all about making your customers grow and watching them succeed. Jermaine is a seasoned expert with experience as a professional sales consultant and is well-versed in any and all things Key Account Management. If your customers are your top priority but you can’t figure out what makes them tick, this is the blog to read.
Do you have the right skills to be a successful KAM? Some people are naturally born with the right characteristics while others have to pick up these skills along the way. Jenny Plant is ready to help you pick up the right skills and sharpen your focus so you can do better by your customers. Jenny Plant is experienced in account management and has worked with account managers to sharpen their skills through personal development.
Performance Methods Incorporated or PMI for short is a company dedicated to helping sales reps and account managers create winning strategies. They provide coaching tools and help companies find the approach that will effectively drive their results. Every great player needs a coach and mentor to help them achieve their full potential and win, and your field is no different! Get in touch with these kind folks to see how they can tweak your current processes for better results.
Have you ever heard the expression of sharpening your skills? Whetstone is a company founded on the belief that everyone in an organization, even C-level people, could use some help to hone their skills. The company works almost exclusively with CEOs and other sales leaders to help them realize profitable growth through a new perspective and greater attention to their key accounts.
If you want to stay ahead of the curve and implement the latest key account management strategies into your account plans, RAIN Group‘s industry insights and specialized training programs will help. The company is known for providing cutting edge industry data for account managers and others in the sales field, and they also work with teams through their training programs to help them be the best they can be.
SAMA, the Strategic Account Management Association, runs an online academy where you can build your account management skills and competencies. They have years of experience providing proven training based on rigorous standards and ongoing research so you are more than prepared for anything that the real world will throw at you. Over the years, they’ve helped thousands of professionals across all industries deliver immediate, measurable, and sustainable results for their strategic accounts and their organization. Check out their site and learn more about their certification training.
Customer experience is a critical component to strategic account management, and unfortunately, many companies fail to realize it before it’s too late. Kia Puhm’s blog (The Desired Path) is dedicated to the customer experience, breaking down the things that customers are looking for in your company, how it impacts your bottom line, and what you can do to improve it, so your strategic accounts have better success. The blog is updated pretty regularly so add it to your feed to stay up to date with the latest tips and tricks.
Stepping up your game means rising above every other account manager in the field. Warwick Brown’s Account Management Tips brings the advice and guidance needed to sharpen your skills this year and the blog is chock full of useful tips and tricks to elevate your key account management game. The entire site is dedicated to purely account manager tips with blog posts coming out on a semi-weekly basis.
The Large Account Management Process is a program dedicated to planning for and managing relationships within your key accounts. They provide tools like Miller Heiman Group’s Gold Sheet for analysis and strategy and the program teaches organizations the steps they need to take in order to build actionable account plans.
Sales Mastery is run by Jim Dickie and Barry Trailer, two highly experienced sales gurus that bring decades upon decades of experience working with high-profile clients to help fine-tune their sales and account management processes to build strong relationships and drive bottom-line results. They provide consultation services and companies in any industry can leverage their knowledge and guidance to take their account management programs to the next level.
The Chapman Group is the team you call when you have serious relationship problems with your key accounts. With a highly experienced team, they provide critical insights and will help you determine the issues in your account management system and then come up with solutions to fix, grow, and nourish your critical relationships. They focus on the hard data behind relationships with a customer-first approach that is necessary for a successful customer success program.
Nils Vinje of Glide Consulting has served in every Customer Success role. From CSM to VP, he quickly established a track record of orchestrating record-breaking renewals and up-sells by aligning Sales and Customer Success. To help you be more successful, Nils shares his stories, learnings, and mistakes he made during his whirlwind journey as a Customer Success Professional.
SalesLatitude is led by Janice Mars, a sales improvement consultant and change agent with decades of experience mentoring and guiding sales teams to higher performance. She helps companies focus their sales efforts on winnable deals and aligning core strengths with the right prospects. Through her expertise in sales analysis and process, coaching and development, Janice’s clients have successfully established effective sales governance and operations resulting in sustainable revenue growth.
Louise Collins is an expert in KAM, especially for the pharmaceutical, medical devices and life sciences industries. Louise is a true believe that KAM is key to the success of your organization. She and her team have hands on, recent experience in a breadth of markets, including Japan, China, India, Russia, USA, Europe, MEA and Asia. Services include assessments, training, coaching and program development.
KAMguru is the UK’s leading key account management (KAM) consultancy. They help you to develop profitable partnerships with your most important customers. KAMguru’s work is built around the “first rule of business” i.e. “look after your most important customers before someone else does!” Led by David Ventura, the KAMguru team is highly qualified and experienced in many different sectors.
The Success League, led by Kristen Hayer, is a customer success consulting firm that works with executives who are ready to build and develop a top performing customer success team. The company offers consulting engagements, online training, team workshops and coaching, all delivered by experienced customer success leaders. The Success League Blog includes a fresh article on customer success each week, and their podcast features a new interview every 2 weeks.
Powering is a European consulting and training company that focuses on Key Account Management. All Powering consultants, sales developers, trainers and coaches have practical and very senior sales & distribution experience in various positions at well-known international companies and brands.
AKAM aims to increase informed appreciation and recognition of Key Account Management, while raising standards of performance to earn it through: professionalizing KAM by establishing recognized qualifications for key account managers and certifying aligned development programs, and improving understanding and practice in companies by communicating and exchanging known information about KAM. AKAM also runs a number of conferences and events.
This is, of course, just a partial list of Key Account Management and Customer Success coaches and consultants. Who did I miss? Let me know in the comments below.