Daniel Svvennsen
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Organisational behaviourÂ
Key account managers have to navigate their own organisation and their key account’s. Having an awareness of how organisations manage themselves and people within them can make the process a whole lot easier. Company cultures differ, so interpreting and anticipating their impact can help to find alignment. The ways that organisations operate can seem very…
Finance
Key account managers are responsible for the financial success of the business with key customers. But do you know how your decisions impact that profitability? Or how to make a business case for investment with future returns? You need at least to interpret the financial drivers on both sides, appreciate financial health and strategies from…
Supply chain
Since the pandemic supply chain security is front of mind in every customer. But do you know how supply chains work? Can you discuss and understand the risks and opportunities in supply chain developments? Indeed, supply chain issues can derail some of the most exciting initiatives key account managers might propose. So a basic understanding…
Marketing
Marketing and KAM are thoroughly intertwined: KAM itself is, in effect, marketing to a segment of one, while understanding that there are many sub segments inside that ‘one’ who want different things, talk different languages and respond in different ways, so it’s worth understanding marketing basics. You may be using them unconsciously but you can…
Leadership
Leadership training is commonly offered to first-line internal managers, but rarely to key account managers. That is ironic, given that the KAM job demands leadership as an obligation, not an option. In fact, it may be one of the toughest leadership-without-authority jobs in the organisation, so appreciating and applying some of the theory and principles now…
Buying and ProcurementÂ
Key customers employ professional Procurement people, so key account managers must appreciate and respond to the underlying principles they apply and how they work. Procurement is frequently frustrated by suppliers’ lack of understanding of their environment, role and processes. They are unimpressed by simple offers of high quality and value without translation into profit for…
Selling and Business Development
Many key account managers have a background in sales, but training may be quite some time ago – maybe even never! It’s worth (re)visiting some higher-level fundamentals and reviewing what aspects of selling are still relevant to KAM in today’s environment. What kinds of approaches to selling exist, how do they differ, which should you…
Essential Key Account ManagementÂ
You may have plenty of experience as a key account manager, but maybe you haven’t had the relevant training/education that underpins the role. But KAM has a substantial body of research and theory, about what it is (and is not); relationships between complex suppliers and complex customers; how KAM works and a particular focus on…
How do mergers and acquisitions affect KAM?
It’s hard to keep your eyes on the customer when you’re going through a Merger or Acquisition, when you’re not even sure if your job is safe. But it’s not much better if you emerge from the situation to discover but your customer has felt overlooked and unimportant and consequently defected to the competition. In…
