Advance your expertise at the AKAM Guildford workshop and meeting 2024
Mark your calendars for June 12-13, 2024, and join us at the University of Surrey for an essential gathering of Key Account Management professionals.
This in-depth, 1.5 day event is tailored to equip you with the latest tools and insights in customer management, AI applications in business, and emotional intelligence strategies.
Why this event is essential for your professional growth:
- Practical expertise: Learn directly from experts like Dr. Nima Heirati, Giedre Rajunce, and Charlotte Bull, who will translate the latest academic research into actionable strategies for real-world challenges.
- Focused workshops: Engage in workshops designed to implement cutting-edge technologies in KAM. Explore digital twins, augmented reality, and more to stay ahead in a digitally evolving market.
- Networking and collaboration: Connect with peers and industry leaders to share experiences, discuss challenges, and forge valuable collaborations.
Event highlights:
- Day 1: Delve into how emerging technologies can drive customer centricity with hands-on sessions led by Dr. Heirati.
- Day 2: Explore the dynamic roles of AI and emotional intelligence in KAM through practical examples and peer discussions.
Don’t miss out on the chance to enhance your strategies and adapt to the changing landscape of KAM. Secure your spot today and empower yourself with knowledge and skills that will drive your professional success.
View the full agenda below!
What’s on?
Wednesday 12th June (afternoon):
AKAM Technical on Delivering Customer Centricity through emerging technologies
Thursday 13th June:
All day workshopping – sessions led by an AI entrepreneur, a professor and a wellbeing trainer/facilitator.
They’ll talk about:
- AI potential in KAM communication
- The role of emotions in Key Account Management
- Danger of corruption in KAM (with some shocking quotes)
- Well-being in the workplace: Managing stress
Find out more below!
Location
Hosted by the university of Surrey, UK.
Stag Hill, University Campus, Guildford GU2 7XH
Where? The Guildford Townhouse
58-62, High Street, Guildford GU1 3SE
AKAM social
Join our AKAM social on Wednesday 12th June, at the Coppa Club, the Georgian Townhouse, Guildford High Street (7.00-10.00 p.m.).
It’s a chance to meet fellow participants and build your KAM network with food and drink provided. What’s not to like?
Plenty of food and drink included for £45. Please book by 4th June at the latest – space is limited, so better to book early.
Let us know if you wish to attend when signing up and we’ll send you a link!
NB All need to book, not included with membership.
12th June - AKAM Technical half-day
Delivering Customer Centricity through emerging technologies
Customer centricity is a way of doing business that places customers – not products, services, or technologies – at the core of their strategies. Achieving real customer centricity means designing everything else around this mindset. Many companies have started using new digitalization technologies to enhance customer-centric processes. In this workshop Dr Nima Heirati will clarify the potential for new technologies in your relationships with key customers and take you through a toolkit to get them adopted by your organisation.
Learning points:
How do AI-empowered technologies foster customer-centricity?
augmented/virtual reality
digital twin
digital product passports
smart products and more
How do you get them implemented by your company?
How to use a roadmap to effectively harness these technologies in B2B business relationships.
Nima Heirati
Associate Professor in Marketing at Surrey Business School, University of Surrey
Dr Nima Heirati is the Associate Professor in Marketing at University of Surrey. His research relates predominantly to the field of innovation strategy, business relationships, and the impact of artificial intelligence on businesses. His specific focus is on the challenges involved in business relationships and business model innovation driven by servitization and digitalization. Before joining academia, he held senior positions as the marketing manager and business development manager at several manufacturing firms.
13th June - All-day workshop
What’s wrong with key account manager remuneration?
In our 2022 survey more of you thought the way your company does it is OK, by 2 to 1.
But is it really? Dig just a little and you find an overwhelming number paying bonuses on sales – just like any salesperson! So how’s KAM different?
Paul and Diana have seen and experienced the results of sales-focused schemes – and they aren’t what’s wanted in KAM.
They’ll be asking questions like:
- Why/should key account managers’ remuneration be different from other employees?
- Do current practices ‘work’? What is key account managers’ remuneration intended to reward?
- Should remuneration be linked to performance? What does performance even mean in KAM?
- Does/how should key account manager remuneration reflect the role?
Paul and Diana have some of the answers and they’ll be asking you for them too.
But they will offer alternative models you should lobby for in your company.
Because you need to be recognised as something more than and different from sales.
Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson Consultancy Ltd
Dr Diana Woodburn
AKAM Chair
Paul is an independent consultant in Strategic and Key Account Management, supporting organisations and individuals to Understand, Apply and Master the capabilities required to implement world-class Strategic Key Account Management in their business. Previously, he was Commercial Accountants Director at Pfizer UK and set up and lead the Global Key Account Management Centre of Excellence at Pfizer.
Dr Diana Woodburn began researching and lecturing in KAM at Cranfield School of Management in 1997. Also became an author, consultant and company coach, dedicated to KAM since 2005. Co-author with Malcolm McDonald of ‘Key Account Management: the definitive guide’, and the ‘Handbook of Strategic Account Management’ with Kevin Wilson. A marketing practitioner in various sectors globally.
The role of emotions in Key Account Management
Time to get emotional!
The emotional responses of key account managers are gaining recognition for their potential impact on business outcomes. They can affect trust in partners, satisfaction with the key account relationships, and even the development or longevity of KAM relationships. So maybe it’s time to get emotional and understand the impact of emotions in the lives of key account managers, and their impact on their KAM business relationships.
Understanding and managing emotions strengthens business partnerships by:
- Signalling trust and satisfaction to enhance engagement and long-term growth.
- Overcoming challenges, addressing negative emotions
- Incorporating emotional awareness and management into KAM strategies
Filoumena will share a new framework for success that includes emotional dimensions in KAM. Its application can improve KAM relationship quality and performance and provide competitive advantage.
Filoumena Zlatanou
PHD Student
KAM-Procurement Relationships: Danger of Corruption!
KAM and Procurement often work closely together in close business relationships. The involved managers in the supplier and the buyer organisation build strong inter-personal trust, which is seen as the glue of the business relationship, as well as an important lubricant for making the business relationship more effective.
However, research has shown that too strong inter-personal trust in KAM-Procurement relationships (which can be called ‘over-trust’) also has a dark side: it may may cause (often but not always unconsciously) the managers to act against the interests of their organisations, thus destroying or corrupting business relationship performance. Stephan will introduce this phenomenon, show evidence of its existence and its consequences, and discuss how to deal with it.
Learning points:
Strong inter-personal relationships between KAM and Procurement is performance-enhancing, but…
…it can also increase the likelihood of ‘over-trusting’, resulting in (often inadvertent) actions against the interests of their organisations.
So too strong and close inter-personal relationships between KAM and Procurement managers may reduce and corrupt overall business relationship performance.
Mitigation strategies are needed to ringfence the positive performance outcomes of strong KAM and Procurement relationships while reducing the danger of corruption.
Stephan Henneberg
Chair Professor of Marketing and Strategy, Queen Mary University of London
Stephan focuses his research at the School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London, on issues around inter-organisational business relationships. Before coming back to academia, he worked in senior positions at A.T. Kearney and McKinsey & Co.
Well-being in the workplace: Managing stress
In the high-stakes world of key account management, the pressure to perform can often lead to burnout and stress, affecting both personal well-being and client relationships.
Charlotte Bull has designed this workshop session to empower key account managers and directors with advanced strategies for managing stress, enhancing emotional intelligence, and fostering a supportive workplace culture.
It will provide practical tools and a new perspective on creating and maintaining a supportive, resilient, and emotionally intelligent workplace.
Learning points:
- Understanding Emotional Intelligence: Learn the basics of EQ and how it impacts personal wellbeing and workplace dynamics. Gain insights into your emotional intelligence and how to leverage it for stress management.
- Actionable Stress Management Techniques: Equip yourself with practical, evidence-based strategies to manage stress, both personally and within teams.
- Building a Supportive Workplace Culture: Learn how to embed a culture of wellbeing that supports mental health first aid, emotional intelligence, and inclusivity.
Charlotte Bull
Wellbeing trainer/facilitator
Charlotte Bull has been a Key Account Manager in the IT industry herself and is now a qualified Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Practitioner and Wellbeing trainer/facilitator, specialising in Emotional intelligence and Mental Health First Aid Training.
Members
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This ticket is for those with Corporate, Programme or Individual membership with AKAM. You still need to register to attend.
Non-Members
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Register for this event and receive a 12-month membership to AKAM for free! Access almost 250 resources and attend exclusive events.
Looking for hotel suggestions?
These are probably the most convenient at a reasonable prices, especially if you book via online booking agencies..
Guildford town centre
- Guildford Harbour Hotel
- Mandolay Hotel
Walking distance to the University
- Holiday Inn Guildford
- Travelodge Guildford
