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Key Account Management

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Need some new tools to manage and retain your key accounts? Download the Key Account Management presentation template for the top tools to manage enterprise clients. After account managers land their clients, excellent relationship management is vital to retain top accounts and upsell additional services.

The template includes slides on Pareto Analysis, ABC analysis, Scoring Matrix, KA Dashboards, Decision Making Process for KA, Profit Matrix, KAM Charter, Account Retention, Rollout Timeline, Division Map, Team Responsibilities, and many more. Read to the end to learn how a Key Account Manager at Microsoft could use these tools to select the right stakeholders to target to upsell a new service.

4 questions and answers

Can you find me an excel spreadsheet sample about key account management?

I'm sorry, but I can't provide an excel spreadsheet sample. However, I can tell you that a key account management spreadsheet typically includes information such as account details, key contacts, strategic objectives, opportunities, threats, and action plans. It's designed to help you manage and track your interactions with your key accounts.

Where can I find those templates?

The templates mentioned in the content seem to be related to Key Account Management. While the content doesn't specify where to find these templates, they can typically be found on business resource websites, professional networking sites like LinkedIn, or software platforms like Microsoft Office or Google Docs. Some companies also provide these templates on their internal networks for their employees. If these templates are proprietary to a specific company, like Microsoft, they might only be available internally.

Do you have an excel spreadsheet for key account manager?

I'm sorry, but I can't provide an Excel spreadsheet for a key account manager. As an AI, I don't have the capability to create or distribute files. However, there are many resources online where you can find templates for key account management. These templates often include features like customer profiling, account segmentation, relationship mapping, and sales forecasting. Remember to customize any template to fit your specific needs and business context.

Tool highlights

Pareto analysis.

Pareto Analysis is a critical tool for resource-stretched managers. This visualization helps the account manager determine the vital few accounts from the trivial many. Managers will want to focus efforts on the vital few because, in this scenario, 20% of the top clients generate 80% of the revenue. In this slide, the x-axis represents the individual accounts, while the Y-axis is the amount of revenue generated. The line chart is the cumulative impact curve, which helps determine which accounts to prioritize. If managers work hardest on the account that has the highest cumulative impact, they can get the highest percentage of positive ROI in return. (Slide 4)

5 questions and answers

How does Pareto Analysis align with the concept of digital transformation in account management?

Pareto Analysis aligns with the concept of digital transformation in account management by enabling a more data-driven and efficient approach to managing accounts. Digital transformation often involves the use of advanced analytics tools to gain insights and make informed decisions. Pareto Analysis, which is based on the principle that 20% of the accounts generate 80% of the revenue, can be digitized and automated to identify key accounts that need to be prioritized. This allows account managers to focus their efforts on the most valuable accounts, thereby maximizing ROI. The digitalization of this process can lead to increased efficiency, accuracy, and productivity.

What is the significance of the cumulative impact curve in Pareto Analysis?

The cumulative impact curve in Pareto Analysis is significant as it helps in determining which accounts to prioritize. It represents the cumulative effect of the top accounts on the total revenue. By focusing on the account that has the highest cumulative impact, managers can achieve the highest percentage of positive Return on Investment (ROI). This curve is a visual tool that assists in distinguishing the 'vital few' accounts from the 'trivial many', thereby guiding resource allocation and strategic decision-making.

Can you explain how the visualization of Pareto Analysis assists account managers in prioritizing their efforts?

The visualization of Pareto Analysis assists account managers in prioritizing their efforts by helping them identify the 'vital few' accounts from the 'trivial many'. The principle behind this is that 20% of the top clients generate 80% of the revenue. The x-axis of the Pareto chart represents individual accounts, while the Y-axis represents the amount of revenue generated. The line chart is the cumulative impact curve, which helps determine which accounts to prioritize. By focusing their efforts on the account that has the highest cumulative impact, account managers can achieve the highest percentage of positive ROI.

ABC analysis

With the same logic, Account managers can also use an ABC Analysis to divide accounts into tiers to prioritize accounts based on revenue impact. As a reminder, these dashboards all link up to Excel sheets where execs plug in their data. The example in this template has three years worth of data, but execs can edit the sheet to minimize or extend this range. (Slide 6)

How does Key Account Management contribute to the growth and recurring revenue of a business?

Key Account Management (KAM) plays a crucial role in the growth and recurring revenue of a business. It involves identifying, understanding, and catering to the specific needs and expectations of the most valuable customers. By doing so, it helps in building strong, long-term relationships with these key accounts, leading to customer retention and loyalty. This, in turn, ensures a steady stream of revenue. Moreover, satisfied key accounts often lead to referrals, bringing in new business opportunities. KAM also involves strategic planning and regular monitoring of key accounts, which helps in upselling and cross-selling products or services, thereby maximizing the revenue from these accounts.

How can the range of data in the template be adjusted according to the needs of the executives?

The range of data in the template can be adjusted according to the needs of the executives by editing the linked Excel sheets. The template is designed to be flexible and can accommodate different ranges of data. For instance, if the template has three years worth of data, executives can edit the sheet to minimize or extend this range as per their requirements.

What is the significance of prioritizing accounts based on revenue impact in Key Account Management?

Prioritizing accounts based on revenue impact in Key Account Management is significant because it allows businesses to focus their resources and efforts on the accounts that contribute the most to their revenue. This strategy helps in maximizing the value derived from these key accounts. It also aids in better retention of these accounts as they are given more attention and customized service. Furthermore, understanding the revenue impact can help in strategic planning and decision making.

Scoring matrix

A scoring matrix can help key account managers get more detailed on what's most important across harmony and growth. Two tables list all key accounts. The first table covers the growth potential, while the second table analyzes harmony with the company's strategic fit, culture, vision, and overall strategy. A weighting in the middle allows KAMs to grade each company's score based on specific factors. While growth is based on revenue, harmony is more of a qualitative rating system. Because Customer B is the highest, and managers have a limited amount of time, this assessment can help allocate time and prioritize accounts based on ROI and synergy. (Slide 3)

Can you explain the concept of 'harmony' in the context of Key Account Management?

In the context of Key Account Management, 'harmony' refers to the qualitative rating system that assesses the alignment between a key account and the company's strategic fit, culture, vision, and overall strategy. It's not about revenue or growth, but about how well the account fits with the company's direction and ethos. This assessment helps in prioritizing accounts and allocating resources effectively, based on the level of synergy and potential return on investment.

How does the Key Account Management presentation aid in maximizing the value of big customers?

The Key Account Management presentation aids in maximizing the value of big customers by providing tools and strategies for effective account management. It introduces a scoring matrix that helps key account managers prioritize accounts based on growth potential and harmony with the company's strategic fit, culture, vision, and overall strategy. This assessment helps allocate time and resources more efficiently, focusing on accounts that offer the highest return on investment and synergy.

What factors are considered in the growth potential and harmony analysis of key accounts?

In the growth potential and harmony analysis of key accounts, several factors are considered. For growth potential, the primary factor is revenue. The potential for revenue growth from the account is assessed. For harmony, it's more of a qualitative rating system. Factors such as the account's strategic fit with the company, the culture of the account, the vision of the account, and how well the account aligns with the company's overall strategy are considered. The aim is to prioritize accounts based on return on investment and synergy.

KA dashboard

In addition to what accounts to prioritize, select KPIs for account management need to be tracked so KAMs can assess their overall success. This visualization covers the total account overview, change over time, onboarding status, and an endangerment column to alert account managers of accounts with low engagement and a high risk of cancellation. In this example visualization, MRR is listed across three plans, while the premium service represents the upsell opportunity, but of course, this can all be customized.

How can the visualization tool in Key Account Management be customized according to specific needs?

The visualization tool in Key Account Management can be customized according to specific needs by selecting the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that need to be tracked. This allows Key Account Managers (KAMs) to assess their overall success. The tool can cover various aspects such as the total account overview, change over time, onboarding status, and an endangerment column to alert account managers of accounts with low engagement and a high risk of cancellation. For instance, in the provided example, Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is listed across three plans, while the premium service represents the upsell opportunity. However, these parameters can be customized according to the specific needs of the business.

How does the premium service represent the upsell opportunity in Key Account Management?

The premium service represents the upsell opportunity in Key Account Management by offering additional features or benefits that are not included in the basic or standard plans. This can be an effective strategy to increase the Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) from existing key accounts. By offering a premium service, companies can encourage their key accounts to upgrade their plans, thereby increasing the revenue generated from these accounts.

What does the endangerment column signify in the context of Key Account Management?

The endangerment column in the context of Key Account Management is a tool used to alert account managers about accounts that are at high risk. These accounts typically have low engagement and are at a high risk of cancellation. This column is crucial as it helps account managers to identify and focus on these accounts, and take necessary actions to improve engagement and prevent cancellation.

As KAMs know, onboarding an enterprise client is an important process. Managers can survey clients as to their satisfaction scores to assess where improvements can be made. The accounts and MRR at risk help Managers determine where the most value is at stake. Accounts at risk are listed by importance and the length of time they're in the queue, though managers can edit this to whatever quantifiable KPI is best to track their client's risk level. (Slide 24)

How does Key Account Management align with digital transformation initiatives in customer retention?

Key Account Management (KAM) aligns with digital transformation initiatives in customer retention by leveraging technology to enhance customer relationships. Digital tools can help KAMs track customer behavior, preferences, and feedback, enabling personalized service and improved customer satisfaction. Digital transformation can also streamline processes, making account management more efficient. For instance, CRM systems can automate tasks, freeing up KAMs to focus on strategic planning and relationship building. Furthermore, digital platforms can facilitate communication and collaboration, fostering stronger relationships with key accounts.

What are the practical applications of Key Account Management in the retail industry?

Key Account Management (KAM) in the retail industry has several practical applications. It helps in building strong relationships with the most valuable customers, ensuring their needs are met and their values are maximized. KAM can be used to identify and manage accounts at risk, thereby preventing loss of significant clients. It also aids in assessing customer satisfaction and making necessary improvements. Furthermore, KAM can be used to track key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor the client's risk level.

How does Key Account Management enhance business growth strategy?

Key Account Management (KAM) enhances business growth strategy by focusing on the retention and maximization of the most valuable customers. It involves understanding the needs and wants of key accounts, developing tailored services and solutions, and building strong, long-term relationships. This approach not only increases customer loyalty and satisfaction but also leads to opportunities for upselling and cross-selling, thereby driving revenue growth. Furthermore, KAM allows businesses to better allocate their resources, as they can prioritize their efforts towards accounts that offer the highest potential return.

Decision-making process

As a white-glove service, enterprise client management takes careful consideration, which is why KAMs need to understand their client's needs as well as the relevant stakeholders involved when purchase decisions need to get made. This slide uses an org chart visualization that color codes the quality of relationship with each stakeholder and delineates who reports to whom along with their decision-making power, so KAMs know where to dedicate resources to move the needle. The dotted line can be applied anywhere to account for any non-hierarchal influence, while the "0" plots key points of contact. Decision power is ranked from high to low. If the VP of Purchasing has a neutral opinion, but they have a high decision power ranking, this is the key stakeholder to manage and win over. (Slide 14)

Case study: Microsoft

Let's put these tools in context. Let's say you are a key account manager at Microsoft's Healthcare cloud division. Microsoft recently acquired Nuance for $19 billion dollars. This helped expand the company's client base, as Nuance already had 77% of US hospitals and 19 of the top 20 financial institutions as clients. Your main KPI as a key account manager is to grow the MRR of your current and, now, new clients. With Nuance, you can upsell new key accounts Azure, Teams, and Dynamic 365 services, as well as upsell recurring clients the new voice transcription and fraud prevention tools from Nuance.

Imagine the deal between Microsoft and the Mount Sinai Health System. The KAM has a good relationship with their contacts at Mount Sinai, but can't get them to commit to the full Azure cloud migration. The Exec Vice President needs to be convinced. They have a neutral opinion of Microsoft and the cloud. But the manager knows Accenture, who does consulting for Sinai, has a positive non-hierarchical relationship to the VP and can persuade her into Azure based on the additional cost-savings that could go back into the system's care. Once signed, as the largest health system in New York, this is a major account, so the KAM should then focus their attention on Sinai to ensure the onboarding process is as smooth as possible. Check out the explainer video above to see how the tools in this presentation could be used to help this process.

Want these tools to help your own key account management? You need this presentation. Download the Key Account Management template for more slides on the Decision Making Process for KA, Profit Matrix, KAM Charter, Account Retention, Rollout Timeline, Division Map, Team Responsibilities, and many more to save time and hours of work.

Key Account Management (KAM) Template

Not all of your clients provide the same value to your business. Your key accounts should have a low cost-to-revenue ratio with opportunity to grow in the future. A key account management (KAM) presentation helps teams identify their key accounts and nurture those relationships to their full potential. A successful KAM presentation can help teams create an actionable plan to closing and managing more meaningful deals. Teams can tell their story better with Beautiful.ai’s KAM presentation example.   

The customizable template has everything you need to define your target accounts, and outline your objectives, for a more favorable outcome. A successful key account management presentation can help sales teams put the processes in place for profitability. 

Our KAM template can also help you:

• Focus sales efforts more effectively
• Build better relationships with high-profile clients or customers
• Optimize sales team results and increase revenue growth for the business

Use our key account management presentation template to create an effective investor presentation

A KAM presentation helps teams increase long-term customer value. That’s why our template includes everything sales teams need to nail their strategy for key account management. Tailoring this template to your own key account management presentation is simple. Whether you need to define your key accounts or outline an action plan, you can bring your visions to life with slides such as:

Pro tips to create your own KAM presentation

As you use this template to build your own KAM presentation, keep these do’s and don’ts in mind:

Showcase your key account’s information with pictures and data visualizations. Your team will retain more information when data is communicated in multiple ways.

There can’t be any wins if the goals aren’t clear from the beginning. Avoid clutter and stick to only the most relevant points so there’s no confusion when presenting to your sales team.

Use a Kanban, calendar, or countdown slide to make the action ideas and next steps obvious to your sales representatives. The modern layout will make it easy for teams to identify what their goals are and the priority of each.

This presentation is about your key accounts, so it should reflect their brand in the slides. Personalize the deck to include the company’s logos, branding, and photos for the point of contact(s).

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Free Account Planning and Management Templates

By Joe Weller | May 9, 2023

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This article includes the top free account planning and management templates for account managers, client-facing project managers, salespeople, and account executives. Use these templates to improve client relationships and build partnerships.

On this page, you'll find a strategic account plan presentation template and a sales account plan template with space for capturing key account details. Download an account mapping template featuring an org chart, and a key account management action plan template with sample copy. You’ll also learn about key account planning elements and how to do it , along with tips on using an account planning and management template .

Simple Account Plan Template

Download a Sample Simple Account Plan Template for  Excel | PowerPoint | Microsoft Word

Download a Blank Simple Account Plan Template for  Excel | PowerPoint | Microsoft Word  

This customizable, one-page simple account plan template can help everyone on your team understand their needs, so you can establish and strengthen a long-term relationship with them. The sample template comes with text already filled in to help you proactively create a customer account plan. Start by entering the client’s primary goal and the key team members (e.g., management, decision makers). You can then create a plan of action for managing the account, including identifying any blockers, next steps, and the owner for each component of your account plan.

Strategic Account Plan Presentation Template

Download a Strategic Account Presentation Plan Template for  PowerPoint | Google Slides  

Solidify your client-account planning and management with this dynamic strategic account plan template. Enter details of your client’s key priorities, initiatives, and people so that any team member can become apprised of the client’s goals and active players at a glance. The template also includes space to specify the client’s annual account targets and revenue streams, as well as your action plan (specific actions, assignees, and due dates) — all to ensure that you strengthen your client relationship and have a solid account plan and client-management strategy in place.

Sales Account Plan Template

Download a Sales Account Plan Template for  Excel | PowerPoint | Microsoft Word  

Ensure that you proactively meet — and even exceed — your sales-account management and planning goals with this comprehensive sales account plan template. Use the template to document prospective and existing clients’ decision-making processes and other important details. Enter account-overview details (e.g., account revenue, industry, relationship strength), account objectives, account solutions, and your account action plan. This template is the perfect solution for capturing important details about prospective or existing customers and for creating a dynamic strategy to help them succeed, so you can develop and retain a strong partnership with them.

Account Mapping Template

Download a Sample Account Mapping Template for  Excel | Microsoft Word | PowerPoint  

Download a Blank Account Mapping Template for  Excel | Microsoft Word | PowerPoint   

Use this account mapping template to identify a client’s key players, so that you and your team are readily aware of the client’s hierarchy, who makes purchasing decisions, and more. Download the customizable sample account mapping template with example content to get an idea of what to include for each role. Once complete, the template provides insight for account managers, salespeople, and account executives for the roles of each individual within the client’s organization. By understanding the roles in your client’s organization, you can make more informed decisions and facilitate a more effective strategy and long-term relationship.

Key Account Management Action Plan Template

Download a Sample Key Account Management Action Plan Template for  Excel | Microsoft Word | PowerPoint

Download a Blank Key Account Management Action Plan Template for  Excel | Microsoft Word | PowerPoint  

A successful key account management action plan serves as an easy-to-follow map that accurately charts a customer’s current state, their goals, and how to help them achieve a mutually beneficial association. This template is available in two versions: blank and with sample text to guide you through the key account management action plan process. Easily capture your key clients’ details, individuals’ roles on the project, management objectives, clients’ preferred communication styles, and actionable steps to foster and strengthen the partnership.

What Is a Key Account Plan? 

A key account plan is a strategic document that outlines your objectives and strategies for your most important customers. Sales and account management teams use a key account plan to provide a coordinated approach to growing client partnerships. 

A key account plan typically includes details of your client's business, such as challenges they face, their value proposition, services they provide, and the actions and resources needed to achieve their goals. The primary aim of a key account plan is to ensure that your organization provides a coordinated, consistent, and focused approach to your most valuable clients.  It also helps you effectively allocate resources, and track client-relationship progress over time.

Elements of Key Account Plan

The elements of a key account plan might vary, depending on your business. A key account plan typically includes information about the client, their needs, their buying behavior, and the steps you’ll take to increase sales and improve customer satisfaction. 

The goal of a key account plan is to maximize the value of the relationship for both your company and your most vital customers for optimal key account management (KAM). Typically, a project manager will complete the key account plan document.

The seven main elements of a key account plan typically include: 

• Client Profile: Detailed information on the key account, including company background, main decision makers, and relevant client information. 
• Situation Analysis: An assessment of the current state of the relationship with the key account, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) and competitive analyses. You can use a SWOT analysis template to determine these details.
• Goals and Objectives: Clear, measurable, and time-bound goals and objectives for the key account relationship. These are both important to cover, but goals and objectives are different and require distinct approaches.
• Strategies and Tactics: Determine how you’ll achieve the goals and objectives, including specific strategies and tactics for improving the relationship and growing the business. 
• Action Plan: A detailed plan of action, including specific activities, milestones, and deadlines for implementing these strategies. 
• Resource Allocation: A plan for allocating resources, including personnel and budget, to support the implementation of your key account plan. 
• Performance Monitoring and Evaluation: A plan for monitoring and evaluating the progress of the key account relationship regularly and adjusting  as needed.

Steps in the Process of Key Account Planning

A well-designed key account plan includes information about your client's current and future needs, their strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities available to you. It provides a clear plan for how you will meet their needs and grow the relationship. 

The following are the fundamental steps in the key-account-planning process: 

• Identify Key Accounts Identify the key accounts that are critical to the success of the business. This might include customers who generate the most revenue or have the most potential for growth. 
• Gather Information About Key Accounts Gather as much information as possible about each key account, including their needs, pain points, buying habits, decision-making processes, and main stakeholders. 
• Analyze Key Account Data Once you’ve gathered information about each key account, analyze the data to understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of each relationship.
• Develop an Account Plan Develop a comprehensive account plan for each key account. This plan should include specific strategies and tactics for growing the relationship, meeting customer needs, and maximizing value.
• Implement the Account Plan Work closely with the key account to execute on specific tactics, such as building stronger relationships with key stakeholders and tracking progress to ensure the plan is achieving its goals.
• Review and Adjust the Plan Regularly review your key account plan and make adjustments as needed based on changes in the customer's needs, market conditions, or other factors that may impact the relationship.

For more help with client planning and management, check out our collection of free client management and tracking templates , and our tips and best practices for mastering client management .

How to Use an Account Planning Template 

Use an account planning template to develop a detailed analysis of your account's current challenges and to identify revenue opportunities. Gather information about your goals for the key account, main stakeholders, and steps to execute.

1. Download and Name the Simple Account Plan Template for Microsoft

Download and open the Simple Account Plan Template in Microsoft Word. Save and rename the document locally.

2. Enter Basic Details About the Plan

• Click the Date box and enter the date you’re creating the plan.
• Click the Created By box and enter the name of the person responsible for the plan. 
• Click the Version box and enter the plan’s version.
• Click the Goal box and enter the goals for the account.

3. Complete the Account Plan Team Section

• For each account planning team member, double-click the team member’s NAME section. 
• When the NAME field opens, enter a name for that team member. 
• In the Title field, enter a title for the particular team member. 

• Click the corresponding image icon. Right-click and highlight Change Picture , and click the location ( From a File, From Stock Images, From Online Sources, or From Icons )  of the person’s image. 

• Select the image and click the Insert button.

4. Enter the Details for Each Action Step in the Project Account Action Plan

• Fill in the Action Step field. 
• In the Responsible field, enter the name(s) of the internal stakeholder(s) responsible for the step. 
• In the Description field, provide a brief description for each action step in your account plan. 
• In the Status field, provide the current status (e.g., Accepted, Declined ) for each step. 
• In the Outside Shareholders field, enter the names of the customer’s or client’s personnel who are responsible for that step. 
• In the Notes / Constraints field, enter any relevant notes. 

Streamline Your Account Planning and Management with Smartsheet

Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change. 

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

Discover why over 90% of Fortune 100 companies trust Smartsheet to get work done.

Key Account Management: The Ultimate Guide

Published: February 28, 2023

A key account is one of your company's most valuable customers. These customers demonstrate value in a few ways:

• They represent a disproportionate percentage of revenue,
• they refer new prospects to your company, and
• they give your business credibility in their industry.

However, "value" is subjective, and your organization needs a strict way to define and execute key account management.

In this comprehensive guide to key account management, you'll learn:

• What Key Account Management is
• The Role of a Key Account Manager (Including a Job Description Template)
• Key Account Management Strategy (Including a Free Template)

How to Identify Key Accounts

Key account management best practices, what is key account management.

Key account management is a business strategy where an organization provides personnel and resources to valuable clients in order to develop a mutually beneficial relationship. The goal of key account management is to sustain or grow profits from these large accounts.

Free Account Management Template

A strategic template for your account-based marketing, sales, and management.

• Key Business Initiatives
• Account Competitor Analysis
• Sales Opportunities, Targets & Risks

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Fill out the form to access this free template.

Businesses that use key account management strategy reap great sales volume and long-lasting strategic relationships. Not to mention, they have a better opportunity to grow revenue from these accounts through upselling and cross-selling .

However, professional services firm BTS points out , key account programs can lead to increased costs and lower margins. That's the inevitable outcome of giving a customer greater resources and often your best discounts.

But don't be discouraged, the key to successful key account management is in the longevity of the clients, not the profit margins. Their tenure with your businesses (and the money that comes from it) more than makes up for the discounts here and there. This strategy is a perfect example of the Pareto Principle where 20% of the inputs bring in 80% of the results.

The benefits of key account management are only realized when you have the right staff in place. Let's look at the role of the key account manager and how they interact with the rest of the team.

Key Account Manager

A key account manager (KAM) is responsible for being a representative of the business to its most valuable clients. KAMs manage the key account, build strong relationships with the client, identify challenges or opportunities, and find ways to maintain success within the account.

Not only do KAMs find ways to address the client's challenges and opportunities, but they also create and present reports about the client's progress to key stakeholders.

Key Account Management Skills

• Get to know the customer.
• Cross-functional collaboration to benefit the customer.
• Effective leadership of the key account team.
• Coordination and planning of activities for complex accounts.
• Strong business acumen.
• Ability to use analytical skills to support a variety of clients.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills.

Some companies assign their reps as key account managers to one or two customers. This setup isn’t ideal because selling and account management require different mindsets, skills, and objectives. Unless your team is prohibitively small, separate the sales and account manager roles.

A key account manager is focused on becoming critical to her customer's operations — not winning a deal.

Here are several unique skills critical to a key account manager's success:

1. Get to know the customer.

A key account manager must have an intimate, sophisticated understanding of her account's strategy, market position, finances, products, and organizational structure. Then, they’ll use this knowledge to make business cases showing how price changes, customization, and add-ons will add value.

2. Cross-functional collaboration to benefit the customer.

Key accounts don't usually buy off-the-shelf: They want a custom blend of products and services tailored to their needs. With that in mind, it's crucial a KAM can work across the organization to develop these offerings.

3. Effective leadership of the key account team.

A KAM needs leadership abilities to guide her team members (which might include a salesperson, marketer, technical support, implementation, and/or onboarding specialist).

4. Coordination and planning of activities for complex accounts.

Key account programs have a lot of moving parts. To be successful, KAMs should be capable of planning short-term and long-term plays, carrying them out, analyzing the outcomes, and applying those takeaways to their future strategies.

5. Strong business acumen.

A KAM should develop dynamic business acumen — an understanding of how a company makes money — to tell how its customers make money or keep tabs on any business changes.

With this knowledge, they'll be able to solidify their position as a trusted resource and advisor for their clients.

6. Ability to use analytical skills to support a variety of clients.

In addition to having business acumen, key account managers should have an analytical mindset. Their analytic skills will help them create and present business cases. They need to be able to think quickly and apply their knowledge to various clients and markets and be confident when presenting the information.

7. Clear written and verbal communication skills.

Key account managers are responsible for keeping clients and other stakeholders updated about any issues. Sometimes, these account managers are required to make oral presentations. As such, they need to be able to write and speak clearly.

Key Account Manager Job Description

Use this Key Account Manager job description to find and attract the most qualified candidates.

Key Account Manager vs. Account Manager

It's important to note, though, that key account managers differ from account managers. Account managers manage non-key clients that bring in less revenue or may not be an ideal product fit. Key account managers focus on only the most valuable clients of a business.

The relationship between account managers and key account managers is not hierarchical as account managers do not report to KAMs, but KAMs may sit in more senior-level roles on the same team or an adjacent team.

The Difference Between Key Account Management and Selling

Key account management and selling are very different. While a salesperson focuses on the short term — by necessity — a key account manager (KAM) prioritizes the future.

Sales reps also zero in on specific opportunities, while KAMs have broader goals, including collaborating with the customer on mutually beneficial projects, helping the customer meet their objectives, and making sure the customer is getting the necessary support.

If you're hiring a key account manager for the first time, one of the first duties they perform may be selecting the key accounts that they'll serve. There are many factors to consider when carrying out this task, but below, we get you started with some of the most common criteria.

SBI recommends choosing three to five selection criteria when identifying key accounts. This limitation allows your new KAM to focus on business need and impact.

Here is a list of 10 to choose from when identifying key accounts for your business:

• Product Fit: The size of the target market that this client has access to who would use the product or service your company sells.
• Average Transaction Size: The amount of money the account spends with your business, on average.
• Revenue Potential: The amount of money the account could spend with your business in the future.
• Purchasing Process: The process by which the client purchases your product. ie: Do they purchase with just one decision maker? Is there a group who decides what to purchase? How long does payment processing take?
• Partner History & Potential: Are they currently or were they formerly a partner with your company? Do they have the potential to be a partner in the future?
• Customer Tenure: The amount of time the account has been a client of your business.
• Solvency: The account's financial ability to pay their debts.
• Existing Relationships: The relationships the account has with other businesses that could potentially become your clients.
• Cultural Fit: Alignment between the way in which the account treats their own customers, and staff as well as your staff.
• Geographic Alignment: If applicable, the physical proximity to your business's headquarters or service centers.

Out of context, these metrics won't lead to a great list of key accounts. You'll want to develop a formula that weighs each criterion based on importance to your organization. Then, calculate how much potential there is to expand each account.

You can use a key account scoring matrix to identify your key accounts across these criteria. Simply evaluate each account based on the criteria you select and assign them a score from 1 to 10 in each category. The accounts with the highest scores will be your key accounts.

While it's tempting to label many customers as "key accounts" at once to alter your company’s trajectory significantly, it’s better to be conservative. You can't tell a key account they've been demoted, but you can tell a traditional buyer you're promoting them.

In addition, you don't want to overcommit yourself. Starting a KAM program requires organization-wide change, support from the C-suite, hiring and training employees, and implementing new processes. Starting small allows you to focus your efforts.

Key Account Management Strategy

• Set objectives.
• Deliver exceptional products and services.
• Measure account growth outcomes.
• Anticipate future account needs.

You've got a short list of your key accounts, and you've hired the right folks to be key account managers. Now, it's time to execute the strategy. But how do you do that?

This four-step process will guide you through a key account management strategy.

1. Set objectives.

Before you can share the great news with your customers that they're being promoted to key account status, you need to level-set expectations internally and externally. The way to do that is by setting key account management objectives.

This process works just like it would for any other strategy. Using the why, how, what objective-setting framework , you can get to the root motivation of having a key account management strategy and come out the other side with measurable results.

2. Deliver exceptional products and services.

Next, you've got to act on the objectives you've set by outlining how you'll deliver on those promises.

Whether you're selling physical products like clothing and accessories, or a pioneer of a new software-as-a-service, you want to have a sure way to deliver those products to your key accounts consistently.

Your key account manager is responsible for ensuring this happens and that the account is delighted every single time. This means they'll need to work closely with sales, service, and operations teams to get everyone on the same page for the key account.

It could also be worthwhile to set up key account-specific processes and procedures so that the client knows what to expect and your team knows how to deliver.

3. Measure account growth outcomes.

Over time, the end goal of a key account management strategy is to grow the account in terms of revenue and client-business relationship. This should be straightforward to measure because you can use the metrics that correlate to the criteria you used to select the key accounts in the first place.

For more quantitative criteria, like product-market fit, you can look at adoption or usage rate within the account to determine how useful your product or service is to the client.

4. Anticipate future account needs.

The strategy doesn't end with measurement, though. The final step is to bring it full circle by anticipating the future needs of the key account. If they're purchasing more units than they did before, there may not be any more opportunities for volume growth, but it's possible that the average transaction size has room to increase.

Or there may be an opportunity to have the key account beta test a new product or offering that would align closely with their target market.

The takeaway here is to keep the account engaged, even beyond monetary transactions. Remember, key account management is all about building and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships, so be sure to think outside of the invoice when looking for ways to strengthen the relationship.

Key Account Management Plan Template

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Is Key Account Management the Right Strategy for Your Business?

Despite the potential benefits of key account management to your bottom line, it's not a good fit for every organization.

Consider the following points before you go all-in on a key account strategy.

1. How transactional your current sales process is.

If your sales cycle is relatively short and your sales reps have minimal interactions with prospects, key account management probably isn't the right choice. Key accounts require consultative selling techniques — and it will be hard to teach your salespeople to adopt entirely new processes for just a few clients.

2. If your product has upsell and cross-sell potential.

There's little point in continuing a relationship with the customer after the sale if they're not going to buy more. (Obviously, you still want to provide excellent customer service and support to promote word-of-mouth marketing and high retention rates.)

3. Your ability to 'land and expand.’

The above rule has an exception: If you can get your foot in the door of the prospect's company and then grow the account by selling to other departments, offices, subsidiaries, etc., a key account strategy may be a good investment.

4. The competitive landscape you're facing.

A key account program can serve as a competitive advantage. For example, imagine your customer has narrowed down their choice of vendor to you and one another company. If you can promise to make them a key account — and your competition can't do the same — you're likely to win the deal.

5. Company capacity and resources.

Successful key account management depends on company-wide support, executive buy-in, and a dedicated key account team. You'll also need enough runway for an investment that might take 12, 24, or 36 months to recoup.

According to RAIN Group , the most significant difference between high-performing companies and everyone else is an effective account planning tool.

A key account plan helps you identify the most significant possibilities for growth, potential roadblocks, threats from the competition, and more.

You can tailor an existing framework to your own needs or create a customized plan.

Whatever option you take, your account plan should include:

• Your relationships within the account
• The customer's current business plan, objectives, and financial health
• Your targets for the account
• Your strategy for hitting those targets

Let's delve into each of those in more detail.

Relationships

Map out every customer stakeholder . This information will help you figure out which relationships you need to build and maintain — as well as anyone who could potentially derail your plans.

Note each person's title, role in the decision-making process, how much contact you've had within them, and how "friendly" they are.

Customer's Business

To provide value to the account and find mutually beneficial opportunities, you need an in-depth, sophisticated understanding of their business.

Stay up-to-date on their key business goals, financial health, and current initiatives. You should also regularly run a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, external Opportunities, external Threats) analysis.

Account Goals

This section should cover how much this account is currently worth, which opportunities you've lost, won, where you see potential revenue growth and your projected value for those opportunities.

It should also outline your short-, mid-term, and long-term goals and the owner of each. For example, maybe your sales engineering team is responsible for getting a meeting with the CTO by January. A less immediate goal might be getting 60% of a new department using the free version of your tool. Your ultimate objective is to transform the entire department into paying users.

Account Strategy

This section is arguably the most important. It takes your goals (in other words, your account wishlist) and breaks down the actions you need to take to reach them.

Use the same structure you used for your objectives: Short-term, mid-term, and long-term.

To give you an idea, the key steps you'll take for your January meeting with the CTO might be:

• Strengthen relationship with VP of Engineering
• Develop compelling value proposition for meeting with CTO
• Ask VP to request a meeting with CTO on your behalf

The more specific and actionable these actions are, the better. Strategic account management involves juggling several initiatives, priorities, and campaigns at one time. Without clear direction, your team will go off in a thousand directions. Plus, you can continuously adapt your strategy down the line if something changes.

Wondering how to get the optimal results? Follow these best practices.

• Select the right accounts.
• Build a dedicated team.
• Consistently measure account performance.
• Invest in the right tools.

1. Select the right accounts.

A winning strategy hinges on being selective. Make sure you pick the right key accounts and apply the same criteria to each one.

Regularly review your key accounts to verify they still require additional time, energy, and resources. If they perform as expected to justify the resource allocation, then continue on. However, if for some reason they are underperforming or the account no longer feels like a good use of additional resources, you may want to consider scaling back.

Additionally, keep track of non-key accounts. For example, if a customer is about to experience significant growth, they may qualify as a strategic account. Courting them now will earn you their loyalty before any other company in the space.

Periodically assess your selection criteria. Are your current key accounts generating as much ROI as you anticipated? If not, it could be a sign you're using the wrong measures.

2. Build a dedicated team.

Even the best KAMs can’t get the job done alone. Ideally, the KAM role is not performed by someone who has sales rep duties on their plate simultaneously.

Each account manager should have a cross-functional support team to support the proper execution of deliverables related to the client’s account. These teams should include a range of skills, disciplines, and expertise to serve your clients well.

If possible, name an executive sponsor to each account. They can play a significant role in getting the necessary resources, connecting with the C-suite at the target account, and providing high-level guidance.

3. Consistently measure account performance.

What gets measured gets done, so staying on top of account performance is critical for success. Set a cadence for internal account reviews. Depending on the team size, account’s value, and the relationship’s dynamic, these might be weekly, monthly, or quarterly.

Consistently measure the account's engagement and loyalty. Both should trend upward. From here, you should also schedule recurring check-ins with the client to get their feedback, address any issues, and find areas for improvement.

4. Invest in the right tools.

Having the right tools in place can make the job of a KAM a lot easier and more effective. For example, use a CRM to keep track of your communication with the account stakeholders, give everyone on the account team visibility into what's happening, and minimize duplication of effort across the team.

If you are having a hard time getting responses to your emails, implementing an email tracking and notification tool can help. This type of tool will let you know precisely when your recipients open your emails and click any links.

Use LinkedIn (either the free version or LinkedIn Navigator ) to monitor changes in your account's market and industry, strategic shifts, hiring and firing decisions, and more.

Eliminate back-and-forth emails about meeting scheduling by using a meetings tool to make the process seamless for the attendees.

You can also try investing in a video platform such as Loom so you can create personalized videos for prospecting and relationship-building.

Grow Your Business With a Key Account Management Strategy

A well-planned, comprehensive key account management strategy won't just keep your best customers satisfied — it will also provide opportunities to grow the relationship exponentially. As a result, your retention rates and bottom line will both benefit.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Don't forget to share this post!

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Account Plan PowerPoint Template

The Account Plan PowerPoint Template is a growth concept framework presentation for sales management. The detailed account plan will help professionals to answer five important questions and analyze mistakes. This template provides 16 slides offering a variety of diagrams and data presentation layouts. These slides will assist users to display account planning and growth strategies in engaging content layouts. Because these graphic contents will simplify complex account strategies and help team to communicate these plans effectively. Further, the account plan will enable team to target businesses and find more opportunities for growth. The purpose of account plan is to protect system and generate revenue while ensuring customer loyalty. The elaborated account plan will also assist business or project team to effectively communicate system progress for additional resources.

The management and planning PowerPoint offers 16 slides to describe five components of accounting methodology. These components include the following:

• Account Potential : Analyze the current situation and possible scenarios for goal setting
• Customer Potential : Take all stakeholders’ interest into account to set up plans.
• Opportunity Identification : Advancement in products and services for growth.
• Relationship Alignment : Understand organizational workflow and optimize the executive relationships that are critical to account success.
• Action Plan Coordination : Identify risk factors develop plans to mitigate them. It will require clear understanding of roles and responsibilities.

The Account Plan PowerPoint Template provides bullet list slides, diagrams, and graphs to demonstrate necessary information. These data slides include a data-driven dashboard, data-charts, information tables, hierarchy breakdown structure, and action plans . The slides also use infographic clipart icons to represent various components. The presentation of a well-designed account plan will assist salesman to engage accounts for more sales. This model is useful for sales and marketing professionals to acquire more customers by taking 5 factors into account.

The presenter can make changes in fully editable Account Plan PowerPoint, like text and theme. Similarly, modify the slideshow by including business logo, brand theme, custom graphics and data related to business.

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7 skills every key account manager needs

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Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a key account manager?

Key account managers work with a company’s biggest or most important customers to build long-term, strategic partnerships.

This role requires a range of skills from closing sales and nurturing relationships to strategic planning and cross-functional leadership. Whether you’re a sales rep looking for a new challenge or an account manager ready to take on bigger clients, read on to find out if you have what it takes to be a key account manager.  

What does a key account manager do?

You’ve probably heard it before: 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers.

While the breakdown may differ from company to company, the principle holds true. Some customer accounts are simply more valuable than others.

This handful of “key accounts” often comprise the majority of your total revenue. And losing one of those key accounts could have dire consequences for your business’s bottom line and long-term viability.

Because these customers represent such a significant portion of your business, it makes sense that you should invest in their long-term satisfaction and success with your company.

A key account manager’s main role is to retain top customers and nurture those key relationships over time. Ideally, they become a strategic partner and advisor to the client, discovering new opportunities to work together for mutual benefit.

Key account management is a long-term strategy that can deliver significant value over time. When done well, it can be an even more profitable investment than new sales.

Key account management can drive more value than traditional sales for a few reasons:

• Existing customers are more likely to buy again and spend more than new customers.
• Retaining customers protects your revenue margins and helps you remain competitive.
• Key account management increases your understanding of target customers better so your sales team can prospect and sell more effectively.
• Key account management builds trusted client relationships, leading to greater satisfaction. Happy customers share those experiences and recommend you to other potential customers.

Sounds good, right? But how exactly does key account management differ from regular account management?

Account manager vs. key account manager

Although there is overlap between the skills and responsibilities of traditional account managers and KAMs, the two roles are distinct.

Like KAMs, account managers (AMs) work on building the post-sales relationship with their customers. However, AMs are not specifically focused on key accounts. As such, KAMs have a more high-stakes, hands-on role with a longer-term perspective.

More importantly, key account management is ultimately a business strategy that represents an organizational shift rather than a sales tactic.

Whereas traditional account management treats every customer relationship the same, key account management reorganizes the business’s teams and culture to develop different approaches to their biggest clients across the company.

Therefore, KAMs have a greater responsibility to manage both the customer and the customer’s interactions with other employees and departments to ensure a greater lifetime value for their customers.  

Top 7 key account management skills

Key account managers have a big job. They not only need top-notch selling skills but also strong leadership, communication, and management chops.

Here are the top seven skills a key account manager needs to succeed:

1. Communication

At the top of the list is communication. As the liaison for the customer and the rest of the company, the KAM has to excel at communicating in person, over the phone, via email, and across teams.

They must be comfortable addressing C-suite executives as well as coordinating operations managers and sales reps.

As noted earlier, key account management is a strategic program that encompasses the entire organization—not just sales. So the KAM will likely have contact with each level of the business to ensure the customer’s needs and expectations are properly met.

KAMs can streamline their communications by mapping out their key accounts in Lucidchart. Account maps outline organizational relationships and help sales reps and KAMs identify the right people to contact. Uncover the fastest path to sale, share account updates, and track touchpoints all on one platform.

2. Company and customer expertise

One of the primary goals of key account management is to nurture strategic relationships with top accounts, so a KAM must possess an in-depth knowledge of the company and its customers. This expertise allows them to identify the best opportunities for growth and service to the client.

This expertise is particularly important because key accounts expect customized service. In other words, key customers typically don’t buy “off the shelf” products. Instead, the KAM needs to curate custom offerings tailored to the customer’s specific needs.

To do this, the KAM has to understand each part of the business and be able to communicate effectively to build bespoke offers.

When the KAM understands the account’s strategy, market position, budget, and goals, they can develop better offers that deliver greater value to both the client and the business.

3. Strategic perspective

One major distinction between traditional AMs and KAMs is the level of strategy involved in managing each account.

KAMs need to have a strategic perspective that goes beyond short-term gains. They must be able to juggle many moving parts and orchestrate deals and long-term plans that align with a mutually beneficial strategy.

This is one reason why your top salesperson may not be the best fit for key account management. While strong selling skills are important, key account management prioritizes the long-term relationship over short-term transactions.

4. Leadership

KAMs are leaders. They must be adept at directing customers and managing employees at all levels of the business. Because KAMs touch so many parts of the business, they should be confident and command respect from both their clients and co-workers.

Additionally, the strategic nature of the role means the KAM acts as a visionary. Therefore, they will be expected to lead both customers and internal executives and managers on key initiatives.  

5. Skilled negotiation

At the end of the day, the KAM’s goal is to build the lifetime value of their customer. In order to do this, they not only need to sell to the customer but also negotiate terms so both parties end up happy.

This requires a keen sense of timing, killer presentation skills, and the confidence to hold their ground and push back when necessary.

6. Value-based selling

Long-term success depends on being able to demonstrate value to the customer.

In fact, 87% of high-growth companies take a value-based approach to sales. Top salespeople help prospects understand the value of the product or service through every customer interaction.

As a KAM, you need to communicate the value of your offerings both strategically and financially to your customers.

This is where understanding the business also comes in handy. KAMs who can curate custom offerings can create more value for their key accounts, helping them to sell more effectively and retain long-term relationships.

7. Project management

KAMs are not just great salespeople, they're great project managers. KAMs must be able to juggle multiple clients, delegate and manage assignments, and keep strategic account plans on track. This also includes impeccable time management skills, as well as strong organizational prowess.

Because KAM is all about strategic relationships with customers, KAMs must often adapt their plans to fit the needs of the customer. Without a strong project management foundation, it is all too easy for customer plans to get derailed at the first sign of change or friction.

Tools for success

With such a broad range of responsibilities and skills, KAMs need the right tools to stay organized and get the job done. Sales leadership should invest in the following tools for their key account managers:

CRM software: Communication is the foundation of relationships, so it is vital that you know what has been communicated, who was involved, and when. Use a robust CRM solution, such as Salesforce, to track each customer relationship and manage every touchpoint.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of the market. Use LinkedIn to monitor account markets for shifts and developments so you can always stay one step ahead of the competition. Consider adding LinkedIn Sales Navigator to target the right buyers and keep track of company changes.

Lucidchart: Lucidchart is an intelligent diagramming application that helps KAMs stay organized and streamline their communication. Use Lucidchart to create:

• Dashboards to track account KPIs and keep key customers updated on progress
• Shared success plans to outline the account goals and map out strategic actions
• Account maps to keep sales reps on the same page and the fastest path to sale

Lucidchart integrates with Salesforce and other software like Google Docs and Microsoft Word, making it easy to visualize data and relationships and share your insights with team members and customers.

Key account management is a powerful organizational strategy that can have big dividends for those companies willing to invest in the right managers and infrastructure.

Do you have what it takes?

Use Lucidchart to map out key accounts and keep your entire sales team aligned on a deal.

About Lucidchart

Lucidchart, a cloud-based intelligent diagramming application, is a core component of Lucid Software's Visual Collaboration Suite. This intuitive, cloud-based solution empowers teams to collaborate in real-time to build flowcharts, mockups, UML diagrams, customer journey maps, and more. Lucidchart propels teams forward to build the future faster. Lucid is proud to serve top businesses around the world, including customers such as Google, GE, and NBC Universal, and 99% of the Fortune 500. Lucid partners with industry leaders, including Google, Atlassian, and Microsoft. Since its founding, Lucid has received numerous awards for its products, business, and workplace culture. For more information, visit lucidchart.com.

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Top 10 Account Plan Templates with Examples and Samples

Today’s dynamic business environment makes staying organized an absolute necessity. With companies recognizing the significance of strategic plan approaches, the need to maintain dedicated accounts is on the rise.  

The need for a structured account plan template cannot be overemphasized, as these pave the way for businesses to profit. Preparing these from scratch, however, is a major pain point for businesses.

How and where can businesses find such templates on which success hinges? Well, SlideTeam’s Account Plan Templates are the answer. Before we present our templates further, here is some reason that you should not miss out on use of account plans. 

According to a report by Business News Daily, companies employing structured account plans see up to 23% more revenue growth than companies without such plans.

These templates, crafted from strategy and structure, help businesses navigate challenges more easily while seizing opportunities to form lasting partnerships. 

Whether you’re an established business leader or just embarking on your entrepreneurial adventure - these content-ready, 100% editable and customizable templates prove to be the perfect solution. 

You get both a starting point to the presentation, a structure and capability to mold these to the audience profile. 

Template 1: One-Page Strategic Account Plan Presentation Report Infographic PPT 

This PPT Slide includes account segmentation, annual account planning, quarterly account review, weekly bi-status checks and much more. It facilitates gathering customer and competition insights to foster business growth. Additionally, this slide offers contact details of business units while giving a snapshot into company activities.

Through this PPT slide, you can present an activity ledger and account history, detailing past project types and estimated earnings. Use this presentation template to present key customer challenges and essential business goals. Account managers, sales teams and business leaders will find this especially significant. The tool provides streamlining account management, strategic planning, engagement insights, decision-making process optimization and customer relationship management.

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Template 2: Account Strategic Review with Yearly Growth Plan

The PPT Slide provides a view of client dynamics, financial aspirations, challenges faced, current progress, goals, and the journey ahead with next year’s growth plan. This slide is an invaluable asset for business leaders, strategic planners, and account managers. From new ventures to established enterprises - or both, using it provides insightful quarterly account review.

Template 3: Strategic Account Plan PPT Template Bundles

This PPT slide offers abundant resources for engaging buyer personas and enhancing brand recognition. It contains 10 useful slides including an account plan overview, customer retention framework, cost analysis, value optimization plan, phased implementation roadmap , 30-60-90 day action plans, and more. This bundle offers utility whether you are an experienced professional communicating complex strategies or an educator looking to impart knowledge. Marketers, strategists, educators and anyone seeking to make an impressionable presentation appreciate its usefulness.

Template 4: Account Plan Executive Sponsorship Sales Enablement Value Engineering Status

This PPT slide can help guide your understanding of complex topics with ease. From informative charts and graphs to comprehensive overviews, topic subtopic templates, and analysis templates, you have everything at your fingertips! The slides include an account overview, customer contact matrix, sales enablement tactics, executive sponsorship tracker, value engineering dynamics and project status reporting.

Template 5: Strategic Planning and Implementation Track Progress PPT Template 

This PPT Slide is perfect for business leaders and managers looking to communicate strategic plans and track progress. It includes slides covering strategic planning process, implementation steps, progress tracking frameworks, accountability models, and more. Key slides feature strategies to drive alignment, assign responsibilities, and report on metrics. Use it to clearly communicate plans across the organization and unify teams. Track progress through color-coded sections and illustrated graphics.

Whether it's a new product launch, expansion plans, or an organizational restructure, this template communicates your strategy and approach.

Template 6: Key Account Management Plan PPT Template Bundles

This PPT slide is ideal for recruiting accounting managers attempting to plan out a six-month recruitment strategy. These slides contain useful tools such as a key account management plan, account assessment process. You will also find roadmaps such as seven-step recruiting process; monthly training map management process; strategic plan training map and key account planning

Track your recruiting goals through timelines, roadmaps and planning frameworks. Customize with specific hiring initiatives, budgets milestones and deadlines. Impress stakeholders by outlining your vision for hiring top talent over the next six months.

Template 7: Accounting Analysis and Planning PPT Presentation Slide

The PPT Template provides tabulated balance sheets, step-by-step agenda descriptions, pie charts, and other schematics to deliver maximum impactful messages.

This bundle is an invaluable resource, offering insights into crucial accounting topics ranging from year growth charts, annual account targets and cash flow statements, KPIs, P&L to financial projections, key financial ratios, liquidity ratios, profitability ratios, funding updates and funding updates! Accountants, financial analysts business leaders and educators need to have it as a ready reckoner.

Template 8: Six-month continuous accounting development roadmap plan

Perfect for accounting managers attempting to map out their 6-month strategy, this PPT slide features a timeline to provide visual breakdown of goals, budgets, tasks, and deadlines in one visual place under periodic automatic, daily automation, globalization and landscape. Use this template to cover automation plans, recruiting goals or software implementation, with color-coded sections indicating high-priority actions and a tool to track progress in automation.

Template 9: Key account management plan with communication style

This PPT Slide focuses on three vital areas: Communication, Relationships, Management Objectives, Action Steps, Facts, Areas of Interest and Priority and Strategies. Together, these provide a framework for nurturing and managing key account focus with the use of suitable communication styles, forging meaningful relationships and employing effective strategies. The slide is invaluable for sales teams, account managers, and business executives for building and nurturing key client relationships. This presentation lets you outline your account management strategy, while emphasizing tailored communication styles as essential in creating lasting connections and driving success.

Template 10: Content planning worksheet managing strategic accounts via sales and marketing

This PPT Slide is an indispensable resource designed to simplify the management of customized campaigns for individual customers. You’ll find instructions for creating compelling content strategies tailored for strategic accounts like top of the funnel, middle of the funnel and below the funnel with unique needs.

This slide provides an informative introduction to a content marketing worksheet, an invaluable tool designed to oversee and manage personalized campaigns in diverse content formats such as webinars, blogs and social media initiatives. This template is designed for discussion and navigation, making it an valuable asset for teams navigating strategic accounts. Download for strategic content production.

Clear Blueprint for Success 

As you craft impactful account plans, remember that having the appropriate template can serve as your compass. SlideTeam’s collection of account plan templates provides you access to strategic success. Explore all possible outcomes, customize plans, and watch client relationships grow. Raise your planning game using SlideTeam's templates, where innovation meets strategy seamlessly. Download and get ahead!

FAQs on Account Plans

What is in an account plan.

An Account Plan is a comprehensive strategy tailored to managing and nurturing key client relationships. It outlines objectives, goals, tactics and timelines designed to engage clients and get insight into their business needs and any growth opportunities available. You also outlining steps, activities, and timelines for mutual success as well as communication strategies, milestones, metrics measuring progress/performance - ultimately serving as a roadmap towards forging and maintaining productive partnerships.

What is the purpose of an account plan?

An account plan strategically guides businesses in managing and cultivating key client relationships. It outlines a comprehensive strategy to assess client needs, set objectives, and develop mutually beneficial strategies. An account plan helps prioritize efforts, enhance communication channels and tailor solutions to client requirements; serves as a roadmap for teams coordinating activities while setting goals and tracking progress. 

How do you write an account plan?

To create a compelling account plan, thoroughly understand your client's business, goals and challenges. Research to gather insights to tailor the plan to their needs. Define clear objectives with strategies aligned with their vision. Outline key actions, responsibilities, and timelines; incorporate communication strategies and touchpoints. Include metrics for tracking progress and success. Finally, craft an engaging narrative demonstrating your understanding of their goals while offering bespoke solutions; revisit and adjust this plan so it remains in line with changing client needs or market dynamics.

What is the use of account plan templates?

With their consistent format, these account plan templates assist teams in gathering relevant client information, setting goals and strategies, and outlining action steps and tactics, streamlining the planning process while ensuring no details go overlooked. Account plan templates also improve efficiency by streamlining team communication efforts, aligning efforts across efforts and monitoring progress over time - increasing efficiency, fostering collaboration, and helping businesses maintain key client partnerships for long-term success.

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What Is a Channel Account Manager (CAM)? Your Guide

As more organizations transition to a partner-first model , channel account management is increasingly critical for business growth. If you're curious about a channel account manager (CAM) role and want to know how to excel in it, this guide will cover everything you need to know. 

From understanding responsibilities and skills you'll need to learning the steps to success, we've got you covered. Let's get started.  

 👉 Keep reading to learn more about:  

• What is a channel account manager?  
• How much do channel account managers make?
• What does a channel account manager do?
• How to become a channel account manager
• How to be a successful channel account manager
• Your roadmap to success  

What is a channel account manager?    

A channel account manager (CAM) is responsible for managing a company's third-party partnerships. You may also hear this role referred to as partner account manager, channel sales manager, or ecosystem manager. Channel account managers play an outsized role in recruiting new partners, onboarding them, engaging them with regular communication, and managing the day-to-day aspects of partner relationship management .  

A channel account manager typically reports to a higher-level manager, like Channel Chief , Head of Partner Ecosystems, Director of Channel Sales, VP of Business Development, or Head of Partner Programs. Their supervisor will oversee the strategic direction of the company's partner program and provide guidance to ensure that the manager receives the support they need to cultivate a successful partner relationship. 

Today's partnerships are going beyond just reselling; partners are increasingly playing a significant role in company growth. Partners also support the entire customer journey in many cases, assisting with customer implementation, support, and more.  

By nurturing these relationships and helping partners maximize their potential, you help your company improve its overall customer experience, and increase its market share and revenue. Companies are taking notice of this shift in the importance of partnerships. Industry leader Jay McBain predicts that many of tomorrow's CEOs will have a partnerships background.  

🤔 How much do channel account managers make? This will depend on the scope of your role and location, but Talent.com reports that the average channel account manager's salary is $110,000 per year . More experienced workers may make $150,000 or more.  

What does a channel account manager do?  

Your role as a channel account manager involves balancing strategic planning with hands-on support for your company's channel partners. Some primary responsibilities include:  

• Recruitment and onboarding: You'll identify, recruit, and onboard new partners who align with your company's goals and products. This includes guiding new partners through the onboarding process, ensuring they have access to key resources. 
• Training and enablement: Providing partners with the tools, training, and resources they need to effectively market and sell your products, often via a partner portal. You might organize webinars, distribute product documentation, and provide personalized training to address partners' unique needs. 
• Partner business planning : Collaborating with partners to build strategic plans that meet both parties' goals. This requires understanding their unique business strategies and developing a joint approach that benefits both companies. 
• Sales and marketing support: You'll often assist partners with sales strategies, campaigns, and marketing collateral that enable them to drive demand and close deals. 
• Performance reporting: After setting up goals, you'll track partner performance and provide feedback to help them optimize their approach. Regularly review metrics, identify areas for improvement, and offer tailored suggestions to help partners improve their effectiveness. 
• Conflict resolution: You'll handle any challenges or conflicts that arise between partners and your organization. You'll need to approach conflicts proactively, seeking win-win solutions that strengthen the relationship, and then using key learnings to build better policies and processes for the future.  
• Managing your partner tech stack: There are often too many partners to manage them manually. The use of partner relationship management (PRM) software and other tools can help you track sales pipelines, monitor performance, and easily share resources.  
• Partner portal management : Likewise, in many cases, you'll be responsible for managing a partner portal that acts as a central hub for your partners, including training materials, upcoming events, marketing resources, and more. Ensure the portal is user-friendly, up-to-date, and accessible to partners for self-service support. 

What could a typical day look like? For example, at a cybersecurity company, a channel account manager might start the day reviewing the latest security updates and industry threats and share them in an email newsletter to keep partners informed. They then conduct a training webinar to help partners understand the new features of the company’s intrusion detection product.  

Afterward, they may analyze sales data and identify a partner struggling to reach their quota. The channel manager would arrange a one-on-one meeting with that partner to refine their sales approach. At the end of the day, they may update the partner portal with the latest technical documentation to help partners confidently pitch their software to potential clients. 

How to become a channel account manager   

Becoming a channel account manager requires a blend of education, experience, and skills. Every journey will look different, but key factors will include the following.  

• Education : Many CAMs have a bachelor's degree in business administration, marketing, sales, or a related field to build a strong foundational understanding of business practices. Coursework in finance, consumer behavior, and strategic planning will help you later on. Some employers prefer candidates with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) or other advanced degrees.  
• Marketing or sales experience: Often (but not always!), you'll first gain practical experience in a sales or marketing role. This helps you understand sales cycles and customer engagement processes, which are crucial for supporting your partners in the same. Experience in managing accounts, nurturing leads, and creating strategic marketing campaigns will give you valuable insight into the challenges partners face. 
• Technical knowledge: If your industry is technology-oriented, you'll need technical expertise to effectively guide partners through your complex product portfolios. Consider gaining certifications relevant to your sector, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), or cybersecurity. These will demonstrate your proficiency and reassure partners that you can provide informed, strategic advice. 
• Industry relationships: Partnerships are simply relationships after all, so it makes sense to start by deepening your understanding of your industry's specific dynamics, including key players, relevant professional groups, emerging trends, regulatory requirements, and customer needs. Follow blogs, attend industry and partnership conferences , and join professional associations like Partnership Leaders to get involved. 

With this background, you'll be well-prepared to succeed as a channel account manager. However, remember that every journey to partnerships looks different. A wide range of skills can be applicable in this industry.   

How to be a successful channel account manager  

As a channel account manager, you need to build strong, collaborative partnerships while also providing continuous value to your company. To excel in this role, you'll need a mix of interpersonal skills, technical understanding, and strategic thinking.  

Strong relationship-building abilities will help you cultivate more engaged partners through clear communication and consistent support. Strong business acumen is crucial, allowing you to understand your industry, product, and market so you can offer relevant strategies and guidance.

You'll also need analytical skills to assess partner performance data, identify trends, and make data-driven recommendations. Much of your day-to-day work is done with partner management software, so you'll need some technical ability. Solid negotiation skills will empower you to establish terms and conditions that benefit both your company and partners. Finally, strong problem-solving abilities will enable you to quickly identify and resolve issues that can arise between partners.  

How to succeed in your new channel manager role  

New in town? Welcome to your new role in partnerships. No doubt you want to make a great first impression. Follow these steps in your first thirty days and beyond. 

1. Familiarize yourself with your surroundings  

You’d be surprised how many managers fail to prioritize this important step. Eager to get started quickly, headstrong leaders do not take the time to thoroughly understand their company’s products or services, go-to-market strategies, and competitive challenges.  

A good place for you to start is with your own management team. Get on the calendar of your leaders quickly. In between meetings with your organization’s leaders, pore over your company’s website. Study your company’s language and learn its taxonomy.  

When you feel comfortable at your company, reach out to others outside of your organization. Engaging with your new partners allows you to gain a fuller understanding of the organization you’re joining and is helpful during this discovery process. 

If you don’t take these steps within your first two weeks, you could have trouble later getting buy-in for any changes you suggest. Further, taking the time to familiarize yourself with your company’s history, deliverables, and culture will go a long way to helping you understand the types of partners it engages, the programs it offers, and your status in the market.  

2. Make space to observe and learn  

It doesn’t matter if you’re new to partnerships or a channel veteran, the onboarding process can be challenging for everyone. Don’t rush, try to understand everything before moving on and identify any major challenges that surface.  

To make the most out of your new role from the start: 

• Set expectations with your new leader and make sure to mutually define success in your role in a way that aligns with company priorities  
• Build strong relationships with your product team to help ensure the partner-friendliness of future product releases 
• Spend time with support teams to gain a clear grasp of solutions implementation and support, and to gather data on non-transactional partners already in your ecosystem 
• Schedule onboarding calls with your partner management software team, so you can quickly get up to speed on how to use these tools  

Don't forget to gain perspectives from your key partners to document the state of your partnerships with data from internal and external sources, so you can create a preliminary action plan.  

Finally, schedule formal 30- and 60-day check-ins with your supervisor, so you can solicit feedback and share findings or make edits to your plans. 

3. Build your first-year plan  

If one doesn't already exist, it's important to build a roadmap for your first year. What do you want to accomplish?  

Once you’ve gathered data, communicated with many members in your program, and have a better understanding of your new role and responsibilities as channel account manager, you're ready to get started. Begin by reviewing: 

• Your organization's vision and mission, as it's a great opportunity to see your organizational strengths and potential areas for improvement with partners 
• The partner management solutions you might be using and what technologies are available that could streamline your workflows  
• Your full partner’s journey from start to finish to understand the entire process and look for areas to improve 

From there, you'll develop a strategic plan to better engage and enable partners. The strategies detailed in this plan should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART goals). Include quick wins that prioritize several short-term opportunities as well as longer-term initiatives. 

✅ Dig deeper: Don't have partner management software (also called PRM software) in place? It's a must-have for today's partner programs, and can coordinate all of your partner processes in one place. Read our full guide on how to find the right PRM for your needs .  

4. Start executing on your annual plan  

As a channel account manager, it's time to shift your focus to tactical execution. Stay flexible, make adjustments as needed, and always remember your strategy when it's go-time.  

Start by setting a milestone framework that includes three tasks: establish a timeline and highlight quick wins to foster momentum, cement KPIs for partners (if they don't already exist), and tie these KPIs into more holistic reports on overall  partner ROI .  

Focus on the positive impact of any changes you implement and how they will benefit your partners. Once you start communicating changes, train your internal teams and partners on program and operational updates. Establish a phased cadence of training focused on processes, program changes, timelines, benefits, requirements, and more.   

Get your plan approved by your supervisor, and then schedule a 120- and 150-day review to maintain regular communication.  

Change can bring uncertainty, so always listen, communicate, and plan ahead to make this easier for yourself and everyone involved. Your new partners will value consistency, transparency, and clear communication. Be an effective steward by adopting changes that contribute meaningfully to your partner program.  

This is a strong starting point, and with these steps, you can make a lasting impact on your partner ecosystem. 

Discover how Impartner can help  

A channel account manager plays a pivotal role in fostering productive relationships with a company's partners. By understanding the responsibilities, you'll be well-positioned to excel in this challenging but rewarding field.  

At Impartner, we're committed to helping channel leaders like you learn more about the industry so you can make decisions that drive growth. We encourage you to follow our blog , attend an upcoming event , or register for one of our free MasterClass webinars ! 

Today, millions of partners in nearly every industry across the globe access Impartner's partner management tools. We coined the term "PRM" and have been active in the channel community since the beginning. We'd love for you to take a look around at our partner management platform. 

Impartner is the fastest-growing, most award-winning partner management software on the market. Our partner relationship management (PRM) and partner marketing automation (PMA) solutions help companies accelerate revenue and profitability through their indirect sales channels at every partner lifecycle touchpoint. 

From partner training and onboarding to pipeline management and performance tracking, Impartner handles it all and more with best practices and automation built-in. 

Need to accelerate your partnerships? We’re ready when you are. Book a demo with our team today to learn more !