Five key insights into great KAMs

10th January 2025 |   Roland Kassemeier

A major research study uncovers insights into what differentiates top-performing KAMs from the rest. It finds many organisations are focusing on the wrong things in their efforts to improve KAM performance.

Key account managers (KAMs) may represent a small fraction of the sales force, but their impact on sales outcomes is disproportionately significant. Despite extensive research on general sales effectiveness, little is known about what drives the success of these elite B2B sales professionals.

This gap in understanding left a critical piece of the sales effectiveness puzzle unexplored. To address this, my colleagues Berenika Barbara Hengstebeck, Jan Wieseke, and I undertook one of the largest studies ever conducted on key account management, analysing data from over 7,000 salespeople across various industries, including 1,205 KAMs.

What we discovered challenged many common assumptions about key account management and revealed new insights that I believe every sales leader needs to understand.

The most successful KAMs weren’t necessarily the best individual sellers – they were the best orchestrators.

The stakes are higher than we thought

Early in our research, we confirmed what many sales leaders already suspected: KAMs have an outsized impact on organisational success. While they represented only 17% of the salesforce in our study, these individuals managed customer relationships that could make or break their companies’ fiscal years. Previous research had shown that effective key account management can increase both profits and revenues by up to 15%.

But as we dug deeper into the data, we found something surprising: many organisations were focusing on the wrong things in their efforts to improve KAM performance. Even more concerning, some widely adopted practices might actually be hindering KAM success.

What really drives success: five key findings

Our research revealed several critical insights that challenge conventional wisdom about key account management:

1. Expert resource utilisation is more important than we realised

One of our most significant findings was the crucial role of what we call “expert resource utilisation”. The most successful KAMs weren’t necessarily the best individual sellers; they were the best orchestrators. They excelled at tapping into internal experts from engineering, marketing, finance, and other departments to succeed.

This capability proved far more important for KAMs than for regular salespeople, indicating that for KAMs it isn’t about knowing everything; it’s to know who knows everything.

What distinguished top performers was their ability to:

• Build and maintain strong internal networks.
• Identify and engage the right experts at the right time.
• Bring specialists to articulate value.
• Manage support to free up selling time.
• Find resources needed to win.

2. Digital tools may be doing more harm than good

Perhaps our most controversial finding was that increased use of digital sales tools actually had a negative impact on KAM performance. This wasn’t what we expected to find, but the data was clear. We believe this reflects several underlying issues.

First, most sales technologies are designed for high-volume, transaction-oriented selling rather than the complex, relationship-driven nature of key account management. They often force KAMs into standardised processes that don’t match the nuanced needs of strategic accounts. Second, the time spent learning and maintaining digital tools might be better invested in relationship building and value-creation activities. Third, excessive reliance on digital tools could actually harm relationship quality with key accounts, which often expect and value more personal interaction. Consequently, although digital tools are supposed to make the sales job easier, they sometimes just get in the way of the real conversation.

3. Project management skills: important but not critical

While project management capabilities showed a positive correlation with KAM performance, we were surprised to find that these skills were actually more important for regular salespeople. This challenges the common assumption that project management is a crucial differentiator for KAMs.

Our analysis suggests that, while basic project management competency is necessary, advanced project management skills offer diminishing returns for KAMs. The data indicates that time invested in developing other capabilities – particularly expert resource utilisation and value creation – might yield better results.

4. Value creation and communication is universal

One skill that proved equally important for both KAMs and regular salespeople was the ability to create and communicate value effectively. This includes:

• Crafting targeted value propositions.
• Explaining financial benefits.
• Designing solutions that balance customer needs with costs.
• Tailoring messages to different stakeholders.
• Demonstrating ROI in customer-relevant terms.

What set top-performing KAMs apart wasn’t just their ability to create value, but their skill in communicating that value to multiple stakeholders at different levels within the customer organisation. The best KAMs could effectively “translate” value propositions for technical, financial, and executive audiences.

5. Achievement drive trumps dominance

Many organisations appear to select KAMs partly based on their assertiveness and leadership presence. However, we found no significant relationship between these traits and performance. Instead, need for achievement – the drive to work hard and meet high standards – emerged as a key predictor of success.

• High-achieving KAMs demonstrated:
• Persistent focus on goals.
• High personal performance standards.
• Strong work ethic.
• The accomplishment of substantial amounts of work.

This finding has important implications for selection and development processes, suggesting that organisations might be overvaluing certain personality traits while undervaluing others.

What this means for sales leaders

Based on our findings, I recommend the following actions for sales leaders:

Rethink selection

In our data, the most successful KAMs weren’t necessarily the most charismatic or technically skilled salespeople. Instead, look for:

• Track record of building effective internal networks.
• Demonstrated ability to orchestrate resources and work across functions. Strong value creation and communication capabilities.
• High achievement orientation.

Consider revising your interview process to better assess these characteristics. For example, include scenarios that test candidates’ ability to coordinate resources and navigate complex organisational structures.

Redesign development programmes

Our findings suggest that many KAM training programmes may be missing the mark. Consider:

• Increasing focus on internal navigation and expert resource utilisation.
• Developing value creation and communication capabilities.
• Including practical exercises in stakeholder orchestration.
• Reducing emphasis on standardised digital tool adoption.
• Adding modules on cross-functional leadership.
• Incorporating real-world scenario planning.

Development programmes should emphasise practical application rather than theoretical knowledge. Consider implementing mentorship programmes pairing new KAMs with experienced high performers.

Revise technology strategy

Our findings on digital tools suggest the need for a more nuanced approach:

• Review current sales technologies through a KAM-specific lens.
• Allow flexibility in tool adoption based on customer relationships.
• Focus on technologies that enhance rather than replace personal interaction.
• Evaluate the real time costs of technology adoption.
• Consider customer preferences in technology deployment decisions.

Reimagine resource access

Given the importance of expert resource utilisation:

• Create clear pathways for KAMs to access internal experts.
• Develop formal processes for cross-functional collaboration.
• Build internal networks to support KAM success.
• Measure and reward effective resource utilisation.
• Establish clear escalation paths for resource conflicts.
• Consider implementing dedicated support teams for key accounts.

Research had shown that effective key account management can increase both profits and revenues by up to 15%.

Looking ahead

Our research suggests that many organisations need to fundamentally rethink their approach to key account management. Rather than treating KAMs as super-salespeople who need enhanced versions of regular sales skills, companies should recognise the unique nature of the role.

The most successful key account managers in our study weren’t necessarily the best traditional sellers. Instead, they excelled at orchestrating resources, creating value, and maintaining complex relationships. This has significant implications for how organisations select, develop, and support their key account managers.

I believe these findings indicate the need for a shift in how we think about key account management. By aligning selection, training, and support systems with these research-backed insights, sales leaders can build stronger key account management teams and drive better results from their most important customer relationships. The stakes are too high to do otherwise.

Making it work

As you consider these findings, I encourage you to:

1. Assess your current KAM selection criteria against our findings.
2. Review your development programmes for alignment with key success factors.
3. Evaluate your technology strategy from a KAM-specific perspective.
4. Examine how well your organisation supports expert resource utilisation.
5. Consider how your performance metrics align with actual drivers of KAM success.

The key account managers in your organisation have the potential to drive significant growth. By focusing on the right capabilities and providing appropriate support, you can help them achieve this potential.

Remember, successful key account management isn’t just about individual sales skills; it’s about creating an ecosystem that enables your KAMs to orchestrate resources, create value, and build lasting customer relationships. Our research shows that organisations that understand and act on this insight are the ones that will succeed in maximising the potential of their key account programmes.