Friday, January 10th, 2025

Five key insights into great KAMs

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,… 


Friday, January 10th, 2025

The AI advantage in KAM

How AI can help to create ideas and boost efficiency for key account managers. Implementing a strategic KAM plan that generates profitable growth for both the supplier and the key customer is notoriously difficult. As consultants and advisers to hundreds of key account managers working in multiple organisations and varied industries, we see talented managers struggle to be consistently effective… 


Wednesday, September 18th, 2024

An open letter to supplier CEOs: do you want a huge competitive edge?

Rethink your selling strategy and shift it to a value-based KAM business model. We all know that we are operating in an increasingly complex and competitive marketplace. As such, it is imperative for suppliers to adapt their sales strategies to maintain relevance in order to drive growth. The traditional sales models that once fuelled success are rapidly becoming obsolete. Today,… 


Monday, February 19th, 2024

KAM in 2024

2024 is going to be challenging, so what are the significant issues for KAMs this year? We asked some respected commentators. What a decade it has been so far: a global pandemic, war in Europe and the Mediterranean, increasing geopolitical uncertainty and uncoupling of global supply chains, the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (for good and ill), recession in major… 


Thursday, April 20th, 2023

Research Review – edited by Jeremy Noad 9.2 2023

The research review aims to help readers keep up to date with recently published research on sales-related topics. The review highlights short abstracts of academically peer-reviewed research. This selection of published research is from a range of academic journals. In this edition, the abstracts include four themes that focus on sales performance, customer management, and behavioural studies. Sales performance Salesperson… 


Tuesday, February 14th, 2023

Research Review – edited by Jeremy Noad 9.1 2023

The research review aims to help readers keep up to date with recently published research on sales-related topics. The review highlights short abstracts of academically peer-reviewed research. This selection of published research is from a range of academic journals. In this edition, the abstracts include four themes that focus on sales performance, customer management, behavioural studies, and systems and tools…. 


Friday, September 30th, 2022

Cranfield KAM Forum (Reports from Q2 2022)

Cranfield KAM Forum has now restarted face-to-face sessions in parallel with its online seminars. The success and popularity of the online seminars has demonstrated that there is benefit from them continuing in parallel with the face-to-face sessions. As always, the speakers and subject were chosen to be particularly relevant to key account managers building and maintaining business in the current… 


Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022

Cranfield KAM Forum online

Reports from Q1 2022 While the Cranfield KAM Forum is planning to restart face-face meetings in late 2022, the success and popularity of the online seminars has demonstrated that there is a benefit from them continuing in parallel with face-to-face sessions. The speakers and subject were chosen to be particularly relevant to key account managers building and maintaining business in… 


Tuesday, January 11th, 2022

Cranfield KAM Forum online

Reports from the Q2 and Q3 sessions While things are slowly returning to normal, the Cranfield KAM Forum seminars are continuing to complement the regular face-to face meetings that will resume when it is safe to do so. The webinars continue to address both strategic and operational themes and personal development topics of interest for key account managers. In this… 


Friday, November 26th, 2021

The Consultants

Mark Davies, Founder, Segment Pulse Limited, Visiting Fellow, Centre for Strategic Marketing and Sales, Cranfield School of Management, and The Advanced Services Group, Aston Business School; Dr Mark Hollyoake, Director, Customer Attuned and Associate Lecturer, University of the West of England; Tim Riesterer, Chief Strategy Officer, Corporate Visions; Dr Philip Squire, CEO, Consalia; Philip Styrlund, CEO, The Summit Group Introductory… 


Friday, November 26th, 2021

The Academics

Dr Frank Cespedes, senior lecturer, Harvard Business School; Professor Mark Johnston, Professor of Marketing and Ethics, Rollins College; Professor Nick Lee, Warwick Business School; Dr Colin Mackenzie, specialist lecturer, Edinburgh Napier University; Dr Javier Marcos, Associate Professor, Strategic Sales Management and Negotiation, Cranfield School of Management; Dr Beth Rogers, Visiting Fellow, Cranfield School of Management Q: What will be the… 


Tuesday, September 28th, 2021

GADs: mindsets, methods and models

What makes a great global account director? Introduction I began my Global Account Director journey five years ago, following my successful completion of SAP’s Sales Academy Programme. I started out working as an Account Manager alongside the Global Account Director (GAD) in developing new sales opportunities for one of SAP’s most important banking customers and subsequently have taken ownership of… 


Tuesday, July 27th, 2021

Five key topics for KAMs

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Cranfield Key Account Management Forum. Here’s what participants discussed in Q1. In 2021 we mark the 25th anniversary of the Key Account Management Forum at Cranfield University. Following the Covid-19 pandemic the Cranfield KAM Forum has created a series of on-line seminars to complement the regular face-to face meetings that will resume… 


Monday, April 26th, 2021

Open courses and events 7.2 2021

Sales Essentials for Success – Cranfield Executive Development 2-3 June 2021 Sales Essentials for Success gives you the tools to build and create a sales function that is strategically directed and controlled. You’ll gain a fundamental knowledge of the tactics that must be employed on a daily basis to succeed. £2,200 + VAT (concessions available) – execdev@cranfield.ac.uk +44 (0)1234 589292https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/som/open-executive-programmes/growing-businesses/sales-essentials-for-success… 


Friday, February 26th, 2021

Open courses and events 7.1 2021

Key Account Management Best Practice – Cranfield Executive Development 10, 12, 26 Mar 2021 – live online Joining an experienced group of fellow KAM practitioners, you will gain: State-of-the-art knowledge and tools for creating an effective key account management process. Strategic understanding on how to focus your time and attention appropriately in the development of key accounts. Improved collaboration skills… 


Friday, February 26th, 2021

Need to know for 2021

Q: What do you see as the “new sales normal” emerging post-Covid? What will be different from before over the longer term? Mark Davies: A few things, all of which were trends that were occurring anyway (the Covid-forced recession has just accelerated these trends). Firstly, the trend whereby customers buy via digital channels will intensify. This is because customers know… 


Tuesday, November 10th, 2020

Advice for KAMs during Covid

Reports from Cranfield Key Account Management Forum’s online series. Article summary Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the Cranfield Key Account Management Forum has created a series of online seminars to complement the regular face-to face meetings which will resume when it is safe to do so. The Forum aims to create and disseminate research and thought-leadership that can be used by… 


Thursday, July 9th, 2020

What’s it like working in sales?

A career in selling can be vibrant, fast-paced, bold and exciting. It can also be demanding, challenging and subject to long hours in a busy, target-driven environment. But the sales function is the bedrock of any business so, if you’re committed to developing client relationships and providing valuable solutions, sales can be a highly rewarding, dynamic and fulfilling long-term career…. 


Thursday, May 28th, 2020

ABM and KAM in tandem

Account-based marketing is increasingly recognised as a highly effective approach to working with key accounts, so is of major interest to key account managers looking for new approaches. November’s KAMBP explored how to use ABM and KAM together. Bev Burgess, Senior Vice President & Practice Lead, and Dave Munn, President and CEO, introduced ITSMA (the Information Technology Services Marketing Association)… 


Thursday, May 28th, 2020

2020 Q1 Research Review – edited by Jeremy Noad

The research review aims to help readers keep up to date with recently published research on sales-related topics. The review highlights short abstracts of academically peer-reviewed research. This selection of published research is from a range of academic journals. In this edition, the abstracts include three themes that focus on sales performance, customer management, and sales behavioural studies. Sales Performance…