The High-Performing Key Account Manager - by Javier Marcos & Rodrigo Guesalaga & Andrew Hough & Richard Vincent

About the Book

Develop the skills and capabilities to maintain high performance, deliver exceptional customer value and drive profitable growth.

Book Synopsis

Explore the core knowledge and capabilities required for key account managers to deliver and sustain profitable relationships and drive growth with strategic customers.

In a rapidly changing economic environment, the role of a key account manager is now more important than ever due to the value they provide to the business and the profitable growth they enable. The High-Performing Key Account Manager demonstrates what core competencies and skills a key account manager needs to succeed, such as how to develop long-lasting relationships, how to build trust with key customers and how to foster value-based sales solutions. This book also establishes what organizational support they require in order to create the right conditions for high-performance account management including guidance on how to lead and influence, build teams and enhance cross-functional collaboration.

With real-world examples from leading companies such as Siemens, Caterpillar, Honeywell Group and CISCO Systems, this highly practical guide provides the strategies and tactics required to overcome common challenges, capitalize on emerging opportunities and enable key account managers to perform at the highest level.

Review Quotes

"Comprehensive, up-to-date, extremely well-referenced, this book is a brilliant insight into the world of contemporary key account management with a great blend of academic research and practitioner insight. This must read for anyone in key account management, we shall certainly be including the book on our reading lists."-- "Dr Philip Squire, CEO Consalia Sales Business School"

"Every good seller should always be thinking about Key Account Management, a toolkit such as this book is great to refer to and remind yourself of some key points to help keep you on track with your customers. If KAM's were to adopt even a few strategies from this book you will be more successful than your peers. If you work for a company who supports KAM you won't go far wrong."-- "Kate Rotheram, BMS Specialist, Intelligent Buildings"

"The High-Performing Key Account Manager is an essential resource for anyone interested in strategic sales. The team have brought together a great mix of KAM theory with practice-relevant insights sourced from some of the brightest and best KAM thinkers from around the world. Grounded in an extensive body of research, this book is destined to being one of the great KAM resources of our time!"-- "Dr. Daniel Prior. Associate Professor of Buyer-Supplier Engagement"

"The High-Performing Key Account Manager" is a critical resource for anyone serious about driving significant revenue and building lasting partnerships with strategic clients. This isn't just a theoretical text; it delivers practical, immediately actionable guidance that you can apply to your key accounts right away. Whether you're a veteran key account manager looking to sharpen your edge or a rising star aiming for rapid impact, this book provides the essential knowledge and practical tools to not just manage key accounts, but to truly excel."-- "Steven Elsham. Head of Marketing, Commerce, Service & Revenue Clouds EMEA Commerce Champion Saleforce Nederland"

"The UK is the global leader in KAM research and practice, due, in no small measure, to the years of best practice experience gathered and codified at Cranfield. The High Performing Key Account Manager collects together some of the best Cranfield thinking and will be an invaluable source of advice and leadership for both academics and practitioners."-- "Prof. Neil Rackham. Speaker, writer and Author of SPIN selling."

"This book brings together perspectives from leading academics and practitioners in the field. A welcome message that emerges from their work is that culture, customer understanding and flexibility are as important as structure and processes in making companies customer-focused and generating high performance. Of course, key account managers need to do their analytical homework and manage a data-rich environment, but the role of trust and the importance of collaboration and of mutual understanding in successful key account relationships is set out here."-- "Prof Lynette Ryals OBE Deputy-Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Business & Management, Cranfield University"

"This book focuses on KAM implementation as well as strategy, making it a great addition to the guides for key account managers, especially the chapter on the use of information technology and artificial intelligence."-- "Prof. George S. Yip, Emeritus Professor of Marketing and Strategy, Imperial College London, author of Total Global Strategy and Managing Global Customers."

"This book is an essential guide for account managers dedicated to driving value creation. With practical advice and real-world examples from different industries, this book provides hands-on tools to demonstrate measurable value, foster growth, and navigate complex business environments. A must-read for those looking to elevate their impact and drive long-term success."-- "Prof. Christoph Senn, CEO Valuecreator AG and Adjunct Professor INSEAD"

"This is a highly relevant and engaging book on key account management. The authors have not only provided a strategic take on this topic, but also provide a practical, hands-on approach for managing high-value clients, covering essential topics like relationship building, value co-creation, and long-term customer retention. In particular, their use of testimonials from key account managers in combination with evidence from academic research, makes this a must read for executives, business school faculty, and for university students."-- "Prof. Deva Rangarajan, Professor of Marketing and Sales at IESEG School of Management, France"

About the Author

Javier Marcos is Professor of Strategic Sales Management and Negotiation at Cranfield School of Management, UK. He is co-author of Implementing Key Account Management, published by Kogan Page.

Rodrigo Guesalaga is Professor of Marketing at Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile. He is co-author of Implementing Key Account Management, published by Kogan Page.

Andrew Hough is Lecturer in Sales Leadership and Performance at Cranfield School of Management, UK and is founder of the Association of Professional Sales.

Richard Vincent is Visiting Fellow, Cranfield School of Management, UK and is a founding Fellow of the Association of Professional Sales.