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Ever feel like a fraud as a key account manager? You're not alone. Get help with this guide to conquering imposter syndrome and banishing self-doubt for good.
When was the last time you really looked around the toothpaste aisle? It’s overwhelming. You’re faced with a huge amount of choices — possibly even dozens depending on the store you’re in. Imagine having to actually make a buying decision purely by shopping through the toothpaste aisle. My guess is that you’d either get overwhelmed and choose something that you later regret, or you’d choose to buy nothing at all.
Do you know how the top key account managers (KAMs) become the top KAMs? They don’t just respond to an account’s needs—they anticipate them, creating proactive strategies that build trust and deepen relationships. Getting there requires more than assuming the role. Top KAMs work proactively to add ongoing value, evolving customer relationships into growth drivers and ensuring account success is always a step ahead.
[This post was originally published here , in my Sales Enablement Straight Talk newsletter] Today, I want to delve into the nuances of the systems that support the Building Blocks of Sales Enablement framework. Many of you have asked about these systems – how they differ from the blocks (and support them), and how to maximize their effectiveness.
Incorporating generative AI (gen AI) into your sales process can speed up your wins through improved efficiency, personalized customer interactions, and better informed decision- making. Gen AI is a game changer for busy salespeople and can reduce time-consuming tasks, such as customer research, note-taking, and writing emails, and provide insightful data analysis and recommendations.
The first step in next-gen, customer-centric sales By Dominique Côté, CEO & Founder, Cosawi and Principal, The Summit Group, and Kate Burda, CEO & Founder, Kate Burda & Co. Shedding light on the next generation of account-based marketing We can all agree that customer centricity and customer focus are the cornerstone of effective strategic account … Continue reading Account-Based Marketing: Customer-Led, Team-Enabled The post Account-Based Marketing: Customer-Led, Team-Enabled
A recent piece by McKinsey notes that 80% of startups who landed Series A funding failed within eight years (n=3164). Using interviews with B2B SaaS leaders who beat those odds by scaling from startup to over $100MM in ARR, McKinsey's recent playbook examines how these companies set up their organizations, common challenges they overcame and the actions leaders can use to emulate these pathways to success.
In this lively episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount welcomes Patrick "Pops" Garrett, Founder & Chief Drinking Officer of DrinkCurious, to explore the unique intersection between bourbon tasting and sales engagement. Key Takeaways: – Virtual Tastings as Sales Hooks: Virtual bourbon tastings became an effective "hook" to attract attendees to sales demos, webinars, and client meetings, increasing engagement and helping to break through typical sales communication noise. – Engagement and W
In this lively episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, Jeb Blount welcomes Patrick "Pops" Garrett, Founder & Chief Drinking Officer of DrinkCurious, to explore the unique intersection between bourbon tasting and sales engagement. Key Takeaways: – Virtual Tastings as Sales Hooks: Virtual bourbon tastings became an effective "hook" to attract attendees to sales demos, webinars, and client meetings, increasing engagement and helping to break through typical sales communication noise. – Engagement and W
Unlock the strategies to overcome key PMO hurdles—mastering resource management, driving change, and streamlining processes—with expert insight from Athena Smith, Senior Director, Portfolio Management. In this post, you’ll learn: Why Putting People at the Heart of Change Matters The Exciting Future Ahead for the PMO How AI Can Help Prioritize Impactful Work Meet Athena Smith Athena Smith hails from Georgia and is based in Atlanta.
The Upland Altify 9.12 Spring ‘24 release contains major enhancements to transform the customer experience with Altify’s Salesforce-native products, creating a simpler, smarter, and more connected solution. The 9.12 Spring ‘24 upgrade offers sellers simplified and streamlined workflows and optimized user interfaces, smarter in-product guidance, better data readability, and improved connectedness.
B2B sales reps only get one chance to make an impression with executive buyers, and that moment is make-or-break. Walk in with a surface-level understanding, and the opportunity evaporates. Execs don’t have time for vague promises—they need credible insights backed by hard data. Sales teams that fail to connect with the issues that truly matter to top decision-makers lose trust, relevance, and, often, the deal itself.
Leveraging text messaging is a great way to stay better connected with leads throughout the sales process. And with native texting in your CRM, you get the full picture of how text conversations are driving revenue and strengthening relationships. Now introducing Nutshell SMS—no integration needed! With SMS, your team can have text conversations with your Nutshell contacts, track text history in your timelines, and use texts in your sales automation process to engage your leads.
What if you could help your sellers stop wasting 72% of their day on non-selling activities and focus on bringing in revenue? Incorporating AI in your enablement workflows can help you cut down on busy work, get projects done faster, and let your team (and you!) focus on making a bigger impact. We put together this guide to show you how to use AI to cut time and costs for projects, including collateral creation, development of training videos, and automating tedious processes.
The post Stop Typing, Start Talking: 5 Reasons to Call Your Clients Now first appeared on The KAM Coach Unlock the power of phone calls in client management. Find out why talking beats typing and get tips for effective communication in this essential guide.
I bought a new car in 2021, when the pandemic had virtually eliminated the gap between new and used prices. Car buyers 30 years ago might have shown up at the dealership wanting a truck, a sedan, or something as vague as a “good family car,” and the salesperson’s job was to help steer them in the right direction based on their needs. That process has changed dramatically.
Recently I was talking to one of our sales trainers about the difference between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. He said a client’s sales team was confusing the two. It made me realize that other sales teams might be doing the same thing and thought it would be helpful to provide insight here. Customer satisfaction is what a customer feels when a sales professional (or company) fulfills their needs, wants, and expectations.
Your work as a key account manager is similar to undertaking a long journey. You focus on each milestone, knowing the destination matters, but it’s the rhythm of the moment that keeps you going. If that sounds familiar, you’re already closer to the core of Robert Pirsig’s “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” than you might think. Pirsig’s book dives deep into concepts like quality, relationship and reaching the destination.
2023's struggles fueled a shift: companies are ditching wasteful strategies in favor of data and AI-powered growth. Enter 2024, the year GTC takes center stage. Discover 5 ways a customer-centric approach unlocks new revenue and delivers lasting success.
Jochen Koetzle, Head of Strategic Account Management at Endress+Hauser Group, explores the essence of collaborative ecosystems, their role in driving innovation, providing solutions, and ensuring resilience. He also shares insights on his organization's efforts to highlight the transformative power of collaboration. The post Collaborative Ecosystem appeared first on Strategic Account Management Association.
Leveraging AI In Pre-Sales and Post-Sales Processes Account research has historically been cumbersome, taking hours to find the different details you need to make a strong pitch to your target accounts. AI is being used across every function now, but the pre-sale process is a terrific place to bring AI into your process and workflow. Let’s talk about how to use AI in account planning.
Join host Jeb Blount Jr. as he welcomes legendary sales expert, Mark Hunter, to The Sales Gravy Podcast! In this episode they dive into actionable Outbound strategies, discuss the latest AI trends, and reveal why authentic relationships are the cornerstone of every successful sale. Key Takeaways – Success in outbound selling relies on maintaining strict discipline, consistent activity, and following a structured process to keep momentum and drive results. – Results in prospecting don’t happen ov
Young woman showing salesman stats on cellphone during informal meeting Inside Sales teams are playing an increasingly important role in driving growth for businesses across industries. As companies seek to enhance customer experience, improve efficiency, and drive seller productivity, Inside Sales is growing area of investment, exploration, and opportunity.
How do 1st, 2nd, and 3rd party intent data compare? 1st, 2nd, and 3rd party data each have specific advantages and disadvantages. It comes down to four factors: accuracy, cost, control and quantity. This infographic explains the pros and cons of each and helps you understand which one is best for meeting your business objectives. Intent data can be a great way to fill your pipeline and close more deals.
When we speak about AI in sales and its potential impact, we would be remiss not to specifically focus on whitespace and AI. AI can be a powerful tool for targeting whitespace revenue – low hanging fruit to the seller. This guide is going to focus specifically on the impact of AI on whitespace. Although we will discuss the background of whitespace in general, you can learn more about the importance of whitespace in our guide on the topic.
Today’s professional landscape is a tapestry of new possibilities, unique challenges, and a myriad of solutions to address those challenges. In this environment, the key to success is adaptability. Organizations need solutions that can bend without breaking. Solutions that can adapt to address challenges like economic uncertainty, supply chain disruptions, and new and disruptive technologies.
Nutshell has recently been recognized by Research.com as one of the top CRM software companies providing B2B solutions, solidifying its place among the industry’s best. This acknowledgment highlights the platform’s ability to deliver powerful, user-friendly tools tailored to the unique needs of B2B organizations. Research.com is a trusted platform known for its thorough research and software reviews, offering valuable solutions for both business and academic sectors.
Unlock the secrets of key account management with must-read books that reveal how to master every challenge. To be the best, you have to learn from the best.
Speaker: Susan Spencer, Principal of Spencer Communications
Intent signal data can go a long way toward shortening sales cycles and closing more deals. The challenge is deciding which is the best type of intent data to help your company meet its sales and marketing goals. In this webinar, Susan Spencer, fractional CMO and principal of Spencer Communications, will unpack the differences between contact-level and company-level intent signals.
You know what would have been great to have access to during my days as a teacher? An AI presentation maker. Whether you’re a teacher or a business professional, eye-catching presentations are a great way to spread (and digest!) information quickly. Thankfully, AI presentation makers are becoming popular design tools. And one of the biggest perks of AI for presentations is that it can save you valuable time.
No professional service firm partnership works without getting buy-in and mindshare from the partners or account executives who manage client relationships.
A recent McKinsey study predicts that AI could replace ~30 percent of work hours by capitalizing on autonomous AI by 2030. The same study states that up to 375 million workers globally might have to reskill or upskill due to AI automation. That’s a lot of human work hours up for grabs by robots! So is AI expected to eat up your Key Account Manager’s jobs as well?
SAMA's Customer Advisory Board serves as a direct line of communication between SAMA and some of the most experienced and insightful leaders in the SAM community, providing us with critical feedback that shapes both our strategy and the broader SAM ecosystem. The post How SAMA’s Customer Advisory Board Influences Best Practices in SAM appeared first on Strategic Account Management Association.
Speaker: Olivia Montgomery, Associate Principal Supply Chain Analyst
Curious to know how your peers are navigating ongoing disruption? The supply chain management techniques that dominated the last 30 years are no longer supporting consumer behavior or logistics and manufacturing capabilities. So what’s working now? What should your plans for 2023 include? By researching the supply chain challenges and solutions that businesses – especially small and midsize businesses – are currently experiencing, we’ve learned what’s working and what’s not.
Salesforce Account Plans – Using Your CRM To Drive Strategy Salesforce account plans are a powerful feature within the Salesforce ecosystem, designed to streamline and enhance strategic account planning for B2B sales and account management professionals. Most teams that manage more complex accounts or sales cycles take information from the CRM, build out elaborate QBRs or “account plans”, and then let them sit idly.
In this episode of The Sales Gravy Podcast, host Jeb Blount Jr. sits down with LinkedIn expert and OutBound speaker Brynne Tillman to discuss the keys to leveraging LinkedIn for sales success. Brynne shares essential information on avoiding common mistakes like the dreaded "pitch slap," the importance of personalization over automation, and how to truly engage with prospects on LinkedIn.
If you’re leading an organization that’s selling a solution, whether in an established market or a new vertical, you’re competing for your buyers’ attention. The competition is high – we are all faced with hundreds of sales messages each day. Successful sales organizations know how to consistently rise above the noise and command greater market share.
The B2B sales landscape is undergoing a seismic shift. Altify and Salesforce, two titans of the CRM and sales effectiveness world, are partnering down to deliver a potent blend of AI innovation that promises to redefine how businesses close deals. But with talk of “Sales AI” reaching a fever pitch, a critical question begs an answer: what’s next?
Every sales organization wants their sales force to be agile. Why? Because the world is rapidly changing, becoming more complex, and making the salesperson’s job harder. Organizational leaders are unsure of the best way to equip sellers to succeed in this new reality. Should they change their sales methodology? Should they adopt better technology tools?
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