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Jim Hamilton and Michael Cant

Strategic Account Management will examine a major challenge of sales teams - how to maintain your customer relationships in a competitive marketplace and how to grow their business with you.

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Strategic Account Management will examine a major challenge of sales teams - how to maintain your customer relationships in a competitive marketplace and how to grow their business with you.

In this course you will learn the sales processes, frameworks and skill sets utilized by top sales organizations in managing channel partnerships with retailers and resellers. Further you will learn how to implement a sales strategy to meet customer needs and increase customer satisfaction. You will be challenged to demonstrate your account management skills covering the range from customer service, customer success and to key account management.

This course is all about preparing you as a strategic account manager to build newly formed client relationships into long-term accounts to meet long-term goals of both client and the organization.

What you'll learn

Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:

  1. Appreciate the components of common channel partnerships and reseller agreements.
  2. Develop an annual strategic plan for maintaining and growing business with a channel partner and reseller.
  3. Understand the common reasons for relationship friction and the risk of churn.
  4. Execute a framework for handling the most common issues that arise in a channel or reseller partnership.
  5. Appreciate how sellers structure their organization to manage customer accounts
  6. Compare and contrast the roles of customer service with customer success management with account management and key account management
  7. Execute a framework for handing the most common issues that arise in strategic account management involving enterprise accounts.

What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Appreciate the components of common channel partnerships and reseller agreements.
  • Develop an annual strategic plan for maintaining and growing business with a channel partner and reseller.
  • Understand the common reasons for relationship friction and the risk of churn.
  • Execute a framework for handling the most common issues that arise in a channel or reseller partnership.
  • Appreciate how sellers structure their organization to manage customer accounts
  • Compare and contrast the roles of customer service with customer success management with account management and key account management
  • Execute a framework for handing the most common issues that arise in strategic account management involving enterprise accounts.

Good to know

Know what's good
, what to watch for
, and possible dealbreakers
Teaches how to maintain and grow business in the competitive marketplace
Explores frameworks and skills used by top sales organizations
Develops skills to handle common issues in channel partnerships
Outlines how sellers manage and structure customer accounts
Facilitates understanding of enterprise account management issues
Taught by instructors with expertise in sales and account management practices

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Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Strategic Account Management with these activities:
Industry Conferences and Events
Attend industry conferences and events to network with professionals and learn about best practices
Browse courses on Networking
Show steps
  • Research industry conferences and events that are relevant to strategic account management
  • Attend conferences and events to meet with potential customers, partners, and industry experts
  • Follow up with new contacts and explore opportunities for collaboration
Case Study: Account Management Success
Write a case study to analyze a successful account management strategy and identify key learnings
Browse courses on Case Studies
Show steps
  • Research and select a case study of a successful account management strategy
  • Analyze the case study to identify the key factors that contributed to success
  • Develop a case study report that summarizes the findings and provides recommendations
Develop a Study Guide
Review course material and organize notes to prepare for exams and quizzes
Browse courses on Review
Show steps
  • Organize lecture notes, readings, and assignments
  • Highlight key concepts and definitions
  • Create practice questions and review past exams
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
Channel Agreement Development
Review the basics of developing channel and reseller agreements to ensure knowledge is up to date
Show steps
  • Review the structure and components of common channel agreement
  • Analyze the key terms and provisions of reseller agreements
  • Develop a draft channel agreement template
Role-Playing Exercises
Engage in role-playing exercises to practice and improve sales negotiation and communication skills
Show steps
  • Prepare for role-playing exercises by researching common sales scenarios
  • Participate in role-playing exercises as both the seller and the customer
  • Get feedback from peers and instructors to identify areas for improvement
Strategic Account Management Techniques
Explore advanced techniques for managing strategic accounts to drive growth and improve customer satisfaction
Browse courses on Relationship Building
Show steps
  • Identify the key principles and best practices of strategic account management
  • Develop a strategic account plan for a specific customer
  • Create a sales forecast for a strategic account
Customer Relationship Management Plan
Develop a comprehensive CRM plan to enhance customer relationships and drive business outcomes
Browse courses on Customer Engagement
Show steps
  • Assess the current CRM practices and identify areas for improvement
  • Develop a CRM strategy aligned with business goals
  • Implement a CRM system and train the sales team
  • Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of CRM initiatives

Career center

Learners who complete Strategic Account Management will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Sales Account Manager
With a focus on strategic account management, this course may help set you on a successful career as a Sales Account Manager. This role involves advising and managing strategic partnerships between your company and client accounts. An understanding of common channel partnerships, reseller agreements, and annual strategic plans could be helpful for you in this role.
Account Manager
The Strategic Account Management course may prove useful for an Account Manager. Whether it's maintaining and growing business with channel partners or handling common issues in partnerships, this course provides many foundational frameworks that could make you successful as an Account Manager.
Business Development Manager
If you're interested in a career as a Business Development Manager, this course can provide a useful overview of common issues that arise when managing accounts.
Sales Operations Manager
This course may be useful to you as a Sales Operations Manager. Knowledge of structuring sales organizations to manage customer accounts along with how to compare and contrast customer service and account management could be very beneficial to one starting or advancing a career in this field.
Customer Success Manager
The Strategic Account Management course may be useful to you in a Customer Success Manager position. This course dives into account management and how to handle the most common issues that arise in strategic account management involving enterprise accounts, which would be a vital skill set for this role.
Channel Partner Manager
This course may be useful to you in a Channel Partner Manager role. It will provide you with an understanding of common channel partnerships, reseller agreements, and annual strategic plans for maintaining and growing business with channel partners and resellers.
Sales Executive
The Strategic Account Management course may be useful to you as a Sales Executive. This course may help you build a foundation that combines sales processes and frameworks with skill sets to manage channel partnerships with retailers and resellers.
Key Account Manager
This course may be useful for someone in or looking to get into a Key Account Manager role. It will provide you with an understanding of how to prepare as a strategic account manager to build newly formed client relationships into long-term accounts to meet long-term goals of both client and the organization.
Sales Manager
This course may be useful to you as a Sales Manager. It covers an overview of how to build and maintain relationships with channel partners and resellers, which is an important aspect of sales management.
Marketing Manager
The Strategic Account Management course may be useful for a Marketing Manager as it covers common reasons for relationship friction and the risk of churn.
Business Analyst
This course may be useful for Business Analysts as it covers how to develop an annual strategic plan for maintaining and growing business with a channel partner and reseller.
Consultant
This course may be useful for a Consultant as it covers frameworks for handling common issues that arise in channel or reseller partnerships.
Project Manager
The Strategic Account Management course may be useful for Project Managers as it covers how to execute a framework for handling the most common issues that arise in strategic account management involving enterprise accounts.
Operations Manager
If you're interested in a career as an Operations Manager, this course can provide a useful overview of common issues that arise in account management.
Financial Analyst
This course may be useful to Financial Analysts as it covers how to understand the common reasons for relationship friction and the risk of churn.

Reading list

We've selected 13 books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Strategic Account Management.
Provides a practical guide to key account management, covering topics such as identifying key accounts, developing key account plans, and managing key account relationships. It useful resource for practitioners who want to learn more about the field.
Provides a framework for sales professionals who want to win more deals and build stronger customer relationships. It valuable resource for practitioners who want to learn more about the field.
Provides a sales methodology that helps sales professionals to identify and address customer needs. It useful resource for practitioners who want to learn more about the field.
Provides a twelve-step plan for sales success, covering topics such as building a sales team, developing a sales process, and closing deals. It motivational and inspiring read for practitioners who want to learn more about the field.
Provides a framework for understanding and managing emotions, covering topics such as self-awareness, self-regulation, and empathy. It valuable resource for practitioners who want to learn more about the field.
Provides a guide to building a positive mindset, covering topics such as the power of belief, the importance of gratitude, and the role of forgiveness. It valuable resource for practitioners who want to learn more about the field.
Provides a guide to escaping the 9-5 grind and living a more fulfilling life, covering topics such as outsourcing, automation, and mini-retirements. It valuable resource for practitioners who want to learn more about the field.
Provides a guide to building a successful small business, covering topics such as the importance of systems, the role of marketing, and the need for financial discipline. It valuable resource for practitioners who want to learn more about the field.
Provides a guide to building a successful startup, covering topics such as customer development, marketing, and sales. It valuable resource for practitioners who want to learn more about the field.
Provides a guide to building a successful startup using the lean methodology, covering topics such as customer development, hypothesis testing, and pivoting. It valuable resource for practitioners who want to learn more about the field.

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