#005 Why most KAM plans don’t work

IN THIS EPISODE:“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States  “By Failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States “Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning.” – Thomas Edison, Inventor & businessman Even the creative genius Pablo Picasso knew that planning was key when he said: “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” So, with so many quotes by smart people to remind us of the importance of proper preparation and planning to avoid poor performance…WHY do most account plans simply NOT WORK? Perhaps the answer is simple and it is because most account plans are just too complicated! Do you ever feel frustrated at the lack of consistency in the way your teams create account plans? Perhaps some team members don’t even bother. Would it make your life easier to have a straightforward system and process for planning so that you can keep your eye on what is going on and retain visibility of your most important customers? In this episode, I share our KAMGuru approach with you in building a simple, easy to use and effective Key Account Plan. This short, stress-free plan will act as your guide, toolkit and roadmap to achieving success with your accounts. KILLER QUESTION SEGMENTIn each episode we ask you, our listener, a killer question that is designed to get you reflecting on your business, your KAM Culture and where changes in thinking and behaviour could lead to increased customer success. In this episode we ask the question earlier than usual in the podcast to kickstart our topic. The question is: If one of your top account managers left the business today, what details would leave with them? The answer will help us to start to nail down what a good Key Account Plan should loo