Key Account Management Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Key Account Managers, Senior Account Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-S-028

Before you join: Participants should have experience selling, managing customers or supporting commercial accounts.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Strategic customers expect suppliers to understand their operating priorities, coordinate specialist resources and prove commercial value over time. Yet many account teams still work from individual opportunities, informal relationship maps and reactive meeting cycles. This course addresses the discipline required to manage major accounts as planned business partnerships, while protecting margin, reducing concentration risk and identifying credible growth opportunities.

Participants learn how to select and tier accounts, analyse customer strategy, map buying and influencing networks, define account objectives and build practical account plans. They use SWOT, PESTLE, Porter's Five Forces, stakeholder mapping, value proposition design, opportunity qualification, negotiation planning and account governance methods. The course also covers executive business reviews, joint action plans, forecasting, internal account-team coordination and recovery planning for accounts at risk.

Instructor-led delivery combines short briefings, sector-based cases, account simulations, peer review and structured application to participants' own accounts. The 10-day programme runs from 08:30 to 16:30, with approximately 6.5 contact hours each day, in classrooms in 50+ cities or live online. Participants progressively build a complete strategic account plan for a real or realistic customer, including stakeholder analysis, growth priorities, financial targets, governance arrangements and a 90-day action plan. Successful participants receive a certificate of completion.

The course suits account managers, senior sales professionals, customer success leaders, commercial managers and technical specialists moving into major-account responsibilities. It is particularly relevant where buying decisions involve multiple stakeholders, long sales cycles, contractual commitments or high customer concentration.

What you will be able to do

  • Segment and prioritise strategic accounts using revenue, potential, fit and risk criteria
  • Analyse customer strategy using PESTLE, Porter's Five Forces and account SWOT
  • Map buying-centre stakeholders and create influence plans for complex decisions
  • Develop quantified value propositions linked to customer business priorities
  • Build strategic account plans with objectives, opportunities, risks, owners and milestones
  • Lead executive business reviews using performance data, joint actions and governance disciplines
  • Prepare negotiation strategies that protect margin while expanding account value
  • Present a complete strategic account plan and 90-day implementation roadmap

Benefits of attending

For you

  • A repeatable method for planning major customer growth
  • Stronger credibility in executive customer conversations
  • Clearer prioritisation of account time and internal resources
  • Better preparation for complex commercial negotiations
  • A completed strategic account plan for immediate use

For your organisation

  • More consistent planning across strategic customer portfolios
  • Improved retention through earlier identification of account risks
  • Higher-quality growth pipelines tied to customer priorities
  • Better coordination between sales, service, delivery and leadership teams
  • Stronger margin discipline in major-account negotiations

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can define the responsibilities, boundaries and commercial priorities of strategic account management.

  • Strategic account management compared with transactional selling and territory coverage
  • Account manager responsibilities across retention, growth, governance and internal coordination
  • Customer lifetime value, margin contribution and concentration risk as priorities
  • The account team model: sales, service, delivery, finance and leadership
  • From supplier contact to trusted business partner: observable behaviours
  • Ethical boundaries, confidentiality and conflict management in customer relationships

Participants can select, score and tier accounts using explicit strategic and commercial criteria.

  • Account selection criteria: revenue, potential, strategic fit, risk and profitability
  • Weighted account scoring model with transparent assumptions and evidence
  • ABC account tiers linked to service levels and investment choices
  • Portfolio analysis separating defend, develop, maintain and exit accounts
  • Revenue concentration analysis and exposure thresholds for major customers
  • Capacity allocation based on account tier, opportunity value and complexity

Participants can build a fact-based view of a customer's business model, priorities and constraints.

  • Customer business model mapped through revenues, costs, channels and capabilities
  • Annual reports, procurement notices and investor material as account intelligence
  • PESTLE analysis identifying external forces affecting customer priorities
  • Porter's Five Forces applied to the customer's competitive position
  • Strategic initiatives translated into likely buying needs and decision criteria
  • Hypothesis-led research separating verified facts from sales assumptions

Participants can diagnose account position and identify credible priorities for retention and growth.

  • Account SWOT distinguishing supplier strengths from customer business opportunities
  • Gap analysis between current share, achievable share and competitor position
  • White-space analysis by business unit, geography, product and use case
  • Root-cause analysis of revenue decline, service issues and lost access
  • Growth options screened for value, feasibility, timing and relationship readiness
  • Account diagnostic summary converting analysis into strategic priorities

Participants can map stakeholder roles, influence patterns and engagement actions within complex accounts.

  • Buying-centre roles: economic buyer, user buyer, technical buyer and coach
  • Power-interest grid used to prioritise stakeholder engagement effort
  • Influence maps showing formal authority, informal networks and decision pathways
  • Stakeholder profiles covering goals, concerns, preferences and relationship strength
  • Multi-threading plans reducing dependency on single customer contacts
  • Contact strategies matched to stakeholder role, access level and account objective

Participants can create evidence-based value propositions aligned to customer priorities and decision criteria.

  • Value proposition canvas linking customer jobs, pains, gains and offerings
  • Customer outcomes expressed as revenue, cost, risk, speed or compliance
  • Quantified value cases using baseline, improvement assumption and financial impact
  • Differentiation statements supported by proof, capability and relevant evidence
  • Competitive positioning against incumbent suppliers, alternatives and internal solutions
  • Message hierarchy adapted for executives, procurement, users and technical evaluators

Participants can assess account economics and make commercially sound growth choices.

  • Account revenue waterfall separating new sales, renewals, churn and expansion
  • Gross margin analysis by product, contract, service cost and customer
  • Cost-to-serve assessment covering support, delivery, customisation and governance
  • Customer lifetime value estimates using retention, margin and growth assumptions
  • Pricing corridors defining target, acceptable and walk-away commercial positions
  • Investment cases comparing account resource needs with expected return

Participants can structure a strategic account plan with clear commercial objectives and ownership.

  • Account plan sections: profile, strategy, stakeholders, opportunities, risks and actions
  • SMART account objectives linked to revenue, margin, retention and relationship measures
  • Three-year account vision translated into annual priorities and milestones
  • Strategic themes connecting customer priorities with supplier growth objectives
  • Action registers assigning owners, deadlines, dependencies and evidence of completion
  • Account-plan assumptions documented for review when conditions change

Participants can identify, qualify and sequence account growth opportunities using disciplined criteria.

  • Opportunity sources from customer strategy, performance gaps and stakeholder conversations
  • MEDDICC qualification for complex opportunities within strategic accounts
  • Opportunity heat maps ranked by value, probability, timing and strategic fit
  • Cross-sell and upsell paths based on customer maturity and unmet needs
  • Mutual action plans aligning customer tasks with supplier commitments
  • Pipeline reviews distinguishing confirmed opportunities from untested account ideas

Participants can design relationship strategies that build trust, access and long-term account commitment.

  • Trust equation: credibility, reliability, intimacy and self-orientation
  • Relationship coverage plans across executive, operational and technical levels
  • Executive sponsor roles, briefing requirements and customer meeting protocols
  • Reciprocity boundaries and appropriate relationship-building in regulated procurement
  • Difficult conversation preparation using facts, impact, request and agreement
  • Relationship health indicators including access, advocacy, responsiveness and candour

Participants can coordinate cross-functional contributors around agreed account priorities and customer commitments.

  • RACI matrix clarifying account-team decision rights and delivery responsibilities
  • Internal account reviews linking customer commitments to operational capacity
  • Briefing specialists on customer context, meeting role and desired outcome
  • Escalation paths for service failures, commercial exceptions and delivery risks
  • Account cadence covering pipeline, performance, risks and executive involvement
  • Conflict resolution between account priorities, product limits and resource constraints

Participants can prepare and conduct account negotiations that create value while protecting commercial terms.

  • Negotiation preparation using interests, positions, BATNA and reservation points
  • Give-get trading tables for price, scope, term, volume and payment
  • Total-cost-of-ownership arguments replacing discount-led commercial discussions
  • Procurement tactics: competitive tension, anchoring, deadlines and demand bundling
  • Concession planning with approval limits, conditions and documented exchanges
  • Agreement summaries capturing commitments, exclusions, assumptions and review triggers

Participants can plan renewals and retention actions before contractual and relationship risks escalate.

  • Contract obligation maps covering service levels, pricing, milestones and renewals
  • Renewal timeline beginning twelve months before contract expiry
  • Health scores combining adoption, service performance, relationships and commercial signals
  • Early-warning indicators for churn, competitive displacement and scope reduction
  • Retention plans assigning interventions, owners, timing and executive support
  • Contract variation controls preventing unmanaged scope, cost and margin erosion

Participants can assess account risks and produce proportionate recovery plans for troubled relationships.

  • Account risk register covering commercial, operational, relationship and reputational threats
  • Risk scoring through likelihood, impact, controls and accountable owners
  • Issue escalation using facts, customer impact, options and recommendation
  • Service recovery plans with immediate containment and root-cause actions
  • Competitor displacement scenarios and defensive account response priorities
  • Recovery communications rebuilding confidence through transparency, ownership and follow-through

Participants can design and lead business reviews that produce decisions, commitments and strategic insight.

  • Quarterly business review agenda balancing outcomes, performance, risks and growth
  • Executive dashboards using agreed measures, trends, exceptions and decisions required
  • Service-level performance presented with context, causes and corrective actions
  • Joint scorecards aligning supplier measures with customer business priorities
  • Meeting facilitation techniques for disagreement, priorities and action commitments
  • Review follow-up converting decisions into named actions and due dates

Participants can maintain account data and produce reliable forecasts for strategic accounts.

  • CRM account records capturing stakeholders, opportunities, activities and relationship intelligence
  • Data quality rules for ownership, next actions, close dates and values
  • Forecast categories separating committed, likely, upside and unqualified revenue
  • Account forecast triangulation using pipeline, contract renewals and customer signals
  • Leading indicators for expansion, retention risk and decision-cycle movement
  • Account dashboards combining financial, relationship, operational and opportunity measures

Participants can coordinate targeted marketing activity with account strategy and sales engagement plans.

  • Ideal customer profile criteria refined for strategic account expansion
  • Account-based marketing plays aligned to stakeholder groups and buying stages
  • Content plans addressing customer priorities, objections and proof requirements
  • Campaign response signals converted into account-manager follow-up actions
  • Sales and marketing service-level agreements for named-account activity
  • Event and executive-roundtable plans tied to specific account objectives

Participants can communicate account priorities and recommendations clearly to customers and internal leaders.

  • Executive account briefings structured around situation, insight, recommendation and decision
  • Pyramid Principle used to present commercial messages with supporting evidence
  • Account review narratives separating facts, interpretation, risks and requests
  • Customer meeting agendas built around outcomes rather than supplier updates
  • Written follow-up confirming decisions, actions, owners and completion dates
  • Internal leadership updates highlighting investment choices, risks and expected returns

Participants can organise account-management time around planned growth, customer value and risk control.

  • Weekly account cadence balancing customer contact, planning, follow-up and internal coordination
  • Time-blocking high-value account work before routine administrative activity
  • Account contact plans setting purpose, preparation, attendees and desired next steps
  • Decision logs preserving customer commitments, approvals and unresolved issues
  • Monthly account-plan reviews testing assumptions, progress, risks and priorities
  • Personal scorecards tracking strategic activity, pipeline quality and account outcomes

Participants can build, review and present a complete strategic account plan with a 90-day implementation roadmap.

  • Account selection rationale supported by commercial potential, fit and risk evidence
  • Customer strategy analysis integrating PESTLE, Five Forces and account SWOT
  • Stakeholder map identifying buying roles, influence paths and engagement actions
  • Value proposition and growth opportunities linked to quantified customer outcomes
  • Account objectives, governance model, risks and cross-functional ownership structure
  • Ninety-day action plan with milestones, measures, resources and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Strategic account planning template
  2. Weighted account-tiering scorecard
  3. Customer stakeholder mapping model
  4. Quantified value proposition worksheet
  5. Executive business review agenda and scorecard
  6. Ninety-day account action plan

Who should attend

  • Key Account Managers — need disciplined plans for retaining and growing strategic customers
  • Senior Account Managers — manage complex customer portfolios with multiple decision makers
  • Business Development Managers — convert account intelligence into qualified growth opportunities
  • Sales Managers — need consistent account-planning standards across their sales teams
  • Customer Success Managers — coordinate adoption, renewal and expansion within major customers
  • Technical Sales Specialists — influence complex buying groups with commercially relevant insight

Skills and tools covered

Account prioritisationStakeholder mappingValue proposition designStrategic account planningCommercial negotiationExecutive account reviews

Tools and standards

PESTLE analysis, Porter's Five Forces, MEDDICC, RACI matrix

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings followed by account cases, group analysis, simulations and individual application planning. Participants work with realistic procurement, stakeholder, service-performance and growth scenarios drawn from business-to-business and institutional sales. They apply each method to a selected account as the programme progresses, then receive structured peer and instructor feedback. Role plays focus on executive meetings, account reviews and commercial negotiations. Live online cohorts use facilitated breakout rooms, shared account-planning templates and instructor-led review sessions.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience selling, managing customers or supporting commercial accounts. They should understand their organisation's products or services, typical sales process and basic commercial terms such as revenue, margin, contract value and renewal. Access to information about one current or recent customer account is useful, although a realistic case account can be used where confidentiality prevents this. Prior formal training in strategic account management, finance, negotiation or marketing is not required. The course does not assume experience managing global accounts or leading a sales team.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have customer-facing sales, account management, customer success or commercial support experience. Formal key account management training is not required, but familiarity with a current or recent customer account will make the application work more useful.

Bring non-confidential information about one important account, such as its priorities, stakeholder roles, contract dates, revenue profile and current opportunities. Participants who cannot use a live account can work from a realistic case supplied during the course.

It is designed for account managers responsible for high-value, complex or strategically important customers. It also suits sales managers, business development managers, customer success leaders and technical specialists supporting major-account teams.

General sales courses focus mainly on individual opportunities, prospecting and sales conversations. This course focuses on long-term account strategy, stakeholder networks, joint governance, retention, account economics and coordinated growth across a customer relationship.

Participants leave with a structured account plan and a 90-day action roadmap for a selected account. The templates can then be used in account reviews, executive briefings, pipeline meetings, renewal preparation and internal resource discussions.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides approximately 6.5 contact hours. The first part establishes account analysis and planning methods, while the later sessions focus on governance, negotiation, risk, reviews and presentation of the completed account plan.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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