This in-depth paper by Professor Malcolm McDonald and Diana Woodburn is the definitive guide to creating high-quality, strategic Key Account Management (KAM) plans. It moves beyond the theory of KAM to focus on the practical mechanics of value creation, strategic alignment, and measurable execution — making it an essential tool for any serious account manager or sales leader.
The authors argue that the success or failure of a KAM programme rests largely on the strength of its account plans. Yet in most organisations, planning is undervalued, under-resourced, or poorly structured. This paper shows how to fix that, step by step.
What’s Covered
- Why KAM fails without a structured, value-focused account plan
- The essential elements of a strategic key account plan
- Types of value: exchange, proprietary, and relational
- Financial forecasting, cost visibility, and customer profitability
- The role of the key account manager and multifunctional teams in planning
- How to structure the planning process — including timelines and internal alignment
- Recommended format and content structure (including detailed templates)
- Critical success factors for implementation and measurement
Who This Is For
- Key Account Managers
- Strategic Sales Leaders
- Marketing & Finance Directors supporting account strategy
- Anyone building a KAM programme from scratch or upgrading existing practices
Insight
“Unless the value is defined and described in a plan dedicated to each key customer — and implemented — there may not be any real value creation at all.” – McDonald & Woodburn
Download the Full Paper
This summary gives you the structure — but the full paper includes tools, templates, and financial frameworks to transform planning into action.