I need a plan to keep my key account strong when someone on either side changes roles.

I need a plan to keep my key account strong when someone on either side changes roles.

People change roles on both sides of a key account. Teams with a handoff plan bring new people up to speed quickly and keep the account moving.

Five questions to see if your team can do this job today:

1. Does your team have a handoff plan for when someone on either side leaves or changes roles?
2. When a new leader starts at the customer, does your key account manager (KAM) meet them in the first few weeks?
3. Can your team show a new leader the results you've delivered and why the partnership matters to their business?
4. Do new members of your own team join the account's meetings and rhythm on day one?
5. Does your team check in with your champion each quarter to confirm they're still engaged?

Two or more no's, and a change in people may slow the account down more than it needs to.

When an account changes hands, building in adequate time is essential to a smooth transition. We rarely got much time, though, because people don't like to announce when they're planning their exit. To buy that time, we needed a contingency plan and redundancy at key points in the relationship. Our solution for buffering the impact of a sudden change in key contacts on either side was three things: the business review, the forecast and multi-threaded relationships.

In the business review, we could see who was in the room and who was having an impact, and we looked for vulnerabilities to shore up in case someone left. The same was true in forecasting. We used that process to uncover reasons we might hit or miss our number because of personnel changes. Lastly, we constantly monitored the width and depth of our key relationships to make sure no single person held them. The client knew at least two people on our team for every function, business unit and location. So when someone left, they had a backup who could fill the gap until a permanent solution was found. This is also when the key account leader running the account can take the wheel to ensure continuity.

Of course, the objectives, the account growth strategy, the account plans and the CRM all need to stay fully updated at all times, so any new contact can be brought up to speed on how they can continue to expand and protect the account moving forward.

Change on either side will come, often with little warning. Your team can build the backup ahead of time.

Our system, the Vitality Index, shows your key account teams where they stand today, the work it takes to level up, and how to do it, until they reach a vital partnership that lasts.

If your main contact left next month, who would your team call first?

We built a free, 4-minute Key Account Risk Assessment. It gives you a risk score for your key accounts across team alignment, account planning, account transitions, and visibility. Link in the comments.