Nuanced Account Management

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvii

   PDF

2. Introduction and Fundamentals

   • Bala Shankar

   Pages 1-15

3. Tactics and Approaches for Sales Effectiveness

   • Bala Shankar

   Pages 17-51

4. Strategies for Deep Customer Engagement

   • Bala Shankar

   Pages 53-99

5. Skillsets and Knowledge (of Account Teams)

   • Bala Shankar

   Pages 101-129

6. Proactive Relationship Management

   • Bala Shankar

   Pages 131-150

7. Organizational and Human Resource Imperatives

   • Bala Shankar

   Pages 151-169

8. Customer Innovation Bias

   • Bala Shankar

   Pages 171-183

9. Pitfalls to Avoid

   • Bala Shankar

   Pages 185-199

10. The Payoff and Concluding Chapters

    • Bala Shankar

    Pages 201-212

11. Back Matter

    Pages 213-220

    PDF

This book is a comprehensive practical guide for account managers, sales teams and account leaders operating in the B2B space. It provides knowledge to excel in developing, growing and retaining top accounts in local and global environments. With a nuanced version of ‘account management’ that will potentially be a game changer, the book offers a personnel-and-process based agenda that can create a ‘competitive advantage’ on its own.

• B2B Sales
• Account Management
• Sales and Marketing
• Customer relationship management
• Tactics and approaches for sales effectiveness
• Strategies for deep customer engagement
• Skillsets and knowledge
• Proactive relationship management
• Organisational and Human Resource imperatives

“Nuanced Account Management is a ‘how to’ book. Born out of insights gained over two decades in the B2B industry, the book presents a comprehensive and practical approach to delighting customers and driving profitability. Powerful thoughts expressed in a simple and easy to read style.” (Nitin Paranjpe, President, Homecare, Unilever)

“Nuanced Account Management is a must read for any B2B salesperson. It provides detailed, specific advice on how to become a more customer-centered advisor in the complex world of business to business transactions.” (Bernie Jaworski, The Peter Drucker Chair in Management, Drucker School of Management, Claremont Graduate University, USA)

“The art of selling and building a partnership with your client is often undervalued. “Nuanced”, as Bala Shankar describes, is a perfect word that continues the process of building a lasting trust with another business with an existing customer, trust based on all the factors he describes in detail, highs and lows you will face. Experience and differentiation are increasingly keys today and I fully recommend this profound and very practical guide.” (Roger Schmid, Global Innovation Advisor, The Natura Group, USA & Brazil)

“An important book from a successful practitioner for everyone involved in B2B selling. The book tackles the important question of ‘What drives competitive advantage in B2B sales’? It brings to center stage the importance of account management through practical guidance that will help every sales professional achieve their goals.” (Sanjiv Kakkar, Executive Vice President, Unilever North Africa, Middle East, Turkey, Russia Ukraine, and Belarus)

“Bala Shankar brings in his entire sales experience in this book in a very structured manner. Apart from his obsession on putting “Customer” in center of all your actions and strategies, Bala addresses the issues faced internally by an Account Manager in his/her organization and recommends how to maintain the right balance internally and externally.” (Anil Chugh, Chief Executive, Consumer Care Business, Wipro, Bangalore, India)

“If you want to get to know best practices of B2B account management, sales effectiveness and customer engagement, this book is for you.  Bala Shankar has done a wonderful job distilling key insights, tools, tactics and strategies.  I love its practical and hands-on approach.” (Professor Jochen Wirtz, Vice-Dean, Graduate Studies & Professor of Marketing, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore)

“Among the many important concepts Bala Shankar is sharing with the reader, the very key concept is to always “sell benefits, not features”. While this seems trivial, it requires a fundamental mindset change.” (Professor Stefan Michel, Dean of Executive MBA program and Faculty Representative, IMD Foundation Board, IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland)

• Management Consultant, Singapore, Singapore

  Bala Shankar

Bala Shankar is a consultant and has been an adjunct marketing faculty at the Singapore Management University (SMU) for nearly a decade. He has had 25 years of corporate experience in Asia, Europe, and North America in various sales and account management capacities as a regional and global leader. Bala has also been associated with executive development programs and is a contributing writer to The Business Times, Singapore. He received his MBA from the renowned Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad.

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