What book would you recommend for learning account management?

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I just got promoted to an account management role and my background is in project and program management. I'm learning a lot from my manager but I would also like to find some books or other resources to learn how to be a great account manager. Have you come across any resources that you would recommend?

Submitted by Michael Alan on Friday August 1st, 2014 1:37 pm

Hi TEPPO,
I am assuming that this is a sales account management position where you will be selling and growing customers.  If so I have 4 books that are great.  They are:

  1. Hope is not a strategy by Rick Page
  2. Selling to big companies by Jill Kornath
  3. How to become a rainmaker by Jefferey J Fox
  4. Spin Selling.  Not sure on the author as I have not read this one, but several people that I really respect have given this one high marks.

With your background in project management you will be ahead of the game on managing the deliverables with accounts and helping to make sure everything is getting done when it should for the customer.  The above books will help with working on sales skills.   I would also recommend reading up or listening to podcasts on DISC.  Sales is all about communication.
 
Best of luck

Submitted by Joseph Beckenbach on Thursday April 15th, 2021 8:52 pm

In reply to by Michael Alan

Neil Rackham, "SPIN Selling".  As noted by Josh Kaufman in "The Personal MBA", a well-regarded classic book on sales.  (Aside: for that last, personalmba.com/ is the online format, ISBN 978-0-525-54302-2 the paper-back format for the tenth-anniversary edition.)
+1 for Jeffrey Fox as well.  Also add Jay Abraham for some really gritty mixing of big-picture and fine-detail.

Submitted by Mike Bruns on Saturday August 2nd, 2014 8:48 am

Quick update:  Spin Selling (one of the best books on selling and account management in the market) is written by Neil Rackham   "The Challenger Sale" builds on the similar concepts but puts a slightly different spin in things.  Well worth the investment.

Submitted by Teppo Jouttenus on Saturday August 2nd, 2014 2:11 pm

Thanks Mike, I just ordered Hope Is Not a Strategy and look forward to reading it as well as the other books. The account management function is still evolving in our organization. There is definitely sales involved but also a lot of relationship management. My company works with higher education institutions to create online courses and instead of them paying us, the revenue from students taking the courses is shared. So I am "selling" the idea of different kinds of projects where we can partner and then share the revenue.

Submitted by Dylan Brown on Wednesday January 27th, 2021 7:11 am

Selling to big companies by Jill Kornath

  1. Selling to big companies by Jill Kornath
Submitted by Abby Lauren on Tuesday April 13th, 2021 6:15 am

Congratulations on your promotion. By the way,the book titled "Pivot" by Jenny Blake is a good read. It's a brialiiant concept that helps you focus on what's realistic. I'm still reading it up to now.