UAE campusWeekdays, Monday to FridayMorning and evening classes
Sales & Marketing
Strategic Account Management
Strategic Account Management equips professionals to build long-term, profitable partnerships with strategically important customers. The program moves beyond routine account servicing to account portfolio prioritization, business insight, executive alignment, value co-creation, competitive positioning, and multi-year growth planning. Participants learn to evaluate account potential, map decision networks, formulate differentiated account strategies, lead cross-functional account teams, and govern performance through measurable customer and commercial outcomes.
Next group
2026 & 2027
- Course fee
- Contact us
- Duration
- 3 days
- Group rate
- Ask an advisor
Course overview
Strategic Account Management equips professionals to build long-term, profitable partnerships with strategically important customers. The program moves beyond routine account servicing to account portfolio prioritization, business insight, executive alignment, value co-creation, competitive positioning, and multi-year growth planning. Participants learn to evaluate account potential, map decision networks, formulate differentiated account strategies, lead cross-functional account teams, and govern performance through measurable customer and commercial outcomes.
Training methodology
Interactive facilitator-led sessions combine strategic account case studies, customer portfolio analysis, stakeholder mapping workshops, account-planning templates, financial and opportunity assessments, negotiation scenarios, executive meeting simulations, peer feedback, and a capstone strategic account plan. Participants apply each tool to a realistic or current priority account.
Target competencies
- Strategic account selection, segmentation, and portfolio prioritization.
- Customer business analysis and industry intelligence.
- Stakeholder mapping, executive relationship building, and influence.
- Account strategy formulation and value proposition development.
- Cross-functional collaboration and account governance.
- Commercial planning, negotiation, risk management, and growth forecasting.
- Account performance measurement and continuous improvement.
Course objectives
- Differentiate strategic account management from transactional selling and routine account servicing.
- Select strategic accounts using objective attractiveness, fit, and growth criteria.
- Analyze customer priorities, economics, buying structures, and competitive dynamics.
- Build influence across decision-makers, sponsors, users, and procurement stakeholders.
- Develop a differentiated, customer-centered strategic account plan.
- Identify white-space opportunities and design value-creation initiatives.
- Coordinate internal resources to deliver a consistent account experience.
- Manage commercial risk, profitability, negotiations, and account retention.
- Establish meaningful account KPIs, review routines, and improvement actions.
Course outline
Module 1
Strategic Account Management Fundamentals
- The purpose and business case for strategic account management
- Transactional, key-account, and strategic partnership approaches
- Characteristics of strategically significant accounts
- Long-term value creation and mutual business outcomes
- Responsibilities and success factors of strategic account leaders
Module 2
Strategic Account Selection and Prioritization
- Account attractiveness versus organizational capability and fit
- Revenue, margin, growth, influence, and strategic relevance criteria
- Portfolio segmentation and tiering models
- Resource allocation according to account potential
- Reviewing account designation as conditions change
Module 3
Understanding the Customer Business
- Customer business model, revenue drivers, and cost pressures
- Industry trends, regulation, and competitive landscape
- Customer strategic priorities and transformation initiatives
- Financial, operational, and organizational indicators
- Sources of account intelligence and validation methods
Module 4
Customer Needs and Opportunity Diagnosis
- Explicit needs, latent needs, and unmet business challenges
- Linking customer pain points to strategic outcomes
- Discovery conversations with different business functions
- Evaluating the cost of inaction and change urgency
- Translating insight into an opportunity hypothesis
Module 5
Mapping the Account Ecosystem
- Organizational structures and formal buying processes
- Economic buyers, technical evaluators, users, and influencers
- Decision power, interests, and relationship strength
- Stakeholder mapping and relationship coverage gaps
- Developing multi-threaded engagement strategies
Module 6
Building Executive-Level Relationships
- Engaging senior sponsors with relevant business insight
- Executive meeting preparation and strategic agendas
- Credibility, trust, and consultative dialogue
- Managing access, sponsorship, and internal champions
- Sustaining relationships through leadership transitions
Module 7
Competitive Positioning Within Strategic Accounts
- Incumbent advantages and competitor relationship networks
- Competitive differentiation beyond product features
- Assessing account share, switching barriers, and vulnerabilities
- Defending strategic positions without unnecessary discounting
- Preparing responses to competitive threats
Module 8
Developing the Strategic Account Vision
- Defining desired future relationship and partnership scope
- Aligning account ambition with customer priorities
- Setting short-, medium-, and long-term outcomes
- Determining strategic plays and account investment levels
- Creating a coherent account narrative
Module 9
Strategic Account Planning Framework
- Essential components of a documented account plan
- Account baseline, SWOT, objectives, and opportunity map
- Prioritized initiatives, milestones, owners, and dependencies
- Assumptions, evidence, and decision checkpoints
- Maintaining a living plan rather than a static document
Module 10
Designing Customer Value Propositions
- Linking solutions to customer business priorities
- Quantifying economic, operational, and risk-reduction benefits
- Value propositions for multiple stakeholder groups
- Co-creating solutions with customer teams
- Testing and communicating differentiated value
Module 11
White-Space and Growth Opportunity Mapping
- Share-of-wallet and product or service penetration analysis
- Cross-selling, up-selling, and adjacent business opportunities
- Geographic, departmental, and business-unit expansion
- Qualification and prioritization of growth opportunities
- Balancing new growth with existing service commitments
Module 12
Opportunity Portfolio and Pipeline Strategy
- Building an account-specific opportunity portfolio
- Qualification of complex opportunities and buying readiness
- Opportunity interdependencies and timing considerations
- Forecast quality, probability, and deal slippage risks
- Connecting opportunity actions to account objectives
Module 13
Cross-Functional Account Team Leadership
- Roles of sales, operations, finance, technical, and service teams
- Account team charters and clear ownership
- Internal alignment around customer outcomes
- Coordinating complex proposals and service delivery
- Escalation paths and internal decision rights
Module 14
Customer Collaboration and Joint Business Planning
- Shared priorities and joint planning sessions
- Mutual action plans and implementation responsibilities
- Customer governance meetings and working groups
- Joint innovation and improvement initiatives
- Managing expectations and tracking agreed commitments
Module 15
Commercial Strategy and Account Profitability
- Revenue quality, gross margin, and cost-to-serve
- Customer lifetime value and investment decisions
- Pricing architecture and commercial concessions
- Profitability by solution, segment, and account activity
- Balancing strategic value with commercial discipline
Module 16
Negotiating Strategic Agreements
- Preparation for multi-stakeholder negotiations
- Value-based trade-offs and concession planning
- Procurement strategy and supplier evaluation criteria
- Framework agreements, service levels, and renewal terms
- Protecting relationship quality while negotiating firmly
Module 17
Account Retention and Relationship Resilience
- Early indicators of dissatisfaction and disengagement
- Contract renewal planning and retention risk assessment
- Handling service failures and executive escalations
- Recovery plans for at-risk strategic accounts
- Reducing single-contact dependency
Module 18
Risk Management and Scenario Planning
- Concentration, credit, delivery, and reputational risks
- Customer restructuring and leadership-change scenarios
- Competitive displacement and budget reduction threats
- Contingency plans and risk ownership
- Reviewing account assumptions under uncertainty
Module 19
Strategic Account Governance
- Executive sponsorship and steering structures
- Account review cadence and decision forums
- Escalation protocols and accountability mechanisms
- Documentation, CRM discipline, and knowledge continuity
- Governance that supports agility and customer trust
Module 20
Account Performance Metrics and Dashboards
- Revenue growth, profitability, and share-of-wallet indicators
- Customer outcomes, satisfaction, and retention measures
- Relationship breadth, opportunity health, and plan execution
- Leading versus lagging indicators
- Interpreting dashboard trends and corrective action
Module 21
Strategic Account Reviews and Continuous Improvement
- Quarterly business reviews and executive account reviews
- Reviewing objectives, commitments, and business value delivered
- Testing strategic assumptions against new intelligence
- Capturing lessons and revising account priorities
- Communicating progress internally and to the customer
Module 22
Digital Tools and Account Intelligence
- Using CRM to consolidate stakeholder and opportunity data
- Account dashboards and collaborative planning tools
- Responsible use of AI-assisted research and analysis
- Information accuracy, confidentiality, and access controls
- Turning account data into practical engagement decisions
Module 23
Strategic Account Leadership and Communication
- Influencing without direct authority across functions
- Presenting account strategy to internal leadership
- Facilitating difficult customer and internal conversations
- Building alignment on investment and priorities
- Communicating with clarity at operational and executive levels
Module 24
Capstone: Strategic Account Plan Development
- Select and diagnose a priority account scenario
- Build customer insight and stakeholder maps
- Set strategic objectives and identify growth initiatives
- Prepare governance, KPI, and risk mitigation plans
- Present the plan, receive feedback, and define next actions
Registration is now open.
Morning and evening classes are available. CompuBase Training Center, Abu Dhabi.
