Account Management Secrets
Account Management Secrets is a podcast aimed at Account Managers, the professionals responsible for a large share of company revenue. Hosted by Alex Raymond, it offers weekly insights, strategies, and tools for succeeding in the role. Episodes cover topics such as managing client relationships, preparing for Quarterly Business Reviews, and driving growth. Each installment provides practical advice listeners can apply right away. The show is produced by AMplify, a community for Account Managers focused on career development and networking.
Episodes
There’s a Difference Between Successful and Happy - Customer Success at SambaSafety | EP110
AI is already drafting your emails and building your QBR decks in twenty minutes flat. So what happens to the CSM role once the busywork disappears? That question sits at the center of this episode of Account Management Secrets, where host Alex Raymond sits down with John Conley, Senior Vice President of Customer Success at SambaSafety, to talk about how AI in customer success is reshaping his tea
How to Get Hired and Promoted as an Account Manager | EP109
Every account manager job posting pulls in a flood of applicants. So what makes a hiring manager stop scrolling? Knowing what hiring managers look for in account managers can change how you apply, interview, and grow once you land the role.
On Account Management Secrets, Alex Raymond talks with Grace Knapp, Senior Manager of the Account Management Team at AdRoll. Grace has spent more than 15 yea
How to Lead a Customer Success Team and Earn CFO Trust | EP108
How to lead a customer success team gets complicated when nobody agrees on what the team is responsible for. Sales has a clear job. Post-sale teams are often expected to handle whatever comes their way, yet customer success still takes the blame when a customer churns.
Host Alex Raymond talks with Beth Laplante, SVP of Customer Success at Adara, about what strong customer success leadership look
Partner, Not a Cost Center: Account Management at Mastercard | EP107
Most account managers wonder what it takes to move from managing a book of business to leading one. George Siter has made that climb, going from director to VP and then into two different SVP roles at Mastercard, and he has real answers for anyone mapping their own account management career path.
In this episode of Account Management Secrets, host Alex Raymond talks with George Siter, Senior Vic
How to Build a Customer Relationship Map: Grow Revenue and Have Fun Doing It | EP106
Most account managers know they're supposed to "know their customer." Few have an actual system for what that means or how to prove it.
Dan Horowitz, Head of US Sales & Account Management at Taboola, joins Alex Raymond to break down how to build a customer relationship map that protects revenue instead of just decorating a slide. Dan explains that strong account management starts with the fu
Why Customer Satisfaction Doesn’t Predict Retention | EP105
Your happiest customers might be the first ones to leave. That is the uncomfortable finding behind why customer satisfaction doesn't predict retention, and new data makes it even stronger. Some of the most demanding, hardest to please customers turn out to be the ones who never walk away.
Greg Daines, founder and CEO of ChurnRx, returns to Account Management Secrets for his second appearance wit
How to Prevent “Green-to-Gone” Accounts | EP104
Most account teams don't lose customers overnight. They lose them slowly, through signals nobody caught in time. Knowing how to identify at-risk customers before they churn is the difference between a controlled loss and a surprise that blindsides the whole business.
On Account Management Secrets, host Alex Raymond talks with Daniel Santiago, Senior Vice President of Customer Success at OrthoFi,
How Account Managers Keep Losing Executive Access (And How to Stop) | EP103
Most account managers can quote the theory on building relationships with executives, but the real test starts after the deal closes. That's when the senior sponsor hands you off to someone three levels down. Jamal Reimer has lived that handoff from both sides. He spent 26 years in enterprise software sales, including a $53 million deal while at Oracle, and he learned exactly how to build executiv
GRR vs NRR: What Private Equity Firms Really Evaluate in Customer Success | EP102
Private equity firms don't care about your health scores or QBRs. They care about one question: what makes this business worth more tomorrow than it is today.
Carlos Granda spent 30 years running post-sales at Google Cloud, Salesforce, SAP, and Oracle before he started advising the private equity firms buying up software companies. That vantage point gave him a name for a problem most executives
Account Manager vs Project Manager: Why Smashing the Roles Together Backfires | EP101
Account manager vs project manager isn't just a title swap. Smash the two roles together, and you get the worst of both worlds, with no time to do either job well.
On Account Management Secrets, Alex Raymond talks with Stephan Schroeder, Vice President of Global Sales and Client Services for the Automotive and Mobility Practice at Escalent. Escalent works with almost all major global automotive
What 100 Conversations Taught Me About Post-Sale | EP100
Most account managers can’t clearly explain what their job is, and that gap costs them money, energy, and career momentum. This episode of Account Management Secrets delivers the account management career advice Alex Raymond has collected across 100 episodes and two years of conversations with account managers and customer success leaders around the world.
Alex breaks down the five lessons that
The Customer Success Competencies That Made the Relationship-Only CSM Obsolete | EP99
Keeping customers happy no longer protects your job. Buyers want measurable business outcomes, and the customer success competencies you leaned on in the last decade will not carry you forward.
Host Alex Raymond sits down with Bradley Lawrence, former Global Head of Customer Experience at Coursera, who has led customer teams for more than fifteen years. Bradley names the five customer success co
Private Equity Due Diligence and the 20% Nobody Sees Coming From Customer Churn After Acquisition | EP98
Private equity due diligence rarely accounts for the customer base itself, even though it may be the asset most likely to drive an acquisition’s success.
On this episode of Account Management Secrets, host Alex Raymond sits down with James Lawson, a veteran of PE-backed software companies, to unpack why so many deals underperform after the ink dries. James has spent over two decades cleaning up
From High-Volume to High-Stakes: The Enterprise Customer Success Manager Career Path | EP97
Running one global enterprise account is nothing like running 120 small ones, and the enterprise customer success manager career path proves it.
Josh Chapman is a Principal Customer Success Manager for Global Strategic Enterprise at Adobe, where he runs one of the company’s largest accounts. On this episode of Account Management Secrets, host Alex Raymond traces Josh's career from Ticketmaster t
Your QBR Is Probably Killing Your Client Relationship: How to Run a Better QBR | EP96
Most QBRs are slow, forgettable, and quietly kill your client relationships.
That's the uncomfortable truth Jason Scott sat with after watching a major enterprise account stagnate for over 12 months. As a seasoned account manager with experience managing portfolios worth more than $100 million across healthcare, insurance, and technology, Jason realized the problem wasn't the account. It was the
Account Management in Private Equity: How to Grow the Customer Base as an Asset and Win in the Boardroom | EP95
Most account managers at PE-backed companies are playing by the wrong rules and don't even know it.
Alex Raymond and guest Alan Gonsenhauser, an 11-time CMO and private equity advisor who calls himself a "customer capitalist," reframe what account management in private equity means and why the way most post-sale leaders talk about their work is costing them credibility in the boardroom.
Alan b
The Customer Success Credibility Problem Every Customer Success Leader Must Fix | EP94
Customer success credibility is in trouble, and the profession earned much of the blame.
On Account Management Secrets, host Alex Raymond sits down with Jenny Anderson, VP of Customer Experience at Sovra, to unpack why so many CS teams struggle to prove their value in revenue terms. Jenny recently gave a talk on customer success credibility at the Customer Success Collective's Denver Summit, and
Digital Customer Success at Scale: How a Small Team Supports 10,000 Customers | EP93
10,000 customers. One small team. A retention strategy strong enough to make sales rethink account coverage.
Andrew Carothers has built digital customer success at enterprise scale, first at Cisco across hundreds of thousands of accounts, and now at Proofpoint as Global Head of Digital Customer Success. On Account Management Secrets with host Alex Raymond, he makes the case that the way teams th
The QBR Test: Why Your Customer Success Renewal Forecast Starts With Who Shows Up | EP92
The QBR you think went fine might be the clearest sign your account is at risk.
On Account Management Secrets, host Alex Raymond makes a case that the quarterly business review for account managers is the single most important strategic meeting in your toolkit. More important than health scores, dashboards, or AI tools. And yet, most account managers are running through QBRs like a checklist and
Account Management Team Charter: Why Your Framework Keeps Failing and How to Fix It | EP91
The problem is not that account management leaders lack strategy. The problem is getting that strategy out of the document and into the rhythm of the team.
On Account Management Secrets, host Alex Raymond is joined by Jennifer Pinter to recap Building the Growth Department, a program inside Amplify. Together, they get honest about why so many account management leaders know what they should be d
AI-Powered Customer Success: What Changes When Your Team Is the Product | EP90
When the team is the product, AI-powered customer success stops being a support function and starts being the entire business.
That's the reality Melissa McMillan stepped into when she joined Virio as Head of Customer Success in January. Three months later, she was General Manager. On Account Management Secrets, host Alex Raymond sits down with Melissa to unpack what that shift means for how pos
Revenue Leakage Prevention: What Goes Wrong Between Sales and Account Management and How to Fix It | EP89
The sales to account management handoff is where client relationships are won or lost before the real work even begins.
On Account Management Secrets, host Alex Raymond sits down with Karen Loiterstein, a revenue leadership veteran with experience at TierPoint, Equifax, and Express Scripts, to dig into one of the most costly and overlooked problems in B2B. A deal closes, everyone celebrates, and
How to Sell to a CFO: A Former Charles Schwab CFO Reveals What Works | EP88
The CFO is not who you think they are, and that misunderstanding is costing account managers deals.
On Account Management Secrets, host Alex Raymond sits down with Jacques Sciammas, a former CFO at Charles Schwab, McGraw-Hill, and Standard & Poor's, to break down how to sell to a CFO and what it takes to build a lasting executive relationship. Jacques is now the President at Selling to Execu
Customer Churn Prevention Starts Before the Renewal Is at Risk | EP87
Customer churn usually starts long before renewal, and strong account managers know how to spot the risk before the customer walks.
On this episode of Account Management Secrets, customer churn prevention takes center stage with Alex Raymond and Chris Rauch, an experienced Chief Customer Officer who has led post-sales teams at Salesforce, Sage, and Supermetrics. Chris calls out a common problem
Expansion Revenue Strategy Built on Systems Instead of Heroics | EP86
Revenue stalls when companies treat growth like a handoff instead of a system, and this conversation shows why expansion revenue strategy lives or dies in the customer journey.
On Account Management Secrets, Alex Raymond talks with Nate Skinner, Chief Revenue Officer at 8am about what separates random wins from repeatable growth. The heart of the discussion is expansion revenue strategy and the
Quantifying Customer Value to Prevent Surprise Churn | EP85
Why do “healthy” accounts still churn? Because sentiment is not the same as quantifying customer value.
On Account Management Secrets, Alex Raymond speaks with Nakul Kadaba, Manager, Technical Account Management and Head of Retention at ServiceNow, about a problem many account teams know too well. A customer seems happy, the dashboard looks strong, and the business still slips away. This convers
To Grow the Business, You Have to Know the Business | EP84
Account leadership is at the center of this episode, and that matters for any agency trying to build stronger client partnerships and create more value from the account role. On Account Management Secrets, host Alex Raymond talks with Lori Bartle, author and advisor at Cultivagency, about why agency account management needs a clearer mandate and why account leadership should be treated as a growth
Proactive Account Management: The Post-Sale Strategy That Turns Reactive Teams Into Growth Teams | EP83
Proactive account management sounds simple until you are leading a team under constant renewal pressure, support issues, weak handoffs, and last minute surprises. On Account Management Secrets, host Alex Raymond sits down with Jennifer Pinter, Fractional Customer Success Leader and Expert in Account Management to break down what proactive account management actually requires when you want stronger
Government Account Management and Why Total Account Ownership Matters in GovTech | EP82
What does government account management look like when your customer is a city, county, or state agency? In this episode of Account Management Secrets, Alex Raymond sits down with Benjamin Stidham, VP of Account Management at CivicPlus, to unpack why government account management requires a different mindset than traditional SaaS roles and what it takes to succeed in this environment.
Benjamin s
Account Management Strategy: The 4 Things Customers Actually Care About | EP81
Most account teams get rewarded for being responsive, but the teams that actually grow revenue follow a sharper account management strategy. In this episode, Alex Raymond talks with Julio Franco of Zappi about how strong account teams stop acting like vendors and start acting like business partners. This conversation is useful for anyone who wants an account management strategy that ties day-to-da
Why Most Pharmaceutical Key Account Management Programs Fail (And How to Fix Them) | EP80
Pharmaceutical key account management can make or break growth in complex health systems, and this episode shows why so many teams still get it wrong. Alex Raymond talks with Chris Deren, Founder and CEO at ClarityCX1, about what pharmaceutical key account management requires inside large organizations where short-term sales pressure often works against long-term account growth. If you work in key
Chief Customer Officer Role And Net Revenue Retention Strategy For B2B SaaS Growth | EP79
Most SaaS companies obsess over new revenue but underestimate what it takes to keep it. The Chief Customer Officer role becomes essential once a company moves beyond early traction and into real scale. In this episode, Alex Raymond and Gillian Core, Global Chief Customer Officer at 360Learning, examine what the Chief Customer Officer role actually demands when B2B SaaS revenue growth is on the lin
How to Improve Forecast Accuracy for Renewals: The 4 Questions to Ask | EP78
Forecast accuracy is the fastest way for a post-sales team to earn trust or lose it with leadership. In this episode, Alex Raymond sits down with John Huber, Founder and Principal CS Consultant at Customer Success Architects, to break down what drives forecast accuracy when executives expect predictable revenue from existing accounts.
John shares the story of a renewal that looked safe at 94% an
Value Before Revenue: The Post-Sales Mindset Shift | EP77
The recurring revenue model is comforting. Contracts renew. Revenue repeats. Forecasts look stable. But that assumption hides risk. When renewals are treated as automatic rather than earned, blind spots form. A strong customer retention strategy requires more than waiting for renewal dates. It demands clarity around outcomes, proactive engagement, and a disciplined post-sales process that makes va
How Advertising Agencies Grow Revenue Through Account Management | EP76
Why do advertising agencies keep adding account roles, yet revenue growth is hard to account for?
In this episode of Account Management Secrets, Alex Raymond talks with Chantal Sagnes, founder of Chantal Sagnes Consulting, about what actually happens after an agency wins the work. Chantal has spent years on both the business development and account leadership sides, and she shares what she has s
Account Management in the Music Industry: Client Retention, Revenue Growth, and Operating with Discipline | EP75
Account management changes when your clients are artists, creators, and public figures. There are no predictable renewals. Attention fades quickly, and relevance is earned every day.
In this episode of Account Management Secrets, Alex Raymond sits down with Niko Ivanov, Partner and Head of Account Management at NOX Media, to explore how account management works when traditional SaaS metrics fall
The Growth Department: Why Post-Sale Has to Change | EP74
Post-sales teams generate most of the revenue and nearly all of the profit, so why are they still treated like a support function instead of a growth driver?
Alex Raymond shares the thinking behind his new book, The Growth Department, and names a reality many account management and customer success teams live every day. They carry responsibility for renewals, expansion, and retention, yet often
The CCO Playbook for Durable Customer Growth | EP73
What does it take to lead customer teams in 2026 when value creation matters more than renewals and curiosity separates trusted guides from replaceable vendors?
That question drives Alex Raymond’s conversation with Jim Richmond, Chief Customer Officer at Smartling, and it frames a grounded look at modern customer leadership. Jim shares a clear belief that last year’s success expires quickly. Tea
How to Spot a Growth Stall Early | EP72
Growth stalls rarely announce themselves. It usually starts with hesitation, mixed signals, and decisions that keep getting pushed to the next quarter.
In How to Spot a Growth Stall Early, Alex Raymond sits down with Ellie Wu, Founder and Executive Advisor of CSuiteCX, to talk about what post-sales leaders are quietly dealing with right now. From her vantage point across entrepreneurship and bus
How a Chief Client Officer Leads | EP71
Long-lasting client partnerships are built through disciplined fit, visible value, and the conviction to say no to the wrong work even when the revenue looks tempting.
Joel Sylvester, Chief Client Officer at Five Star Call Centers, shares a grounded perspective on client leadership that blends entrepreneurship, business discipline, and wellbeing. Rather than chasing every opportunity, Joel argue
Flip the QBR | EP70
If your QBRs keep getting ghosted or quietly deprioritized, the problem is not the calendar invite but the way those meetings are framed and led.
Alex Raymond challenges the default way most account managers think about quarterly business reviews. In a market where portfolios are growing, resources are tighter, and customer attention is harder to earn, QBRs reveal how your customer truly sees yo
The Win-Win-Win: Building Sustainable Partnerships That Serve Business and Community | EP69
Account management can drive renewals, reduce risk, and expand real career access when corporate partnerships are treated as long-term commitments rather than short-term transactions.
This conversation with Liz Jones of Genesis Works Chicago, reframes account management through a nonprofit lens and shows how the core principles still hold. She explains what changes when corporate partners are tr
How to Make Key Account Management Work | EP68
Most key account programs collapse because companies treat a strategic discipline like a standard sales motion, and this conversation reveals what it actually takes to build one that works.
Alex Raymond and Mark Davies examine why so many organizations invest in key account management yet struggle to see meaningful impact. Mark argues that KAM only succeeds when the company recognizes it as a di
How Account Managers Can Beat Imposter Syndrome and Build Executive Presence | EP67
High performers don’t grow out of imposter syndrome. They just learn how to hide it better.
Executive coach and imposter syndrome specialist Dr. Tara Halliday joins the show to unpack why so many accomplished people still feel like they don’t belong and how that belief quietly shapes confidence, performance, and presence at work. She explains how the nervous system hijacks clear thinking in high
How Great Account Managers Spot and Manage Risk Before It’s Too Late | EP66
The biggest threat to your revenue often isn’t churn, it’s the blind spots you never realized were there.
Alex sits down with Lisa Honaker, a seasoned account management leader who has coached teams across fast-moving entrepreneurship and high-stakes business environments. They get into why so many AMs misread early risk signals and how a narrow set of contacts can leave even strong accounts vul
Why NRR Matters to Every CEO Right Now | EP65
NRR has become the pressure test for every account management leader who wants to prove they can drive real, sustainable growth.
Alex Raymond is joined by Jennifer Pinter, a longtime operator and advisor who works closely with account management and CS leaders navigating today’s retention-driven market. Together they dig into why net revenue retention now sits at the center of every strategic co
Fix What’s Really Broken | EP64
Most companies don’t have a revenue problem, they have a process problem hidden in plain sight.
Alex sits down with Eddie Reynolds, CEO of Union Square Consulting, to unpack why growth so often stalls even when sales are strong. Through the lens of entrepreneurship and business strategy, Eddie explains how broken go-to-market systems, unclear ownership, and neglected post-sales
processes quietl
Why RevOps Should Scare You Less | EP63
Mallory Lee proves that simplifying your systems can be the smartest growth strategy a company ever makes.
Alex Raymond sits down with Mallory Lee, VP of Revenue Operations at PhoneBurner, about how tearing out a decade of legacy systems and moving from Salesforce to HubSpot unlocked faster growth, cleaner data, and stronger alignment across the company. Guided by her “SEC” framework—simple, eff
QBRs on a Cocktail Napkin: The Art of Executive Simplicity | EP62
Ultra accounts demand a no-deck QBR playbook built on senior trust, steakhouse conversations, and concrete commitments.
Carl Lenocker, Senior Customer Success Executive at Splunk (now Cisco), joins Alex Raymond to talk about managing $10M+ enterprise accounts through clarity, preparation, and authentic relationship-building. He shares how the best account managers operate more like entrepreneurs
Account Managers are Fixers | EP61
What if the key to explosive growth isn’t chasing new customers but treating expansion as an act of service to the ones you already have?
Alex Raymond sits down with Amanda Edington, VP of Account Management at Payscale, to unpack how a mindset shift toward service transformed her team’s approach to growth and retention. Amanda shares how curiosity and trust drive meaningful expansion, why the b
Consistency Beats Heroics: Shep Hyken on Building B2B Customer Loyalty | EP60
Satisfied customers leave, but loyal ones stay because great account managers turn every interaction into consistency, trust, and genuine partnership.
Alex Raymond sits down with customer experience expert and New York Times bestselling author Shep Hyken to explore how account managers can move beyond customer satisfaction and build true loyalty that lasts. Shep explains why “satisfied” is the m
Value Is the New Contract: Anthony DeShazor on Outcome-Based Account Management | EP59
When contracts disappear and only value keeps customers loyal, the real work of account management begins.
Alex Raymond talks with Anthony DeShazor, the founder and chief architect of Protia Revenue Systems, about building customer relationships that last when “value is the contract.” Drawing from his experience leading customer success at Givelify, Anthony shares how operating without renewals
The MBA Account Managers Never Got | EP58
Revenue is more concentrated than ever, with a handful of accounts driving the majority of growth. That reality makes account management both the biggest risk and the biggest lever in business today.
In this episode, Frank Cespedes—senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and author of Sales Management That Works—joins Alex Raymond to talk about why most companies are still scandalously sloppy w
The Skills Every Account Manager Needs Now with Bill Senese | EP57
Most account managers know how to follow up, but follow through is what separates someone who manages deals from someone who builds real partnerships.
Bill Senese, Senior Strategic Adoption Manager at Amazon Business and author of “The Book on That: B2B Account Management,” shares the skills that actually move the needle - listening that uncovers what clients aren’t saying out loud, curiosity th
Why Revenue is the Critical Customer Success KPI | EP56
Customer success used to thrive on easy capital and organic expansion. But in today’s market, that model is running out of runway. If CS isn’t tied to revenue, it’s on borrowed time. In this episode, Justin Strackany - employee #1 at SecureLink who scaled the company to $50M ARR and three exits - makes the case for why post-sales must evolve into a true growth function. He and Alex Raymond discuss
Negotiating Renewals Without Giving Away the Farm: Todd Caponi’s Four Levers | EP55
Negotiation doesn’t have to feel like a hostage scene. In this episode, Alex Raymond sits down with Todd Caponi, sales expert and author of the upcoming book “Four Levers Negotiating,” to reframe how account managers approach renewals and upsells. Introducing his “Four Levers” framework (volume, timing of cash, length of commitment, and deal predictability), Todd explains how anchoring conversatio
The Red Renewals System: How Asana Flags Enterprise Churn 12 Months Out | EP54
Utilization numbers may look like the problem. But as Josh Abdulla, the Chief Customer Officer at Asana, points out, low usage is usually just the symptom, not the cause.
In this episode, Josh shares how he manages a global portfolio of 170,000 customers by combining data-driven rigor with clear-eyed coaching. He unpacks Asana’s Red Renewals System, a process that flags enterprise churn risk up
Help Customers Build Confidence in Saying YES | EP53
Customer deals often stall not because the product is weak but because buyers doubt their own ability to make the right choice.
Alex Raymond is joined by Brent Adamson, the co-author of The Challenger Sale, The Challenger Customer, and The Framemaking Sale, and the co-founder of A to B Insight, to discuss why decision confidence drives stronger outcomes than product features or supplier claims.
Tools & Processes for Account Management and Client Success Teams | EP52
Too many account management teams invest in software before they’re ready, and end up automating the wrong things.
Alex Raymond sits down with Jennifer Pinter, a seasoned expert in account management software, to talk about what separates successful tech stacks from the ones that never gain traction. Jennifer has helped dozens of companies implement tools for AM and CS teams, and she’s seen how
Deliver Bad News Early: Tips from a CRO | EP51
Bad forecasts don’t just miss targets. They influence hiring plans, budgets, and boardroom confidence. Former Chief Revenue Officer Cliff Unger joins Alex Raymond to share how account managers can build the accuracy and credibility that drive both company growth and personal career impact.
Drawing from his journey from hardware account management to SaaS leadership, Cliff reveals how forecasting
The Playbook for Clients Who Stay & Grow with You | EP50
Most account managers get stuck in the middle, passing information back and forth, but the ones who rise are curators who build trust, shape strategy, and drive real business growth.
Alex Raymond is joined by Carl Smith, the founder of The Bureau, to explore how the account management role has evolved from being a reactive liaison into one of the most strategic positions inside an agency. Carl sha
Serve, Retain, Sell: How Account Management Builds Revenue Leaders | EP49
Account managers who want a seat at the executive table need to master the art of growing revenue by owning client relationships, not just managing them. Alex Raymond and Mike Rapp, Chief Revenue Officer at IntelePeer, talk through what it takes to make that leap. Mike shares how his early career in project management shaped the way he builds trust with customers and why that perspective became a
QBRs, Retention, and Role Clarity with Kristy Devantier | EP48
Kristy Devantier, the Managing Director at TaleWind Digital (formerly WorkerBee.TV), joins Alex Raymond for a conversation about what really changes when account managers have the right structure and clarity in their role. How do you move beyond check-the-box QBRs and start having client conversations that actually lead to growth? How do you build a team that isn’t just managing projects but activ
Why Post-Sale Is Still Broken (And What to Do About It) | EP47
Most companies have no real strategy for what happens after the deal closes, and this episode makes it clear why post-sales growth is still the most underutilized advantage in B2B.
Alex Raymond is joined by Craig Rosenberg, the Chief Platform Officer at Scale Venture Partners and the co-host of The Transaction, for a conversation about why account management continues to be under-resourced, unde
Don't Confuse Being Liked with Being Effective | EP46
Too many account managers confuse being liked with being effective and it’s costing them renewals, influence, and growth. Chad Horenfeldt, the VP of Customer Success at Siena AI and author of “The Strategic Customer Success Manager,” joins Alex Raymond to talk about the people-pleaser trap and how to break out of it. They unpack the four identity traps that keep account managers stuck in reactive
Stuck in the Reactive Admin Zone? Get Strategic and Grow Revenue! | EP45
Too many account managers are stuck in reactive mode—waiting on problems, answering tickets, and playing support—while the real opportunity sits untapped: driving strategic growth.
In this episode, Alex Raymond is joined by author and sales strategist Anthony Iannarino to unpack what’s broken in post-sales and what needs to change. Their conversation challenges the status quo of account manageme
Prove Clear ROI in 15 Minutes Flat | EP44
Most account managers talk about value but Robert Sproule shows you how to prove it in fifteen minutes flat. Alex Raymond sits down with Robert, the VP of Account Management at SafetyChain, to discuss what it really looks like to show measurable impact in industries where the stakes are high and the paperwork never ends.
Robert explains how his team uses short, focused executive results reviews
4 Moves That Unlock $$$ After the Sale | EP43
Most account managers are playing too small and leaving millions in growth potential untouched inside their current client base.
Alex Raymond challenges the idea that retention should be the finish line. He invites us to take a closer look at the mindset and habits that keep teams stuck in incremental growth and asks something many of us don’t pause to consider: Are we thinking big enough when
Heroes, Villains, and the Power of Story in Account Management | EP42
Most account managers think they’re here to sell solutions. But the real opportunity might be helping your client see themselves differently, like the hero of their own story.
Alex Raymond talks with Adrian Davis, the President and CEO of Whetstone Inc. and author of “Heroes, Villains, and the Thrill of Professional Selling.” Adrian shares a storytelling framework that redefines the role of the
Build Influence to Drive Renewals and Growth in Your Accounts | EP41
Most account managers think influence is a soft skill until it costs them the renewal.
Brad Englert has been on both sides of the table. As a former Accenture partner and CIO at the University of Texas, he’s worked with account managers who earned his trust and others who landed on his “most hated vendor” list. In this episode, Brad joins Alex Raymond to discuss why influence is a skill that des
World Class Account Management Skills The Sandler Way | EP40
The best account managers build their book like it’s their business, and that mindset changes everything.
Alex Raymond is joined by Todd O’Donnell, who went from tech sales at IBM and Oracle to leading one of Canada’s top-performing insurance agencies. Todd shares how blitz days, cold calling, and world-class training shaped his early career, and why those habits still influence how he runs his
Cutting Back on Account Management (Jess Manganelli Thinks It's a Terrible Idea) | EP39
Account managers who lead with business acumen, creative insight and clear boundaries are the ones who drive real growth.
What happens when agencies start questioning whether account management still matters? Jess Manganelli has seen it firsthand, and she’s got strong opinions. As the founder of Betts & Betz, she works with creative agencies to build high-performing account teams that don’t
The Challenger Sale, Customer Confidence, and Growing Key Accounts with Brent Adamson | EP38
Most account managers are stuck chasing satisfaction when they should be driving change.
Alex Raymond is joined by Brent Adamson, the co-founder of A to B Insight and Qoos and the author of “The Challenger Sale,” for a discussion that challenges the way most teams think about account growth. If happy customers aren’t growing their accounts, what’s missing? And what does it actually take to move
This Question Drove a 200x Increase in Client Revenue | EP37
Asking one bold question turned a $50K client into a $10M account and reshaped how account managers think about trust, strategy and growth.
Account management leader Joanna Hagelberger joins Alex Raymond to talk about what account management looks like when it’s done right, from building the function from scratch at high-growth InsurTech companies to leading with curiosity instead of a script. W
2025 GTM Benchmark Report (& what it means for AMs now) | EP36
Most of your revenue probably came from existing customers last year, and if your QBRs don’t include the C-suite, you’re at serious risk of churn.
Alex Raymond sits down with Guy Rubin, the founder and CEO of Ebsta, to unpack the 2025 GTM Benchmark Report and what it means for account managers right now. The data is clear: 52% of new revenue last year came from existing accounts, not new logos.
Tips for Account Managers Navigating The Job Market | EP35
Spray-and-pray job applications aren’t getting anyone hired. So what actually works when the competition is this intense?
In this episode, Alex Raymond is joined by Carly Agar, the founder and CEO of Carly Agar Training, to talk about how account managers can navigate the current job market with more clarity and control. What do hiring managers really care about? How do you stand out when hundre
AI Is Reshaping Customer Value | EP34
AI isn’t just changing the tools we use, it’s reshaping the entire conversation around business value, accountability, and risk.
In this episode, Alex Raymond sits down with Mark Stouse, the CEO of ProofAnalytics.ai, to talk about how AI is driving a seismic shift in how companies operate. The core message: transparency and accountability are no longer optional, and gut instinct won’t cut it.
Customer Success is Dead as We Know It | EP33
Customer success was supposed to be the future. So why are so many CS teams under-resourced, misunderstood, and fighting to stay relevant?
Alex Raymond sits down with Parker Chase-Corwin, the CEO and principal consultant of Xperience Alchemy who’s helped dozens of B2B companies rethink how they approach retention, risk, and long-term value. They unpack why CS never quite delivered on its promise
A 90-Day Account Plan Level Up | EP32
Most account plans feel like busywork. Why? Because they’re built in a broken system that rewards documentation over results.
In this episode, Alex Raymond explains why so many account plans fail to drive real impact and what to do instead. He introduces a framework: three customer goals, three key contacts, and three specific actions for the next 90 days. No fluff. No filler. Just a clear plan
The Account Manager Career Path: What Hiring Managers Really Want | EP31
Most account managers are chasing career growth, but few stop to ask whether their next opportunity might already be within reach.
Alex Raymond talks with Swati Garg, the founder and CEO of Melo Associates, about what hiring managers are prioritizing right now, and what many candidates are getting wrong. What skills actually stand out in a crowded field? How do you show you’re ready for more res
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