On the sell side: The rules of account manager management
Let the account manager manage the account. Don’t undermine their authority by muscling in on client meetings, in particular dinners. And don’t force them to have the title ‘account manager’ on their business card. Such cards alert CIOs that they are trapped in a room with a ‘selling machine’, that is unlikely to leave until a commitment is made. Nothing is more effective in causing the CIO to don their full commercial body armour. Not the ideal conditions for evolving a long and mutually profitable relationship.