Why Key Account Management is essential for modern professional services firms
For many professional services firms, the most valuable client relationships can also be the most vulnerable.
Despite the time, energy and investment spent on firm-wide business development and marketing activity, many firms still rely heavily on individual partner relationships to maintain and grow their most valuable accounts. This approach has served professional firms well for decades, but is embedded with retention risks, inefficiencies and the potential for missed growth opportunities.
Done well, Key Account Management (KAM) is an antidote to these risks and inefficiencies, helping professional firms retain clients and gain deeper insight.
What is Key Account Management?
In brief, KAM is a structured approach to managing important client relationships.
When implementing KAM programmes, firms deliberately build broader and deeper relationships with their client base, sharing intelligence within the firm and creating a long-term plan for nurturing and growing the account.
In our most recent episode of BD Talks with Chris Pullen, Head of Business Development at Kennedys, he observed that, unlike the Big Four consultancy firms, “where, from the get-go, they involve a larger number of people in the process,” many law firms continue to operate through one-to-one relationships between partner and client.
That point of difference matters, and law firms that learn from larger consultancies often see the benefit.
Why Key Account Management matters
Succession planning and reducing client risk
Probably the strongest argument for KAM, from a firm’s perspective, is mitigating risks around succession and retention.
In Thomson Reuters research on succession planning, one Fortune 50 General Counsel said, “I felt like I just walked down the hall, and the office was empty, and the lights were off. Clearly the firm thought I’d be upset about losing him as part of the team so decided to just let me know he left and gave me the name of the person who would be replacing him — this was quite upsetting, and I almost fired the firm over it.”
The same research includes an observation from Daniel H. Weintraub, Chief Administrative and Legal Officer at Audax Group, who said, “If my relationship is with one person, then that’s a problem from a succession planning perspective and also for me.”
This research highlights that clients increasingly expect relationships with multiple people across the firm, and value that approach.
Unlocking growth within existing relationships
As well as mitigating risk, growth opportunity is a major benefit of KAM.
Research from the National Law Review suggests that law firms often only provide a fraction of the services their clients require, creating significant cross-selling opportunities.
Structured KAM programmes can illuminate these opportunities and, according to the Thomson Reuters Institute, firms that employ dedicated cross-practice teams develop more resilient client relationships, and growth becomes easier when relationships are firm-wide.
Understanding the true health of the relationship
Without a structured approach to client relationships, firms often assess the health of a relationship through the eyes of a single partner. However, different stakeholders can have very different experiences; some clients may not be completely forthcoming about their satisfaction or dissatisfaction, and some partners may miss or misinterpret signals that their client is unhappy with the service they’re receiving.
KAM avoids this by providing multiple entry points into the client organisation and, as a result, creates a much more accurate picture of relationship health and future opportunities.
Key Account Management is about institutionalising relationships, not replacing them
One reason KAM initiatives sometimes struggle is that some partners need convincing that this will benefit them and the firm over the long term. Partners may be concerned about relationship ownership and internal competition, or be resistant to new processes and change.
As Chris Pullen mentioned in his BD Talks interview, partners often worry that introducing additional people into a client relationship could weaken the trust that has taken years to build, saying things like, “I’ve got enormous respect for them, but they’re not me.”
These concerns are legitimate, but they misunderstand what effective KAM is trying to achieve.
KAM does not dilute the partner’s role, but enhances it by ensuring the relationship is supported by wider firm knowledge. As research from Thomson Reuters Institute suggests, many clients actively prefer this approach.
How to start a Key Account Management programme
For firms looking to establish or mature a KAM programme, a phased approach is often the most effective. Here, we explore the first five steps to take.
1: Secure leadership sponsorship
Before selecting clients or building processes, secure partner and leadership buy-in, explaining the value and risks explored throughout this article. Without support from senior stakeholders, adoption is challenging.
2: Identify strategic accounts
Criteria should extend beyond revenue and consider:
- Growth potential
- Strategic importance
- Existing relationship strength
- Client engagement levels
Hogan Lovells specifically highlights the importance of partner engagement and client receptiveness when selecting accounts.
3: Gather intelligence
Build a comprehensive understanding of each account, including:
- Existing relationships
- Stakeholder maps
- Current service usage
- Market developments
- Potential growth opportunities
Business development teams are often uniquely positioned to support this process through market intelligence and relationship mapping.
4: Create actionable account plans
Focus on:
- Clear objectives
- Named responsibilities
- Client priorities
- Growth opportunities
- Success measures
Hogan Lovells recommends keeping plans manageable and action-oriented.
5: Pilot and scale
Begin your project with a small group of accounts; measure progress, collect feedback, demonstrate success and use the resulting data and successes to build confidence across the firm.
This pilot process creates evidence, generates trust and significantly increases the likelihood of long-term adoption.
KAM: a solution to siloed relationships and lost opportunities
Professional services firms often face the question: If a key partner left tomorrow, how secure would the retention of their clients be?
If your honest answer is “not secure enough”, Key Account Management provides a practical solution.
By broadening relationships and institutionalising knowledge, KAM helps firms reduce risk while unlocking growth opportunities from existing relationships.
In an increasingly competitive market, it’s becoming an essential strategy for protecting valuable, but vulnerable, client relationships.
If you’d like support building a Key Account Management Programme to support your firm’s growth, our expert team can help.
