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 short. NOX supports artists and creators whose success plays out publicly, where timing, trust, and proactive leadership matter more than dashboards.

This conversation makes the case for account management as an offensive discipline. Niko shares how clear systems, weekly account health checks, and red-yellow-green definitions help teams stay ahead of risk instead of reacting to it. He also unpacks the mindset required to lead under pressure, including emotional steadiness, short-term memory, and the ability to guide clients without taking things personally.

If you want to strengthen retention, prove value before problems surface, and lead accounts with confidence in high-stakes environments, this episode is worth your time.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Account Management Beyond SaaS in Talent and Digital Media

00:02 What NOX Media Does for Artists Creators and Brands

00:06 Client Retention and Reputation in the Entertainment Industry

00:10 Defining Account Health Without Traditional SaaS Metrics

00:25 EOS Systems and Weekly Client Health Reviews

00:34 Proactive Account Management as an Offensive Growth Function

Connect with Niko Ivanov:

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Visit the NOX Media website

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Visit the AMplify website

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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 lack the systems, authority, and recognition that match the role. When things go right, it is quiet. When something goes wrong, all eyes turn their way.

Alex explains how outdated post-sales models no longer fit modern economics, longer payback periods, or the pressure leaders feel around net revenue retention. He breaks down why early churn quietly destroys profitability, why expansion matters more than most teams realize, and why NRR reflects the health of the entire business. Are customers even reaching payback? Is growth happening by design or by luck?

The conversation also explores why post-sales needs the same structure and operating discipline that sales teams already have. Without a clear system, teams burn out, forecasts feel fragile, and success depends on heroics. Alex reframes revenue anxiety by tying growth back to customer value, showing how revenue becomes a natural result of doing the right work well. This episode challenges post-sales leaders to rethink how they describe their role and how their teams are built.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Why Post-Sales Teams Drive Revenue but Lack Recognition

07:20 Post-Sales Is a Design Problem, Not a Talent Problem

15:10 The Post-Sales Tax and Why the Model Is Broken

19:40 Expansion Economics and the Cost of Early Churn

24:55 Net Revenue Retention as a Company Health Metric

34:30 Why Post-Sales Needs Systems, Structure, and Discipline

44:50 How Customer Value Leads to Revenue Growth

56:40 The Amplify Method for Account Management and Customer Success

Connect with Alex Raymond:

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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. Teams have to keep earning trust through sharper skills, better discovery, and more honest conversations. Why did a customer buy in the first place? What are they trying to accomplish now? How do you know the value you deliver actually matters to them? Those questions take curiosity and patience, not scripts or dashboards alone.

Jim also challenges how customer centricity is often misunderstood. Customers are the heroes of the story. Customer teams serve as guides who bring expertise, perspective, and the confidence to speak up when a better path exists. That mindset shows up in how Smartling measures success, how risk is surfaced early, and how bad news is handled without fear. Gross revenue retention sets the bar. Early warnings are welcomed. Escalations become moments to build trust rather than defend processes. The conversation leaves you wondering where your team still plays it safe, where curiosity could go deeper, and what would change if guiding customers mattered more than simply keeping them.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Leading Customer Teams Into 2026

03:09 Customer Value Creation as the Core Strategy

09:08 Curiosity, Empathy, and Modern Customer Centricity

18:11 Performance Standards, Retention, and Risk Management

27:01 The Future Skill Set for Customer Success Leaders

Connect with Jim Richmond:

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Visit the Smartling website

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Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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 business, Ellie sees the same early warning signs repeat. Teams have tools, data, and ideas, but leadership struggles to choose a direction and commit to it. That indecision shows up long before revenue drops.

The conversation challenges the assumption that speed equals progress. What happens when teams move fast but in different directions? What if the metrics look fine, yet the effort behind them keeps growing? Ellie encourages leaders to look beyond dashboards and ask practical questions. Do you understand the level of effort required to deliver value? Where is time going, and does that work actually help customers? AI can reduce friction and surface context, but it cannot replace judgment or alignment. Without clarity, new tools often increase noise instead of easing pressure.

They also talk about how slowing growth affects retention, enterprise value, and team well-being. Waiting for perfect certainty tends to raise stress and drain momentum. Clear priorities do the opposite. Clear priorities change how work feels day to day. Teams stop spinning, effort gets focused, and progress becomes easier to see. When leaders choose direction instead of waiting, growth does not have to grind down before anyone notices. There is still time to correct the course, and the work stops feeling quite so heavy in the process.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Account Management and Leadership Challenges in Growing Businesses

01:00 Early Indicators of Business Growth Slowdowns

02:00 Calibrated Efficiency and Leadership Alignment

06:00 Why AI Strategies Fail in Account Management and Customer Success

08:00 Measuring Effort Versus Outcomes in Post-Sales Teams

10:00 AI Use Cases That Support Human Decision-Making

14:30 Leadership Decision Frameworks for Cross-Team Alignment

18:30 Gross Revenue Retention and Enterprise Value

25:00 The Enablement Gap in Customer Success Teams

32:30 Building a Business Case for Post-Sales Investment

37:00 Bias Toward Action in Leadership Decision-Making

Connect with Ellie Wu:

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Visit the CSuiteCX Website

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Visit the AMplify website

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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 argues that sustainable growth comes from clarity about what works and the willingness to protect it. Client service, in his view, means bringing perspective and structure clients do not always have internally, then making clear decisions when cost pressure, growth, or complexity enter the picture.

A central theme is fit. Joel explains the five pillars that guide Five Star’s partnerships: size, seasonality, technology, process, and culture, with culture carrying the most weight. Misalignment shows up quickly through burnout, turnover, and declining service, even when revenue looks strong. The episode also explores how value stays visible through a steady cadence of weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual reviews that keep progress measurable and priorities aligned. Joel closes by reflecting on hiring problem solvers who know when to ask for help and why long-term partnerships thrive when business success and team wellbeing are treated as inseparable.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 What a Chief Client Officer Really Owns

06:07 The Five Pillars of Strong Client Relationships

11:46 Hiring and Developing High-Impact Account Leaders

17:59 How to Track and Prove Client Value

20:50 The Review Cadence That Keeps Clients Engaged

27:10 Building Long-Term Client Partnerships Through Cultural Fit

Connect with Joel Sylvester:

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Visit the Five Star Call Centers Website

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Visit the AMplify website

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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 you. Are you a strategic partner with a point of view or a vendor reporting activity? The difference shows up quickly in who attends, how engaged they are, and what happens next in the relationship.

The episode centers on a simple but uncomfortable truth. Customers show up when QBRs give them insight they cannot get elsewhere, access to real expertise inside your company, and confidence that their priorities are genuinely understood. Meetings that focus too heavily on the past, rely on long slide decks, or play it safe send the opposite signal. Strong QBRs create forward momentum, invite real dialogue, and position the account manager as a leader in the room rather than someone trying to avoid risk.

Alex reframes QBRs as a moment of leadership and trust. When handled with clarity and intention, they become one of the most powerful tools for retention, expansion, and long-term credibility.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Why QBRs Matter More Than Ever for Account Managers

03:23 The Reality of Today’s Account Management Challenges

14:01 What Customers Actually Want from a QBR

19:19 Why C-Suite Attendance Drives Growth and Retention

22:43 Three Reframes That Turn QBRs Into Strategic Conversations

Connect with Alex Raymond:

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Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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 treated as long-term customers rather than one-year commitments, and why understanding a partner’s motivation matters as much as delivering outcomes. How do you show value when success includes both ROI and human impact? What does trust look like when budgets shift, priorities change, or the political climate tightens?

At the heart of the episode is a thoughtful look at renewal health, risk awareness, and the discipline required to surface hard truths early. Liz shares how intentional questions, internal transparency, and credibility with partners create stability for the people nonprofits ultimately serve. The result is a clear case for account management as a strategic function across sectors and a reminder that sustainable impact depends on relationships built for the long term.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 What Nonprofit Account Management Really Means

03:03 The Genesis Works Social Enterprise Model

06:01 Corporate Partnerships and Long-Term Talent Pipelines

12:02 Corporate Social Responsibility After 2020

14:59 Trust, Credibility, and Renewal Risk

17:53 Asking the Questions That Surface Risk Early

23:57 Why Nonprofit Account Management Is a Real Career Path

Connect with Liz Jones:

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Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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 different business model with a longer horizon and deeper expectations. Without cultural alignment, even the most capable account managers slip back into transactional patterns that limit growth and dilute the value customers could receive.

They explore how real progress begins when teams study a customer’s strategy, pressures and financial priorities, then build offers that match the customer’s world. This raises a key question for any account leader: are you creating conversations that reach senior decision-makers or staying confined to a narrow vendor role? Mark shares how better segmentation, thoughtful prioritization and a series of small wins can open that door, especially when paired with an internal pitch centered on material impact, margin and momentum. The episode leaves you considering whether your business treats its most important customers with the intention they deserve.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Why Most Key Account Programs Fail

06:08 The Mindset Shift Required for Strategic Accounts

09:01 Value Leakage and What Customers Really Expect

18:05 How to Identify True Key Accounts

31:48 Building Offers That Drive Meaningful Growth

35:12 Leadership’s Role in Making KAM Work

47:55 The Internal Pitch: Securing Executive Support

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Value Matters - Articles and content to advance B2B selling

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Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm