Are you struggling for Christmas gift ideas?
Well don't worry, I got you covered.
If you want to show your appreciation
to a colleague or, you know, just treat yourself.
There is something for every budget
and everyone in my Christmas gift guide: key account management style.
Hi Heroes it's Warwick here and I'm going to run through 16 goodies you can leave
under the Christmas tree for your favorite account manager.
And if that favorite account manager is you, well, even better.
Before we get started, everything will be linked in the description below.
Now, I think I need to slip into something a little bit more festive, huh?
Better. Now, are you ready to get into this list?
A digital flip timer and alarm.
Look, I didn't know how much I needed this in my life.
It stops and starts with the flip
of a button, has six preset times and the countdown
timer starts automatically when you change the position.
Now, this is so brilliant for so many reasons.
There's a three-minute timer,
which I use to take a quick break from my computer to stretch.
There is a 15 and a 30-minute timer,
and that's really useful when you're rehearsing presentations
and presenting them and there's a twenty five minute timer,
which is great for a productivity sprint using the Pomodoro technique.
Now, look, I know I know you could do this with your app on your phone,
but it's way more fiddly to set up and this is a perfect portable piece
of kit that no account manager should be without.
If you're anything like me, I am on conference calls all day long
and virtual backgrounds just weren't cutting it.
I mean, look they do a decent but messy
job of extracting the subject from the background, but too often
I just found there'd be big, big chunks of me missing.
It's distracting for me and for the participants.
But, you know, I work in a small space,
so I need something that's going to hide the mess that's, you know, my life.
Enter the foldaway backdrop with a built-in stand.
It has been an absolute lifesaver
and my Zoom calls have never been more professional looking.
I love the fact that it's also portable, which means I can easily move it between
my living room or my bedroom or my kitchen, depending on where I'm working.
And I don't have to worry about what state the room is in.
It's also great if you have to share a space with others.
If you do video calls, then you absolutely need this.
Monitor stand with USB and wireless charging.
Now, this is a brilliant stand that saves you from becoming a hunchback by raising
your monitor or laptop up to an ergonomic height.
The fun comes with the four USB chargers and wireless charging stand.
Now, I have so many devices.
I've got headsets, a DVD drive, a webcam,
a microphone, a card reader, a graphics tablet, a keyboard, a mouse.
And the list goes on.
I have completely run out of USB ports
and I am constantly, or was, constantly unplugging one device to make
room for another and it was driving me crazy.
This stand made the madness stop.
Logitech Zee? Zed, Zee?
Zed? I'm going to say Zed. Logitech Z120 compact speakers.
Now look, laptop speakers are terrible.
Facts are facts.
I like to listen to podcasts and Spotify in the background, but I don't wanna use
headphones because I also want to be able to hear
the doorbell ringing when my next Amazon delivery arrives.
I promise you these are the best multimedia speakers you can buy.
They're only around twenty bucks
and the sound is phenomenal and they're portable too. And look, I mean,
four and a half stars and almost 12000 reviews on Amazon cannot be wrong.
Speaking of terrible, laptop webcams are awful too: low
resolution and lousy under low light conditions.
So if you're interviewing for jobs, if you host meetings, if you do webinars or live
streams, you want to look your best, you know?
And you can't go wrong with the Logitech C920X webcam, I absolutely love it.
Now you get so much better image quality and control.
It's like night and day compared to most laptops.
Certainly, at least the crappy work machines that, you know, most of us get.
And if you send video messages to your clients then the included Logitech capture
makes recording your camera and screen an absolute breeze.
If space is a premium, then check out this ladder desk and workstation.
It's around a hundred bucks and it can be
used standalone or you can pick up some optional additional shelves.
It looks so, so good.
I have a friend who lives in a small two-
bedroom apartment with three people and because of quarantine,
all three of them are working around a tiny, tiny living room table.
It was loud, it was cramped, and there was absolutely no privacy.
This nifty little unit turned out to be a lifesaver.
And in a flash, it can turn a hallway or a bedroom, or just basically any spare
corner you have, into a sweet little workstation.
And what I really,
really love is that doesn't look "office-y." So when the day is done,
you don't have the spectre of work looming over you for the rest of the night.
Whiteboards are a fantastic, creative way to capture ideas and attention.
They're also great to explain concepts and convey ideas.
But I can never really get the hang of the whiteboard features in Zoom
and Microsoft teams, you know, using a mouse because you just...
I don't know, you just can't write with it properly.
It's not... It feels really awkward.
That is, until I picked up a graphic tablet.
Now I can handwrite notes,
I can sketch out ideas and I can unleash my creativity.
Now my absolute favorite use is to design simple eye-catching presentations
and social media posts with just a few scribbles, all using digital ink.
Now for some inspiration, check out Draw to Win: A crash course
on how to lead, sell and innovate with your visual mind by Dan Roan.
It's fantastic.
Now the graphics tablet is also useful to annotate documents,
write notes with digital apps like One Note, and to collaborate
with colleagues on tools like Miro and Microsoft Whiteboard.
A five-in-one foam roller set.
Now, long days working from home, hunched over my keyboard,
really take their toll on my back. And my neck and my hips and my knees.
You know, I think I'm getting too old
for this, you know, working for a living thing.
Anyway, this foam roller set is the perfect way to release tension.
I love the core massage roller.
It's like a deep tissue massage.
Often I will just like wedge it between my back and my chair to correct my posture.
It absolutely forces me to sit upright and not to slouch.
The spike ball is great for, you know,
a little foot massage for some instant relief.
Now look, I love to read, but who has time? You know,
I've had an Audible membership for years and I would not be without it.
They've got a great range of titles for business, you know,
to help you get better at your job and for personal, you know, to help you relax.
Audible is a really great way to learn new stuff when you're at the gym or on your
commute or to help you relax at the end of the day, you know, with a bit of vino.
So why not pick up an Audible gift
membership for the key account manager in your life?
And listen, if you're stuck for what?
To listen to, check out my reading list at Goodreads.
Most of those books are also available on Audible.
Now, aromatherapy has been around
for centuries and is well known to help reduce stress, to improve sleep quality,
to treat headaches, you know, and generally improve your mood.
The Renwer Essential Oil Diffuser uses ultrasonic technology to disperse
the aroma, and it's also a humidifier, so it adds moisture to the air as well.
There's a timer and mist control and it looks great too.
And there's some cool LED lights as well, which you can turn on or off.
It's the perfect pick me up for the Home Office.
As much as I love apps,
pen and paper are still essential tools and they don't need batteries.
They're quiet and they're portable. Plus, there's something,
I should said quiet, but yeah, there is something about that little
scratchy sound of pen against paper that's really comforting.
Now, the Bullet Journal method is
a flexible notetaking system that allows you to design your journal your way.
I started using this method a couple of years ago after becoming really,
really frustrated because I couldn't find a weekly or daily planner that I liked.
Then I found out I could just design my own.
The Leuchtturm 1917 Bullet Journal has creamy dot grid quality paper.
It's thread bound, so it lays flat and it's blank.
So you can get really creative with your layouts.
And for the total experience,
consider pairing it up with a metropolitan fountain pen.
Now, I love fountain pens.
There's something like, oldie worldy about it and it looks very
sophisticated and expensive, way more than the twenty five dollars it costs.
And writing with it is an absolute dream.
And if you want to learn more about bullet journaling,
check out Tiny Ray of Sunshine's free bullet journal reference guide.
I highly recommend it. That's where I learned the whole system.
Also, I love the Lavone self-cleaning and water purification system.
It uses medical great UV light to kill
99.9% of germs and it will purify the water in three minutes.
It has a rechargeable battery and it's super lightweight, so it's the perfect
companion for the key account manager on the go, especially if you're concerned
about the water quality at your destination.
Now sometimes motivation is in short
supply, you know, thanks to those days when everything goes wrong. And they do.
You know, your client starts screaming,
your boss is screaming, your kids are screaming.
This vintage Marquee Cinema Lightbox is
a great source of inspiration, you know, and it's super-cute too.
Load it up with your favorite quote
or affirmation to get yourself through the day.
I find just like changing the letters is therapeutic enough.
It's just a little bit of time out from all the noise.
Coffee is my superhero.
I need at least four cups to get me through the day.
The Bodum Pour-Over Coffee Maker is slick.
It's beautiful, it's stylish and it's made
of heat-resistant glass so your coffee stays hot.
The removable cork cuff protects your
hands from the hot glass too and you know, it just looks really slick.
Just pour in your favorite ground beans
and you've got a delicious barista- quality cup of java in no time.
Perfect for the coffee-loving key account manager.
Now why is it my best ideas come to me in the shower?
I don't know.
Maybe it's because it's the only time of day I get to myself.
This waterproof notepad and pencils actually work.
I mean, who knew they are so easy
to mount. You just slap them on the shower wall with the included suction cups.
They're fun, they're practical and they
are the perfect stocking filler or Secret Santa gift for the office.
And last but not least, is a membership to The KAM Club,
which is a private learning community helping busy account managers get results
for their clients, for their companies and for their careers.
Inside, you'll find tools, templates, guides and a connected community
of account managers from around the world all there to help you succeed.
Plus, you know it's where I spend all
my time, so we'll get to hang out there, too.
Well, look, that's a wrap Heroes.
Is there anything there that caught your eye?
Let me know
in the comments. Listen, by the way, while you're down there, why don't
you to tell me about the gift you're most excited to give this year.
I would love to hear about it.
Now, thank you so much for sharing part of your 2020 with me.
It's been a rough year and it has been
made better by knowing that you've been along with me for the ride.
I really, really appreciate you.
I hope that you have a happy and safe holiday season.
I wish you a successful 2021 and I'll see you in the New Year.