Keeping your communication straight in the mind of the Account Manager is key to an effective sales approach.  At Ant Hill (Brands Rising), we have built our own retail brand software (CRM) to track the channels, chains, and buyers to make sure we are hitting the right buyers, with the right dialogs at the right time.  Brands are then given a username and password to their brands' report page to see exactly what their Account Managers are doing for the week.  Transparency matters at Ant Hill, and that is what you get.