Velocity® magazine includes in-depth articles of interest to the strategic account management profession. Issues contain columns by thought-leaders; reviews of interesting SAM-related material; the latest research and trends; theory and case studies; and actionable content on cutting-edge topics relevant to SAM practitioners. A Velocity subscription is included with SAMA membership. Non-members may purchase an annual three-issue subscription (first-quarter issue, second-quarter issue and expanded third/fourth-quarter issue). For both SAMA members and non-member subscribers, Velocity is published and delivered in electronic and print form.

The 2013 survey of national, strategic and global account managers and directors of strategic account management programs sheds light on how companies compensate and reward these roles. Survey participants each receive a free copy of the report. Corporate members of SAMA that participated in the survey also receive free access. (A corporate member should contact SAMA if the member is unsure whether its company participated.) The findings establish benchmarks and track trends for:

• Profiles, responsibilities and job scopes
• SAM program practices
• Market compensation levels and incentive mixes
• Pay plan types, structures, components and metrics
• Performance measurements and sales crediting practices
• Frequency of performance measurements and payouts
• Compensation practices most highly correlated with pay satisfaction

Is value pricing the ultimate pricing model, and can value pricing be implemented in all business situations? Also explored are alternative models and their scope at business-to-business organizations.

Greetings to 2013 and readers of the year's first Velocity issue. The Strategic Account Management Association hopes you enjoy the following articles, which also can be found online at www.strategicaccounts.org.

Strategic/global account management is a corporate-wide initiative for many of the highest-performing organizations, and as we enter 2013 we have an amazing opportunity to optimize our corporate portfolio of strategic and global accounts in terms of profitable growth and risk. Because it aids in facing current business realities, SAM/GAM is now at the head of the chief executive officer's agenda.

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena: Chris Bradley, Martin Hirt and Sven Smit, "Have you tested your strategy lately?" McKinsey Quarterly, January 2011, www.mckinseyquarterly.com; "Management tip of the day: four steps to getting unstuck," Harvard Business Publishing, Jan. 3, 2011, http://hbr.org

Snapshots are presented of research relevant to the strategic account management arena: "McKinsey global survey results: putting strategies to the test," McKinsey Quarterly, January 2011, www.mckinseyquarterly.com; 2012 Report on Current Trends and Practices in Strategic Account Management, Strategic Account Management Association in partnership with Walker Information Inc., May 1, 2012, www.strategicaccounts.org

The importance of strategic account management will not stop growing. Trends are examined that contribute to this increase and have lasting impact and affect nearly all businesses: greater competition, pressure on costs, clarity and consistency in communications, and streamlined supplier relationships.

The Strategic Account Management Association recently asked some of its speakers for opinions about SAM matters. In this edition, we pose the question: What are the most interesting SAM innovations you have seen in the past few years?

This is the e-book version of the winter 2013 issue of Velocity magazine.

We preview the Pan-European Conference with Paul Castonguay, director of strategic accounts and regional customer value leader for Western Europe pharmaceutical operations at F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. He will conduct a session at the event about strengthening the relationship with a customer through reciprocal executive mentoring.

Emerson Process Management won the Strategic Account Management Association's award for 2012 program of the year. Steven A. Sonnenberg, president of Emerson Process Management, and John Gardner, Emerson Process Management's senior vice president of global strategic accounts, spoke to Bernard Quancard, SAMA's president and chief executive officer, about organizational transformation for Part 2 of a two-part interview.

In this issue: Editor's Corner; Quick Takes; Data Watch; The importance of strategic account management will not stop growing (Strategic Reflections); Balancing profitable growth and risk management in 2013 through world-class strategic account management--and why strategic accounts are the real future assets of business enterprises; Pan-European Conference preview with Paul Castonguay; The end of solution selling?; Reframing procurement's strategies, priorities and deliverables: the value of value in supplier relationships; Recent innovations in strategic account management; Optimal pricing models at business-to-business organizations; Organizational transformation at Emerson Process Management: Part 2 of an interview on 2012's program of the year; Event Calendar

Anderson Hirst, principal consultant at Four Pillars, critiques a piece, "The end of solution sales," from the July/August issue of Harvard Business Review. This article grew out of an initial LinkedIn post by David Atkinson in which he reposted Hirst's blog entry from Four Pillars' website.

Procurement's strategies, priorities and deliverables are reframed, and the value of value in supplier relationships is analyzed. This feature assesses options for building different types of value through supplier relationships and considers them in relation to 10 levers that minimize cost, balance risk and reward, and position procurement as a driver of relational value creation in both the private and public sector.

In a four-part series published from 2009 to 2012, we draw on two decades of experience working with leading Fortune 1000 and Global 500 companies to describe a value creation road map that has enabled these organizations to differentiate themselves, transform how they go to market and elevate the value they create for customers.

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena: Eric Matson and Laurence Prusak, "Boosting the productivity of knowledge workers," McKinsey Quarterly, September 2010, www.mckinseyquarterly.com; Tony Schwartz, "Six ways to supercharge your productivity," Harvard Business Review Blog Network, Sept. 7, 2010, http://blogs.hbr.org

This is the e-book version of the summer/fall 2012 issue of Velocity magazine.

Which strategic account managers would say that executive insight is an absolute requirement to successfully winning or keeping an account? A piece that grew out of an initial post on LinkedIn by Lee Demby of Boardroom Insiders Inc. discusses the query.

Welcome to this combined summer/fall issue of Velocity magazine. Inside these pages and online at www.strategicaccounts.org, you will find a host of feature stories along with all the usual departments.

In Part 1 of "How the best become better: seven transformative questions for strategic account management," we shared what we learned about the first three of the seven questions paired with three compelling ideas that every aspiring SAM leader needs to explore. In Part 2 we address the remaining four questions.

Snapshots are presented of research relevant to the strategic account management arena: "McKinsey global survey results: moving women to the top," McKinsey Quarterly, October 2010, www.mckinseyquarterly.com; 2012 Report on Current Trends and Practices in Strategic Account Management, Strategic Account Management Association in partnership with Walker Information Inc., May 1, 2012, www.strategicaccounts.org

Cameron Hyde reviews the new book Sales Eats First: How Customer-Motivated Sales Organizations Outthink, Out-Offer and Outperform the Competition by Noel Capon and Gary S. Tubridy. Hyde says that what comes through is that companies can design great things, innovate by thoughts and functions and revolutionize processes for breakthroughs, but without selling to the customer, all this sits gathering dust on the traditional or online shelf.

The series "The keys to effective strategic account planning" continues with Key 5: Integrate and balance the account and opportunity planning processes. In authentic strategic relationships between customers and suppliers, it is important to be mindful that account plans and planning processes should extend partnerships and drive growth into the future.

In this issue: Editor's Corner; Quick Takes; Data Watch; The last competitive advantage (Strategic Reflections); How strategic account managers can help customers grow in China (and: Coaching is key); Highlights from SAMA's 48th Annual Conference; Sustainability at Siemens: a driver of success; Engaging the C-suite; Translating documents and presentations for international audiences; How human resources and sales can work together to forecast organizational needs; Event Calendar; The keys to effective strategic account planning: Key 5--Integrate and balance the account and opportunity planning processes; How the best become better: seven transformative questions for strategic account management--Part 2; Strategic account management's importance; Mature literature for a mature profession; Key account management research: its state and focus areas; Where is global account management headed?; Organizational transformation at Emerson Process Management: Part 1 of an interview on 2012's program of the year; Sales Eats First (Book Review)

Researchers Beth Rogers, Florian Kraus and George Yip, who work in the strategic account management area, summarize their presentation from the Strategic Account Management Association's Pan-European Conference in March in Prague. Academic forum co-hosts Bernard Quancard, Hajo Rapp and Kaj Storbacka say that it is an obligation to further connect the realms of practitioners and academics so SAM knowledge increases worldwide.

The Chinese market represents both some of the greatest opportunities and challenges for strategic account managers striving to help customers grow in China. Also, four key steps to competency for SAMs are given.

One untapped competitive advantage is more important than all the others ever were. It is simple, reliable and practically free, and it is organizational health.

SAMA's 48th Annual Conference, which occurred May 6 to 9 in San Diego, is highlighted. The event delivered about 60 educational sessions thanks to more than 100 presenters and was attended by hundreds of people from almost 250 companies.

The Strategic Account Management Association recently asked some of its speakers for opinions about SAM matters. In this edition, we pose the question: Do you think SAM is gaining or losing importance in the international and global market, and why?

Sustainability remains a core task for governments, society and business given the challenges caused by mega-trends such as urbanization, demographic change, climate change and globalization. Integrating sustainability into corporate strategy is a huge opportunity to create value, from driving innovation toward energy and resource efficiency and providing solutions that help customers deal with their sustainability challenges to developing employees and maintaining a motivated, highly skilled workforce.

Emerson Process Management won the Strategic Account Management Association's award for 2012 program of the year. Steven A. Sonnenberg, president of Emerson Process Management, and John Gardner, Emerson Process Management's senior vice president of global strategic accounts, spoke to SAMA's Bernard Quancard about organizational transformation for Part 1 of a two-part interview.

It is not easy to anticipate financial, market and organizational dynamics that may impact a sales organization's performance. By creating an early warning system to forecast the need for organizational change, human resources and sales can spot a sales organization's vulnerabilities and respond accordingly.

In presenting to and training global audiences, organizations' experts often need translated documents and presentations. In an adapted excerpt from the book The Essential Guide to Training Global Audiences: Your Planning Resource of Useful Tips and Techniques by Renie McClay and LuAnn Irwin, they say that if materials must be translated, much expense can be saved by designing with translation in mind.

Phil Bounsall, Jeff Marr and Bernard Quancard will discuss what should be the top corporate priorities for achieving higher organic growth through strategic account management. Based on findings from the newly released 2012 Report on Current Trends and Practices in Strategic Account Management conducted in partnership by the Strategic Account Management Association and Walker Information Inc., key subjects will be SAM program elements considered to have the highest correlation to growth and SAM performance as well as elements clearly preventing companies from fulfilling their potential. Other topics will include:

Having the right strategic account managers

Dealing with challenges to strategic account growth

Who deserves strategic account status?

We hope to see you in the next year at one or more of our many events: the 49th Annual Conference, the annual Pan-European Conference, a SAMA University in the United States, a SAMA Academy in Europe or another occasion. Velocity provides a regular medium for what attendees and presenters encounter at our meetings.

In the first study of its kind, Huthwaite International partnered with the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management to benchmark the negotiation maturity of 124 Global 2000 organizations, including BP PLC, Computer Sciences Corp., General Motors Co., Hewlett-Packard Co., Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp., Siemens AG and Xerox Corp. Successful companies do many things differently but share a common trait: They have fundamentally restructured their approach to negotiation.

Snapshots are presented of research relevant to the strategic account management arena: Ken Favaro, Per-Ola Karlsson and Gary L. Neilson, "CEO succession 2000-2009: a decade of convergence and compression," strategy+business, Issue 59, Summer 2010, www.strategy-business.com; "McKinsey global survey results: innovation and commercialization, 2010," McKinsey Quarterly, August 2010, www.mckinseyquarterly.com; 2011 Report on Strategic Account Management Compensation Practices, Strategic Account Management Association and ZS Associates Inc., May 15, 2011, www.strategicaccounts.org

More than 50 sessions were offered at the 47th Annual Conference in May 2011 in Orlando, Fla., and with a lot of best practices to discuss and lively debates to have, there was plenty of new, useful information to obtain. While I met more and more people, it rapidly became clear how this conference would contribute to my personal and business development.

No matter what service you provide, there is tremendous advantage in considering how your service team can help facilitate a strategic account management initiative on behalf of clients. By embracing SAM's principles and shifting your focus from projects to relationships, you as a service provider can shield yourself from the pressures of commoditization while introducing operational efficiencies in areas your clients may not have considered.

This is the e-book version of the spring 2012 issue of Velocity magazine.

In this issue: Editor's Corner; Quick Takes; Data Watch; SAMA's Annual Conference experience: Knowledge sharing is the key to personal and business development (Strategic Reflections); Event Calendar; The fundamental differences among sales, strategic selling and strategic account management; The strategic account manager as a change agent: Converging forces are transforming how SAMs should structure, manage, communicate and lead in a new model of service delivery; Improving performance in corporate negotiation: a benchmarking study of the world's largest organizations; The value road map: Part 4--creating sustainable value; How the best get better: seven transformative questions for strategic account management--Part 1; When your product is a service: making strategic account management possible in the service sector

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena: Jean Martin and Conrad Schmidt, "How to keep your top talent," Harvard Business Review, May 2010, www.hbr.org; "Is your solution worth the full price?" Miller Heiman Inc.; Frank V. Cespedes, Elliot B. Ross and Benson P. Shapiro, "Raise your prices!" MIT Sloan Management Review, May 24, 2010, http://sloanreview.mit.edu

When I talk to professionals in sales and strategic account management, I find that there is a lot of confusion as to the differences among traditional sales, strategic selling and SAM. Here is a quick summary of the three to illustrate their fundamental differences.

In this concluding article of our four-part series, we highlight the final step in the value road map: creating sustainable value. Although many companies embrace the notion of value creation, they struggle with sustaining it in all they say and do.

How do strategic account managers answer the call to manage costs, increase services and enhance delivery while simultaneously investing in clients' futures? In this article, Cushman & Wakefield Inc., a global real-estate services firm, will examine some of these transformational drivers and offer a perspective for SAMs.

While the why of strategic account management programs is clear, the how has been frequently far more perplexing. For this reason, we sought high-performing programs' leaders to ask how they do it.

This survey from 2012 covers the current state of the art and science of strategic account management. The report will help any strategic account manager, program director or executive make more informed and reasoned decisions on strategy, infrastructure, processes and resource deployment. SAMA partnered with the consultancy Walker Information Inc. to complete the research on SAM practices at the level of both individual accounts and organizations. This survey was taken by more than 700 people and highlights major linkages and correlations between account/program performance and key SAM elements. Report topics include:

SAM program characteristics

Program management structure and practices

Strategic account selection/criteria

Program operations and processes

Talent management

Program performance/metrics

Account coverage

Account management and the strategic account manager's role

Account performance/metrics

Internal support and alignment

Impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty

Shakeel Bharmal, president (Canada) and director of consulting services at The Summit Group, discusses strategic account manager competencies and a framework to evaluate skill set and mindset--and how each set differs. He also addresses coaching SAMs with various developmental needs and follow-up coaching. Rod Ribeiro, manager of national accounts at Purolator Inc. who has seven SAMs reporting to him, shares his perspective on coaching's importance, how he coaches "in the moment" in addition to formal coaching sessions and how to use questions to gain a SAM's buy-in. Bharmal and Ribeiro encourage webinar attendees to share their own questions and experiences.

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena: "Clues that tell you who can influence the sale," Miller Heiman Inc.; Anthony K. Tjan, "How to get to no," Harvard Business Review Blog Network, April 21, 2010, http://blogs.hbr.org; Dan Lovallo and Olivier Sibony, "Taking the bias out of meetings," McKinsey Quarterly, April 2010, www.mckinseyquarterly.com

What is the secret to successfully launching an executive sponsor program? Karen Posey has discovered three critical factors for companies that found a successful path: internal alignment, program structure and implementation pace.

The objective of every effective account planning program should be to grow the relationships the organization has with its most strategic customers, and effective account planning programs should equip and enable account teams to position and differentiate their value with their most important customers.

This is the e-book version of the winter 2012 issue of Velocity magazine.

A strategic account manager should view a purchasing/procurement manager or supply chain executive as an ally and potential partner. More and more, purchasing managers are shifting into long-term partnerships with their most strategic suppliers.

How do you structure a successful strategic account management program that does not sell directly to end-users but rather to and through original equipment manufacturers and distributor partners? An article that grew out of an initial post on LinkedIn by John Canterberry of Hypertherm Inc. discusses the question.

In this issue: Editor's Corner; Quick Takes; Data Watch; Managing your top customers for retention, growth and profitability (Strategic Reflections); Event Calendar; The purchasing manager is not your enemy; My customer's competitor is my ? ; Launching an executive sponsor program: three critical success factors; The keys to effective strategic account planning: Key 3--assess and strengthen the account's most strategic relationships; The keys to effective strategic account planning: Key 4--position and differentiate the supplier's unique value with the customer; Channeling strategic account management; Nalco: return on investment in negotiation

The objective of every effective account planning program should be to grow the relationships the organization has with its most strategic customers, and effective account planning programs should equip and enable account teams to position and differentiate their value with their most important customers.

This article explains why Nalco Co. decided to turn a seemingly soft skill -- as negotiation is so often tagged -- into a hard skill, which is defined as a business process that is measurable and repeatable. The company set out to build both key account management and organizational competency that would heighten courage, reduce outcome variance and produce measurable impact one deal at a time.

Strategic account management is the art and science of maximizing your business's most important asset: your top clients. SAM's science is not in leaving relationship-building results to chance or serendipity but in establishing repeatable processes and programs to manage top relationships and constantly measure and analyze results, and SAM's art is in the soft skills used to build professional and personal bonds with top clients.

The quandary of whether to supply a strategic account's competitor is far from new, but what creates so much angst in business-to-business circles today is the rapid emergence of potential customers that follow a very different business model. They unsettle the competitive environment and challenge the supplier, and they frequently come from China.

Snapshots are presented of research relevant to the strategic account management arena: "Building organizational capabilities," McKinsey Quarterly, March 2010, www.mckinseyquarterly.com; The New Value Integrator: Insights From the Global Chief Financial Officer Study, IBM Corp., March 2010, www.ibm.com/cfostudy2010; 2011 Report on Strategic Account Management Compensation Practices, Strategic Account Management Association and ZS Associates Inc., May 15, 2011, www.strategicaccounts.org

Having intimate knowledge of your customer's requirements drives innovation. A free-flowing exchange of information allows you to jointly design, test drive and validate new offerings and improve existing ones. Collaborating on continuous improvement is a competitive advantage for you and your customer and a method to transform from a commodity supplier to strategic partner.

Topics include:

• Driving innovation and investment toward common goals with your customer

• Leveraging customer give and take to generate product/service ideas

• Mitigating risk through collaborative problem-solving

• Scaling innovative solutions around the globe

A strategic customer relationship has three key development stages: customer intimacy, globalization and co-creating productivity solutions for the customer. It all comes down to this: Uncover customer pain, and align unique solutions and offerings to solve that pain.

In Velocity's summer/fall 2009 issue, Nedra Sadorf explored a model for building a customer-centric culture in an organization. In the second installment, she turns her attention from the people side of the customer-centric equation to the process side.

Pablo Dominguez of Automatic Data Processing Inc. reviews the new book Sales Compensation Made Simple by Joseph DiMisa. Dominguez says that few sales compensation books truly provide a cohesive strategy for how to handle the compensation planning process in today's demanding sales environment but DiMisa describes a solid, well-organized, start-to-finish approach on how to tackle the subject.

Cam Hyde, senior vice president of global account operations at Xerox Corp., participated in a talent management panel discussion at SAMA's 46th Annual Conference. He was later interviewed by SAMA's Bernard Quancard about career paths and global account management at Xerox.

Is the strategic account manager really a single point of contact? An article that grew out of an initial post on LinkedIn by Edmund Bradford of Market2win Ltd. and Malcolm McDonald Marketing Ltd. discusses the question and provides merely a snippet of the kind of peer-to-peer discussion routinely occurring there (and at SAMA events).

Successful strategy requires being adept at playing both sides of the strategy coin: the non-linear, intuitive, imaginative side and the linear, logical, analytical side. Because the linear side is already deeply entrenched in traditional strategy courses and conventional professional development programs, most strategic account managers need to sharpen their focus on the non-linear side.

This is the e-book version of the summer/fall 2011 issue of Velocity magazine.

In this issue: Editor's Corner; Quick Takes; Data Watch; Charles Barkley vs. Phil Mickelson: why you should invest in your best people (Strategic Reflections); The social network's role in strategic accounts: Welcome to SAMA's new website; SAMA's 47th Annual Conference highlights; Customer centricity: Siemens' cultural centerpiece--an interview with Peter L?scher, president and chief executive officer; Strategic thinking: learning to play the other side of the strategy coin; Strategic account manager compensation: Companies are proactively managing uncertainty and planning for growth while job satisfaction is down; Building customer-centric processes in your organization; Career paths and global account management at Xerox: an interview with Cam Hyde, senior vice president of global account operations; Innovate by shaping and trading deal risks; Event Calendar; Steria: why account managers need strategic marketing; The how of account-based marketing; Is the strategic account manager really a single point of contact?; Being globally seamless in serving customers for Molex: an interview with Fred Bell, vice president of distribution; Sales Compensation Made Simple (Book Review)

For strategic account managers who recognize that the difficult economy represents an opportunity and who work at a corporation willing and able to take a long-term view of its client relationships and invest to support its key clients, things aren't all doom and gloom. The company Steria does this by drawing on strategic marketing techniques to gain insight into its most important accounts?insight it then uses to create propositions that will deliver value both for its clients and itself.

In Velocity's spring 2010 issue, Deloitte Services LP's Lisa Jepsen-Lozano answered the question, "How do you know it's time to employ an account-based marketing structure within your organization?" Jepsen-Lozano's piece brought smiles to Michael Uram, retired from Hewlett-Packard Co., and Jon Raphaelson, formerly of HP and currently at Business and IT Synchronization LLC, as they recalled their adventures in building and rolling out various ABM forms within HP in the United States in the past five years.

Authors: Michael Uram, retired account-based marketing manager for strategic discrete and process manufacturing accounts, Hewlett-Packard Co., and Jon Raphaelson, chief executive officer, Business and IT Synchronization LLC, and former chief strategist and architect for adaptive enterprise and new solution development, Hewlett-Packard Co.

Siemens AG won SAMA's award for 2011 Program of the Year. Peter Loscher, Siemens' president and chief executive officer, spoke to Velocity and SAMA's Bernard Quancard about customer centricity.

Sales should take a more proactive approach to shaping and trading deal risks. A company can assume greater risk as part of a larger trade-off in which value is received for accepting additional risk.

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena: "How to ensure sales productivity after your sales meeting," Selling Power Meetings Newsletter, Nov. 11, 2009, www.sellingpower.com; Patrick Lencioni, "Overcome team dysfunction," blog of the Strategic Account Management Association, April 8, 2011, www.strategicaccounts.org/about-sama/blog

Fred Bell, vice president of distribution at Molex Inc., participated in a panel discussion about organizational structure at SAMA's 46th Annual Conference. He was later interviewed by SAMA's Bernard Quancard about being globally seamless in serving customers for Molex.

Snapshots are presented of research relevant to the strategic account management arena: DeAnne Aguirre, Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Laird Post, "The talent innovation imperative," strategy+business, Issue 56, Autumn 2009, www.strategy-business.com; Martin Dewhurst, Matthew Guthridge and Elizabeth Mohr, "Motivating people: getting beyond money," McKinsey Quarterly, November 2009, www.mckinseyquarterly.com; 2011 Report on Strategic Account Management Compensation Practices, Strategic Account Management Association and ZS Associates Inc., May 15, 2011, www.strategicaccounts.org

Often little or no money is spent training a company's top people because they are already very good, or so the thinking goes. However, even a small improvement in the best is much better than a big improvement in the rest.

SAMA and ZS Associates Inc. have created the 2011 Report on Strategic Account Management Compensation Practices to provide insight into how leading organizations pay their strategic account managers. Companies are proactively managing uncertainty and planning for growth while job satisfaction is down.

Annual complimentary webinar led by Bernard Quancard, President & CEO, SAMA

Featured panelists include: Ron Davis, EVP, Head of Customer Management and Cross-Sell Director, Zurich Financial Services Group; Hajo Rapp, SVP Account Management & Market Development, Siemens AG, Dietmar Steinbach, VP Key Accounts, Nexans, and Phil Styrlund, CEO, The Summit Group

Business results through efficient strategic account execution require talent, organizational enablers and the maximum removal of barriers and obstacles.  In this session, based on a session delivered at the 2011 Pan European Conference in March 2011, SAMA CEO Bernard Quancard will provide a holistic view of the critical enablers of successful strategic/global account organizations and moderate a discussion of four enablers where companies may stumble due to common organizational barriers and obstacles.  The featured panelists will tackle these barriers and share concrete examples of how their company and/or others have been able to address them.

The four SAM/GAM organizational enablers include:

·         C-level engagement

·         Account selection and de-selection

·         Internal alignment and complexity of the organization

·         Selecting and developing strategic account manager talent

SAMA’s new Competency  Assessment Tool helps Strategic Account Managers understand and measure the necessary skills to work strategically with their most complex customers.  By evaluating performance against a defined set of best practices, this tool helps SAMs and their manager/s build a personal development roadmap to achieve their desired results.

Results from the assessment are produced in a full-color 30-50 page report which not only helps understand strengths and weaknesses, but can also be used to foster coaching and internal alignment.

• Multi-rater (360-style) feedback tool to identify gaps in perception of skills and weaknesses between strategic account managers and their manager/s
• SAMA Recommends incorporating feedback from all direct and indirect program leaders.
• SAM may optionally include feedback from subordinates, customers and peers.

To speak with someone about the SAM Competency Assessment, email assessments@strategicaccounts.org or call Brett Middendorf 312-251-3131 ext. 17

FEE:
Corporate: $175
Individual: $200
Non-Member: $300

Members may apply the full price of this purchase towards Enrollment fee in SAMA's Certification Program if upgrade is requested within 90 days of purchase.
Non-members may apply up to $200 of this fee towards Enrollment fee in SAMA's Certification Program if upgrade is requested within 90 days of purchase.

Take the first step in advancing your SAM career. Enroll in SAMA's Certification Program.

Enrollment includes:

• Program Pre-Assessment Tool. Multi-rater (360-style) feedback
• Support to tailor your certification programming around your custom assessment results
• Coming soon: Access to SAMA's new Learning Management System including:
• Webinar: An Introduction to the CSAM Curriculum
• Tools and Webinars to help the the CSAM Candidate make the most of their program
• Tools and Webinars for the CSAM Candidate' Manager(s)/Coach(es)
• Access to exclusive certification program newsletter highlighting issues relevant to SAMs
• Access to exclusive community with a direct line to SAMA's Certification Faculty Fellows
• Closed network of Certification Peers: Connect with CSAM candidates your industry and other fields. A private network to candidly share tips, tricks and tools used in different industries.
• Materials Fee
• Administrative Support
• Optional: Business Case Development support for select candidates

Purchase of enrollment does not guarantee CSAM designation, only candidates who complete all program requirements will be awarded the CSAM designation.

The program is designed to be completed in a few as 12-18 months CSAM Candidates will have access to the LMS for 24 months. Extensions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Communication with your customers is key. In this webinar, you will learn a systematic communication process that will allow you to drastically improve your execution and ability to establish credibility and long-term relationships in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

Learn how to:

• Employ different methods to pose simple open questions
• Listen more effectively; employ a probing model to direct customers to "self-discover" their needs
• Collaborate on the customer's situation/solution to build rapport
• Strategically present features that best serve each customer's needs

Our work with clients has taught us much about the importance of defining strategic/key accounts and communicating this effectively both internally and with the selected customers. Experience shows that the account selection process is typically ongoing and a critical component of any successful strategic account management program.

This article is designed to challenge your thinking about two key principles and look at the many ways you can more effectively negotiate with strategic customers in a fast-paced global setting. A case study at the end will bring together these elements in a "live deal."

The 2011 survey of national, strategic and global account managers and directors of strategic account management programs sheds light on how companies compensate and reward these roles. Survey participants each receive a free copy of the report. Corporate members of SAMA that participated in the survey also receive free access. (A corporate member should contact SAMA if the member is unsure whether its company participated.)The findings establish benchmarks and track trends for:

• Profiles, responsibilities and job scopes
• SAM program practices
• Market compensation levels and incentive mixes
• Pay plan types, structures, components and metrics
• Performance measurements and sales crediting practices
• Frequency of performance measurements and payouts
• Compensation practices most highly correlated with pay satisfaction

Of the three main approaches to pricing in industrial markets -- cost-, competition- and value-based -- the third is considered superior by most marketing scholars. Yet interestingly few industrial firms adopt customer value-based pricing.

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena:

• "Eight ways to wring more value from your customer relationship management system," Selling Power CRM Newsletter, July 6, 2009, www.sellingpower.com.
• "Goals worth pursuing," Miller Heiman Inc.
• Jean-Louis Barsoux and Jean-Francois Manzoni, "Are your subordinates setting you up to fail?" MIT Sloan Management Review, Summer 2009, http://sloanreview.mit.edu.
• Sheila Bonini, David Court and Alberto Marchi, "Rebuilding corporate reputations," McKinsey Quarterly, June 2009, www.mckinseyquarterly.com.

The most effective account managers and teams discover how their customers define value, then engage and execute accordingly. They recognize that when account management efforts focus on the customer's value expectations, the relationships that develop are deeper and longer and can be better leveraged.

This is the e-book version of the spring 2011 issue of Velocity magazine.

If you are a global strategic account manager, executive in charge of strategic accounts, educator in strategic account management or business leader looking for growth strategies, then a must-read is "CoDestiny: Overcome Your Growth Challenges by Helping Your Customers Overcome Theirs" (Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2010). Written by the co-founders of the consultancy Blue Canyon Partners Inc., George F. Brown Jr. and Atlee Valentine Pope, this strategy book is filled with case studies, compelling concepts and a strong set of tools to help you find ways to bring value to your customer and maximize your return at the same time.

In this issue:

• Editor's Corner
• Quick Takes
• Data Watch
• In a multi-divisional environment, how do you preserve appropriate margins on high-growth products while combining them with mature-market products?
• The strategic imperative: what strategic account management programs can teach us
• A framework for developing global account management strategies
• Event Calendar
• The keys to effective strategic account planning: Key 1--Define ""What is a strategic account?"" and assess the ongoing fit
• The keys to effective strategic account planning: Key 2--Discover what the customer values most and validate it
• Two negotiating elements: avoiding old China's risks and seizing new China's opportunities
• Do you have the right people handling your key accounts?
• Pricing approaches at industrial companies: cost- versus value-based pricing
• CoDestiny: Overcome Your Growth Challenges by Helping Your Customers Overcome Theirs, by Atlee Valentine Pope and George F. Brown Jr. (Book Review by John F. Gardner)

I believe that firms of all sizes -- from conglomerates to small professional practices -- can learn from studying successful strategic account management programs. This is a valuable investment of time, as business leaders can capture essential new strategies and ways of thinking and resurface and polish old ones needed to compete and win in today's distressed, evolving markets.

When a large and/or strategic customer wants to be approached as one company, it should have the opportunity to be treated that way. However, ensure that you select only the large/strategic customers and leave the small/non-strategic customers out of this approach.

If you're reading this issue upon its publication at the Strategic Account Management Association's 47th Annual Conference, then welcome to Orlando, Fla. However, if you're reading this issue at work, at home or somewhere else besides the event, then you'll still receive a portion of conference-related value through articles directly tied to speakers, sessions and/or workshops.

Snapshots are presented of research relevant to the strategic account management arena:

• "2010 Report on Current Trends and Practices in Strategic Account Management," Strategic Account Management Association in partnership with Walker Information Inc., April 25, 2010, www.strategicaccounts.org.

The Strategic Account Management Association's LinkedIn community is a rich source of information for the SAM profession. Practitioners, consultants, academics and subject-matter experts from different industries and backgrounds engage in a dialogue on shared issues. This article grew out of an initial post by Marian Manuel and provides an excerpt of the kind of peer-to-peer discussion routinely occurring there (and at SAMA events).

This article illustrates four major global account management strategies, their cultivators and their performance measurements. All this was validated by an eight-year academic research project involving 203 GAM executives from 168 companies and 20 global account managers from six Fortune 500 companies.

The way we communicate is changing. We can benefit from greater transparency, which leads to authenticity online and trust, feedback and recommendations from customers. We may now make ourselves more visible, find experts faster and share material more collaboratively to improve business and build global relationships on a much larger scale. Are you taking advantage of social software to help with all these tasks? This webinar will cover how social software can do just that and ultimately assist with strategic account management.

Thinking of launching an executive sponsor program? Not sure where to start? Learn common myths about launching an executive sponsor program and why 63 percent of companies attempting to launch their program have failed two or more times. Senior Consultant Karen Posey of the Geehan Group will discuss the myths and leverage Julie Tung, vice president of global customer programs at Oracle Corp., and Virginia Chambers, director of the AT&T client executive partners program at AT&T Business Solutions, to share personal experiences of why something that looks so easy is not and what you can do to drive success in your organization.

Many measurements strategic account managers use rely on lagging indicators to determine how an account progresses--e.g., revenue, pipeline and contacts. In this interactive webinar you will look at how sales organizations can use trust as a strategy to develop leading indicators to manage strategic accounts. By determining desired trust levels with people of power and influence at strategic accounts, then measuring the levels on an ongoing basis, a SAM can cultivate strategies to maximize future trust and revenue.

This webinar will flow into a session scheduled for SAMA's 47th Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., May 15 to 18: "Building trust as a strategy--how to improve your trust levels." The session will focus on the skills needed to quickly improve trust. This webinar will focus on how to measure and manage trust.

Topics addressed in the webinar include:

• What trust is
• How trust impacts revenue and profit
• Power and influence
• Measuring trust
• Managing trust to drive revenue

A successful strategic account management program provides a coherent structure and processes for an aligned implementation of an enterprise strategy for managing and growing a company's strategic customers. This four-part webinar series combines thought leadership with practical application, work group experience and insights to accomplish the four critical pillars of your SAM initiative: define, design, develop and deploy.

Topics in Part 4 (deploy) include:

• Executive sponsorship
• Customer-specific value propositions
• Customer involvement
• Collaborative planning

A successful strategic account management program provides a coherent structure and processes for an aligned implementation of an enterprise strategy for managing and growing a company's strategic customers. This four-part webinar series combines thought leadership with practical application, work group experience and insights to accomplish the four critical pillars of your SAM initiative: define, design, develop and deploy.

Topics in Part 3 (develop) include:

• Roles and responsibilities
• Supporting infrastructure
• Account selection
• Reward and recognition

• Monica C. Higgins and Kathy E. Kram, "A new mind-set on mentoring: creating developmental networks at work," MIT Sloan Management Review, April 15, 2009, http://sloanreview.mit.edu.
• "DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman's four principles for moving ahead during turbulent times," Knowledge@Wharton, June 24, 2009, http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu.
• Cyrus Sanati, "Sellers beware: study finds distrust in buyers," The New York Times, June 24, 2009, http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/sellers-beware-study-finds-distrust-by-buyers.

This is the e-book version of the winter 2011 issue of Velocity magazine.

While the signals of commoditization remain the same regardless of industry, we often see companies caught off-guard, says Julie M. LaNasa, founder and managing director of Collaborative Consulting LLC. In an excerpt from an earlier Velocity feature, she communicates key warning signals that your business may be commoditized or on its way to being commoditized.

• "Corporate transformation under pressure," McKinsey Quarterly, April 2009, www.mckinseyquarterly.com.
• Per-Ola Karlsson and Gary L. Neilson, "CEO succession 2008: stability in the storm," strategy+business, Issue 55, Summer 2009, www.strategy-business.com.
• "2010 Report on Current Trends and Practices in Strategic Account Management," Strategic Account Management Association in partnership with Walker Information Inc., April 25, 2010, www.strategicaccounts.org.

In this issue:

• Editor's Corner
• The fitness center phenomenon: three similarities between gyms and account management programs (Strategic Reflections)
• Key warning signals of commoditization in your business (Article Excerpts)
• Ten rules of engagement (Article Excerpts)
• Quick Takes
• Data Watch
• The top three key success factors for a winning strategic account management organization
• Sustainability in strategic customer relationships at Siemens
• Optimize deal value with "menu-driven negotiations"
• Supplier management programs: cost-saving partnerships, not cost-cutting adversaries--assessing supplier performance
• The value road map: Part 3--capturing and delivering value
• Event Calendar
• "CoDestiny" relationships with channel partners
• Strategic account planning

Welcome to the first Velocity issue of 2011. The Strategic Account Management Association is pleased to start the year with yet another excellent collection of magazine articles, which as always are also online at www.strategicaccounts.org.

George F. Brown Jr. and Atlee Valentine Pope describe "CoDestiny" relationships with channel partners. In such relationships Brown and Pope frequently hear messages suggesting that "strategic supplier" and "strategic customer" are two sides of the same coin, and both parties typically recognize the value contributed by the other organization.

A successful strategic account management program provides a coherent structure and processes for an aligned implementation of an enterprise strategy for managing and growing a company's strategic customers. This four-part webinar series combines thought leadership with practical application, work group experience and insights to accomplish the four critical pillars of your SAM initiative: define, design, develop and deploy.

Topics in Part 2 (design) include:

• Multi-level assessment
• Account business planning
• Opportunity planning
• Alignment (internal and external)

A successful strategic account management program provides a coherent structure and processes for an aligned implementation of an enterprise strategy for managing and growing a company's strategic customers. This four-part webinar series combines thought leadership with practical application, work group experience and insights to accomplish the four critical pillars of your SAM initiative: define, design, develop and deploy.

Topics in Part 1 (define) include:

• Corporate strategy
• Program vision
• Program leadership
• Customer-defined value

Have you ever been in a reverse auction where the sole decision guideline is price? Have you been threatened with disqualification if you talk to the client outside the formal procurement process? This webinar offers specific successful sell-side strategies for combating reverse auctions. The tips and tactics offered are taken directly from empirical research with sales organizations at global companies such as Cisco, UPS, Zurich and many others.

Topics include:

• Real-world strategies that improve win rates
• The five common mistakes inexperienced bidders make
• Practical insights you can immediately implement when back on the job
• A specific reverse auction strategy framework that has been used by several Global 2000 companies

Customers expect suppliers to offer highly specific value propositions, yet many suppliers find them difficult to develop and deliver. This webinar will teach a proven process for the creation of value propositions specifically tailored to the most strategic customers. By the end attendees will understand a new approach to presenting and validating their unique value to the customer.

Topics include:

• Accurately assess your customer relationships prior to developing value propositions
• Align the right supplier values with the right people at the right levels within the customer's organization
• Present and validate your unique value to the customer

This is the e-book version of the summer/fall 2010 issue of Velocity magazine.

As caution remains the prevailing mood across most industries, few firms are ready to risk starting out with new suppliers. It makes sense to look for business opportunities in your own backyard: the key accounts where you already have an established relationship.

Welcome to this combined summer-fall issue of Velocity magazine. Inside these pages (and online at www.strategicaccounts.org) you'll find a dozen feature stories along with all the usual departments.

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena:

• Rob Cross, David A. Light and Robert J. Thomas, "How 'who you know' affects what you decide," MIT Sloan Management Review, Winter 2009, Vol. 50, No. 2, http://sloanreview.mit.edu.
• "Jack Welch was a long-term failure. Welcome to the age of customer capitalism." Strategic Account Management Association, January 2010, www.strategicaccounts.org/blog.
• Michael Chui, Andy Miller and Roger P. Roberts, "Six ways to make Web 2.0 work," McKinsey Quarterly, February 2009, www.mckinseyquarterly.com.

• "McKinsey global survey results: flaws in strategic decision making," McKinsey Quarterly, January 2009, www.mckinseyquarterly.com.
• "2010 Report on Current Trends and Practices in Strategic Account Management," Strategic Account Management Association in partnership with Walker Information Inc., April 25, 2010, www.strategicaccounts.org.

• Editor's Corner
• Getting naked: client service redefined (Strategic Reflections)
• Quick Takes
• Data Watch
• SAMA's 46th Annual Conference highlights
• Cisco: enabling the next-generation customer experience--an interview with Grover Smith, vice president of the global accounts program
• Moving from price to value: building business-to-business trust
• Ensuring account loyalty through an installed-based audit: StarCite uses its base's decision-makers to define value
• Managing alliances in a global recession: practical advice for challenging times
• Hilton Worldwide: transforming and positioning for global growth--an interview with Chris Nassetta, president and chief executive officer
• Event Calendar
• Strategic calling to uncover hidden opportunities at your key accounts

Customers expect suppliers to offer highly specific value propositions, yet many suppliers find them difficult to develop and deliver. This webinar will teach a proven process for the creation of value propositions specifically tailored to the most strategic customers. By the end attendees will understand a new approach to presenting and validating their unique value to the customer.

Topics include:

• Accurately assess your customer relationships prior to developing value propositions
• Align the right supplier values with the right people at the right levels within the customer's organization
• Present and validate your unique value to the customer

Influential customer executives are intimately familiar with their company's most recent results. Are you? For customers large or small, for profit or nonprofit, their financials clearly signal where you can help them improve performance. However, translating the overwhelming volume of available information into effective, results-oriented executive conversation is time-consuming and challenging.

This non-technical webinar delivered by a seasoned chief financial officer offers concrete strategies and advice for reading the story behind your customer's numbers. Strategic account managers will learn the most useful sources of financial information and efficient ways to prioritize and effectively communicate financial information.

Topics include:

• Create business curiosity that provokes executives to meet with you
• Pinpoint areas where customers are most likely to invest

A recurring theme for strategic/national/global account managers is to mobilize their own organization around what matters most to their strategic customers. This webinar offers participants a framework and tools to manage the "mothership"--building a financial business case, garnering resources and telling more compelling internal stories from the customer's perspective.

Topics include:

• Evaluate opportunities as a basis for understanding good vs. bad business
• Secure internal business alignment
• Shape the internal value proposition
• Articulate a compelling business case and rally key stakeholders around an effective go-to-market plan

Negotiations are different in terms of complexity, size of the deal and people involved. However, a deal's underlying structure never changes. In this webinar you'll learn this structure, which is called a "negotiation blueprint," and how to apply it when you prepare for your strategic negotiations. Can you stay proactive and in control and anticipate each negotiation, including your buyer's tactics? You bet you can!

Topics include:

• Learn a structured and process-oriented approach to negotiation
• Understand the three concepts needed to win at a complex business negotiation
• Learn how to apply this approach to prepare for your account negotiations

Customers are changing their relationships with key suppliers. In particular they are changing their expectations for how suppliers' account managers can bring value to their organizations. This webinar offers approaches taken by several companies -- including global health care and technology company Royal Philips Electronics Inc. -- to transform their sales organizations to meet these new customer expectations. The webinar is based on the experiences of Philips and consulting firm Global Partners Inc.

Topics include:

• Which changes in customers' needs and buying processes are driving sales force transformation by strategic suppliers
• Which approaches, stages and specific actions these case example companies have taken to implement sales force change transformation programs
• How to use the case studies to assess your own organization's readiness to implement sales force

Snapshots are presented of research relevant to the strategic account management arena:

• "McKinsey global survey results: assessing innovation metrics," The McKinsey Quarterly, October 2008, www.mckinseyquarterly.com.
• "McKinsey global survey results: information technology's unmet potential," The McKinsey Quarterly, November 2008, www.mckinseyquarterly.com.
• "The daily stat: how growth stalls--suddenly," Harvard Business Publishing, Nov. 20, 2008, http://hbr.org.
• "McKinsey global survey results: how companies make good decisions," The McKinsey Quarterly, December 2008, www.mckinseyquarterly.com.

• Editor's Corner
• How to build account team collaboration: a powerful competitive advantage (Strategic Reflections)
• Quick Takes
• Data Watch
• The value road map: Part 2--developing and articulating the value you create
• When logic is fuzzy: harnessing the uncertainty in determining investment levels for current and future strategic accounts
• Provoking procurement with an unsolicited proposal
• Customer focus: getting to the heart of it
• Xerox's global account management evolution
• Owens Corning's metric: The fundamental reason corporations exist is to create value for customers
• Deloitte: Are you ready for account-based marketing? 10 signs indicating that the time is now
• Event Calendar
• Turning the keys: how global industry leaders deploy the keys to effectiv

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena:

• Nathan Bennett and Stephen A. Miles, "Six steps to (re)building a top management team," MIT Sloan Management Review, Fall 2008, Vol. 50, No. 1, http://sloanreview.mit.edu.
• Patrick Lencioni, "Right-sizing your team," Pat's POV, November 2008.

This is the e-book version of the spring 2010 issue of Velocity magazine.

Velocity magazine offers a year-round taste of what our meeting attendees and presenters encounter. This issue alone features numerous articles by SAMA members and colleagues, with some stories directly tied to sessions and workshops at the 46th Annual Conference.

Using real-world examples, this article shares how some leading strategic account management organizations have adopted a radical strategy and pre-empted the onslaught of supplier reduction. In some cases they have successfully avoided a formal tender, increased their share of customer wallet and even secured a single-source arrangement.

Molex acted strategically in response to greater customer demands for services by expanding opportunities in its global distribution business. The company's growth strategy involves offering incentives for distributors who are willing to work collaboratively in areas of potential business. You will learn: * Keys to motivating and expanding global distributor relationships * Examples of supplier-distributor collaboration for customer alignment and growth * Tips for managing large-scale change while continuing to drive ever-growing customer relationships

Within numerous companies, the expansion of enterprise capabilities for managing strategic and global customer business has necessitated the organization of a central "office" to facilitate cross-business operations, systems and support as well as coordinate, standardize and help drive SAM performance excellence. This session brings together several SAM program office directors for an exchange on their individual jobs and the scope of their central office. You will learn: * The state of SAM program evolution and growth of a central program office * The scope of responsibilities and areas of focus * Key challenges and issues * The direction centralized management of SAM program operations is moving

Everybody knows what a strategic account manager is. ... But do they? The lack of clarity in the corporate world about the SAM role leads to frequent turnover and unfulfilled expectations. This webinar tells the naked truth about what it takes to be a SAM and what kind of person you have to be to succeed in this role. The webinar will scare some but excite and challenge others. In the end you will be able to define a SAM and better assess your own situation.

Topics include:

• The difference between a SAM and salesperson
• Which attributes are necessary for fulfilling a SAM's responsibilities
• Why super salespeople don't always make the best SAMs

When developing solutions and executing for the customer, strategic account managers and executives in every industry must balance their customer's needs with their own company's actual (rather than imagined) capabilities. Even the best-designed solutions will fail if they cannot be delivered to the customer on time, on budget and exactly in line with the customer's real business needs. SAMs and strategic account management executives are uniquely suited to handle this challenge.

Topics include:

• Solution definition: how to define a solution and why common definitions are critical for successful solution business
• Solution financials: how to make a solutions business profitable compared to a traditional product-focused business
• Customer's challenges: how to link solutions to the customer's business challenges in different customer segments
• Examples of best practices

In too many instances the selection of a strategic customer is based on the size of the account only. This selection method can be incomplete at best and lead to disasters at worst. In this webinar Bernard Quancard offers examples, best practices and anecdotal stories establishing a sound basis for decisions on whether to select (or de-select) strategic accounts.

Topics include:

• Why size only is an insufficient criterion and can even lead to poor selection decisions
• The most relevant criteria for selecting the right strategic accounts
• Best practices in account selection at world-class companies
• Parting lessons that are directly applicable to the selection/de-selection of strategic accounts

Customers demand that product-based firms re-engineer their business models and expand their services capabilities to create more holistic offerings. As a result firms are dramatically redesigning their customer coverage models. This session illustrates the implementation of a services strategy and a new customer coverage model.

Topics include:

• Customers' changing view of value: services and business solutions vs. stand-alone products
• Coverage strategies and implementation options
• The services business model vs. product firm implementation focus
• Lessons: what works ... what doesn't
• Checklists for successful strategic account management and solution-lead companies

In this challenging account management environment, we have to get credit for the value we bring. This practical webinar will focus on effectively getting the right customer knowledge -- including how to conduct a customer interview -- to help us deliver value to our customers and get credit for doing so.

Topics include:

• The differences among business/strategic knowledge, solution/opportunity knowledge and relationship knowledge
• How to understand the customer's satisfaction level and fill in the gaps
• How to quickly analyze publicly available data
• How to gain a true insider's perspective of our customers
• How to conduct a high-impact research interview

This webinar will help you strategically manage your organization's capabilities relative to your customer's business requirements. The webinar includes analytical tools showing how best to match your organization's resources and talent with strategic account management objectives.

Topics include:

• How to measure SAM talent relative to customer opportunities
• How to evaluate and segment customers according to your SAM capabilities
• How to set SAM deployment expectations with your customers

This webinar covers the main challenges strategic account managers and executives face in managing large programs and projects for key customers. It includes a discussion of how to organize to manage strategic account programs and projects. Issues related to funding the program management team are addressed along with options for funding methods, and the cultural aspects of managing global programs are also discussed.

Topics include:

• The role that program management should play in strategic account organizations and why it is important
• How to organize project teams and the criteria for selection of project managers
• Critical issues related to the funding of program teams
• The importance of culture in leading international programs
• How to ensure effective communication among all parties involved in the program

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena:

• Deepak Somaya and Ian O. Williamson, "Rethinking the 'war for talent,'" MIT Sloan Management Review, Summer 2008, Vol. 49, No. 4, http://sloanreview.mit.edu.
• "Hiring from outside the company: how new people can bring unexpected problems," Knowledge@Wharton, Sept. 3, 2008, http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu.

For Velocity's part, it always has articles about the long-term (and even short-term) advantages of thinking and acting with the long term as the goal. But then that's a central component of strategic account management, isn't it?

• "How companies respond to competitors: a McKinsey global survey," The McKinsey Quarterly, April 2008, www.mckinseyquarterly.com.
• Per-Ola Karlsson, Gary L. Neilson and Juan Carlos Webster, "CEO succession 2007: the performance paradox," strategy+business, Issue 51, Summer 2008, www.strategy-business.com.

• Going long (Editor's Corner)
• Is your customer truly global or just plain international? (Strategic Reflections)
• Quick Takes
• Data Watch
• Impacting business outcomes: strategic account management's central role in the new economy--Is your SAM program prepared to lead transformational growth?
• Sales training at Cisco Systems goes digital--and interactive
• Future focus: selling and account management in the new global economy
• New consulting roles and connections to grow and protect strategic business
• The five conversations every key account team must have
• What's loyalty got to do, got to do with it?
• Bridging the economic gap: Taking the long view with customer relations will help businesses through the recession and position them for success
• Getting started with

This is the e-book version of the winter 2010 issue of Velocity magazine.

"IMPACT without authority" is designed to equip strategic account managers with the skills needed to influence their internal colleagues, a task many SAMs identify as their most difficult when trying to deliver the right resources to customers. This webinar will focus primarily on one of the steps in the IMPACT process: creating customer advocates inside your own organization.

Topics include:

• An overview of the six-step IMPACT model
• Establishing credibility and trust as a foundation to obtaining the resources and influence necessary for meeting customer needs
• The importance of developing an internal network within your organization to support the customer
• Determining strategies for creating customer advocates so your organization is appropriately responsive to your customer

In this new economy, increasing your strategic importance and customer loyalty at your most strategic customers is critical. Siemens AG will tell the story of the key decisions the company made to enhance the impact and efficiency of the company's top corporate accounts program. This story will include Siemens' approach to key/strategic accounts throughout the organization.

Somfy SA's customer strategy is to differentiate between "large accounts" and "key/strategic accounts." The commercial and relationship strategy will be significantly different even though the basic deliverables might be the same. For key/strategic accounts, Somfy works on more specific/high-business value projects, whilst for large accounts the more standard offers prevail. In today's economy it's crucial that companies adapt their approach to the customers' strategic profiles and optimize the offer as well as cost to serve, taking into account the strategic potential of the customer accounts.

The rise of external procurement consultants poses a real challenge for many sales professionals. This webinar unveils the strategies that work in combating procurement consultants' tactics based on in-depth interviews with successful suppliers.

Topics include:

• Developing early relationships with client executives
• Learning to create executive access even when blocked
• Influencing the specifications to your advantage
• Positioning the consultant as your partner, not your adversary
• Understanding what the consultant is trying to accomplish

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena:

• "Resorts, key customers and the down economy," www.strategicaccounts.org/blog.
• "Rolls-Royce: a brilliant blend of manufacturing and services," www.strategicaccounts.org/blog.
• "Yes, provoke your customers. But it's not enough." www.strategicaccounts.org/blog.
• "IBM study: strategic account manager skills survive recession," www.strategicaccounts.org/blog.

• Leadership in uncertain times (Editor's Corner)
• Managing in these challenging times (Strategic Reflections)
• Quick Takes
• Data Watch
• Real solutions don't have part numbers: time to move the needle
• Global strategic account planning transforms account relationships into true partnerships: the STMicroelectronics' "Capture market share" experience, a partnership between the corporate university of ST and Global Partners/li>
• The value road map: Part 1--taking value creation to the next level in an increasingly competitive marketplace
• Has the economy killed collaborative negotiation?
• Vital Velocity: sprouting a strategic account management program--how to build one from the ground up
• Virtual account management: real results
• Strategic account manager compensation: adjusting to ec

• Paul Hesselschwerdt, "Despite recession almost all companies continue management training."

This is the e-book version of the summer/fall 2009 issue of Velocity magazine.

This webinar teaches strategic account managers to systematically identify key decision makers at strategic accounts and employ proven tactics to gain access to these people. Through case study examples and exercises, acquire these basic skills to apply immediately.

Topics include:

• How organizations work--formally and informally
• How well you really know your account and which areas are your weakest
• How to identify the real decision maker(s) and gain access to them

Owens Corning has developed a unique system for managing customer value. The results have covered the national account spectrum from winning the vendor-of-the-year award at Lowe's Companies Inc. to significant increases in wallet share at corporate accounts. In this webinar Owens Corning will share its process for using customer knowledge to ensure that sales, operational and capital plans are informed by its customers' perspectives.

Topics include:

• An overview of the value creation system at Owens Corning
• Why this has been so valuable during a tough market
• Success stories with varying types of customers
• The benefit of the work to the national accounts team
• How Owens Corning trains and certifies employees
• How to keep the entire organization (manufacturing, sales, research and development, management, etc.) focused on using customer knowledge to create value

This webinar offers real-world instruction on teaming through the principles of global consistency, coordination, integration and cooperation. Based on real-life experiences, presenter Fathi Tlatli will help you assure that your team is truly customer-oriented while he explores the impact of globalization on teams.

Topics include:

• How to clearly define the goals and roles of global team members
• Ways to generate commitment among team members
• Facilitating cross-border/-cultural cooperative teaming
• Benchmarking best practices related to successful global teams management
• Cross-cultural skills to extend beyond your own cultural norms, values and beliefs

How the global strategic account manager operates across the company and with the customer is best understood by looking initially through the long lens of the organization and then up close to view the role of the global SAM.

In this webinar learn how Molex Inc. has responded to customer demands for global services by expanding opportunities for account managers, distributors and customers in its global distribution business.

Topics include:

• How the global SAM functions and demonstrates accountability within the company
• How the global SAM works with the customer to leverage mutual opportunities and drive future growth
• Reorganizing and changing to continue growing business
• Keys to motivating and expanding global distributor relationships
• Examples of supplier-distributor collaboration for customer alignment and growth
• The business issues and opportuni

Audio(MP3)

To manage a national or global account program effectively and efficiently as a service provider, an infrastructure is required in which your geographically dispersed team can align, communicate and operate. The infrastructure is a platform that is co-created with the client to provide consistent service delivery anywhere in the world. Elements include a technology tool for communications and service delivery, learning programs, account review processes (internal and external) and KPI programs that drive value through behavioral change.

The discussion will cover:

• Co-creation of communication platforms and delivery processes with the client
• Establishing a standard program to continually educate, align and incent global teams
• Capture and share best practices internally and with the client

Are customers unexpectedly leaving you and you don't know why? Do satisfaction survey scores show little variation and provide little value to your SAM program? Is your organization really tuned into your customer's needs? In this session you will learn what and how to measure your SAM account relationships utilizing seven critical drivers that indicate a high degree of customer loyalty.

• The difference between measuring customer loyalty and customer satisfaction
• Establishing an internal champion within your accounts
• Key areas to measure when assessing customer loyalty and how to do it

To manage a national or global account program effectively and efficiently as a service provider, an infrastructure is required in which your geographically dispersed team can align, communicate and operate. The infrastructure is a platform that is co-created with the client to provide consistent service delivery anywhere in the world. Elements include a technology tool for communications and service delivery, learning programs, account review processes (internal and external) and KPI programs that drive value through behavioral change.

• Co-creation of communication platforms and delivery processes with the client
• Establishing a standard program to continually educate, align and incent global teams
• Capture and share best practices internally and with the client
• Developing annual account plans & KPIs that capture innovation and align metrics to client ob

How does a strategic account manager, focused by nature on building long-term value, deliver the short-term returns required by senior management in tough economic times? Answer: by focusing on innovative, rapid payback opportunities developed in partnership with your customer. This seminar will provide practical tools and real-world examples to increase sales in the midst of a recession.

Key topics:

• How to develop an innovative co-creation approach with your customer
• Specific SAM tools and models used at Schneider Electric to drive both short-term results and long-term value
• How to effectively leverage executive sponsorship during tough economic times

Audio(MP3)

What does it mean to be "strategic" given the complexities of a decentralized company, balancing resource allocations, cost-to-serve and local versus global requirements? And what role does the customer play in these executive decisions? C.H. Robinson executive Jim Butts shares his company's progress in mobilizing its internal network and capabilities for both short- and long-term profitable growth.

The discussion covers:

• How a company can work with the complexities of its go-to-market model
• How to analyze an internal network of people and allocate the right resources as levers for profitability and growth
• How to balance decentralized versus centralized customer management

Rather than blaming the external consultant for inadequate selling, successful individuals have changed their approach. What follows is an overview of success factors and real-world strategies that will help you win business in this new environment.

• Structure of the global account management team (including to whom it reports, the number of GAM directors and managers and the nature of the extended team)
• Program details from each of three panelists
• How the programs have evolved over time

Winning over customer executives is crucial for sustaining sales growth at strategic accounts. This session will equip you with strategies to engage executive-level buyers.

• How executives influence corporate investment
• The impact of finance on the customer's buying cycle
• Insight into financial metrics used by executives to orient decision making
• Ways to link your solutions to executive-level business issues at your customer's company
• How to tailor sales strategies, proposals and presentations to focus more on the relevant business and financial issues

• How to assess whether your incentive plan is driving the desired results
• How to align incentive compensation with other drivers of sales performance
• How to adapt the principles of incentive compensation to the unique characteristics of your own SAM program

Audio(MP3)

The individuals who directly manage and coach strategic account managers for high performance can implement a practical, concrete approach to ensure that their relationships with their SAMs are driving the bottom line.

• An overview of an implementation strategy that secures adoption and execution
• How to articulate the role of the coach/manager in that strategy as a vehicle for assuring financial payoff, impact and return
• How to connect the sales manager / SAM relationship to account revenue growth
• How to introduce a coaching and performance management framework that encourages sales skills application and uptake
• How to illustrate results achieved when sales skills implementation includes a coaching component

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena:

• Karen Stephenson, "The community network solution," strategy+business, Feb. 28, 2008, www.strategy-business.com.
• Josh Hyatt, "A surprising truth about geographically dispersed teams," MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 49, No. 4, Summer 2008, http://sloanreview.mit.edu.

Audio(MP3)

Winning over customer executives is crucial for sustaining sales growth at strategic accounts. This session will equip you with strategies to engage executive-level buyers.

You will learn:

• How executives influence corporate investment
• The impact of finance on the customer's buying cycle
• Insight into financial metrics used by executives to orient decision making
• Ways to link your solutions to executive-level business issues at your customer's company
• How to tailor sales strategies, proposals and presentations to focus more on the relevant business and financial issues

Audio(MP3)

Are customers unexpectedly leaving you and you don't know why? Do satisfaction survey scores show little variation and provide little value to your SAM program? Is your organization really tuned into your customer's needs? In this session you will learn what and how to measure your SAM account relationships utilizing seven critical drivers that indicate a high degree of customer loyalty.

The discussion will cover:

• The difference between measuring customer loyalty and customer satisfaction
• Establishing an internal champion within your accounts
• Key areas to measure when assessing customer loyalty and how to do it

Learn the customer executive's perspective on supplier account plans and rethink your own approach to account planning. Understand the customer's viewpoint and steps you need to take to validate your customer's drivers and priorities - they will directly inform your plan and enable you to engage and align your company's objectives to those of your account through a realistic, productive process.

• How to validate customer business drivers and priorities
• How to create and use a business filter for assessing opportunities
• How to create and overlay these skills to your account planning process

• What client indicators must be monitored and managed
• What levers to activate to impact long term and short term SAM results
• How to ensure the client realizes value from your solutions
• How to develop a competitive advantage for your SAM team/li>

Focus: Teams is published biannually and features case studies, best practices, practical tools and cutting-edge information specific to this segment of the strategic account management population. FT serves as a supplementary newsletter to Velocity magazine.

This issue features

• "Global strategic account planning transforms account relationships into true partnerships: the STMicroelectronics 'Capture market share' experience, a partnership between the corporate university of ST and Global Partners,"
• "Teamwork, leadership and suffering" and
• research data and statistics about the best predictors of compensation package satisfaction and account managers on/managing account teams, as well as other content specific to SAM.

Audio(MP3)

1 - Procurement executives speak on customer-supplier collaboration and strategic relationships

Today's economy changes everything. You may be a strategic account manager, but if you are not a strategic supplier to your global account, you are toast, and the next year will be the acid test. Is there really value in the equation, or when the chips are down is it only about the double whammy of impossibly lower unit costs and dramatically reduced volume?

Engage in a real world case analysis with three top procurement professionals as they reveal the kinds of innovation they need from their most strategic suppliers today. Their perspectives may surprise you, and will absolutely suggest new ways of partnering in the tough times in ways that will allow strategic relationships to emerge stronger and more resilient. It will, of course, also expose the vulnerability of the many transactional accounts that are strategic in name only--for whom the future may be bleaker. The discussion will cover:

• Sure fire ways of determining if the customer really sees you as a strategic supplier and what it takes to get there
• A deeper understanding of the relationship between procurement and the lines of business they work with-how to help each win with the other
• Why there is an appetite for more supplier driven innovation in a down economy
• How top procurement professionals say that their top SAMs earn the right to drive change, while others are locked into untenable demands for unit price reductions

2 -  Networking event where your potential customers talk about how their company is responding to today's challenging environment

The discussion will cover:

• What the companies' priorities are in these tough times
• What areas of business are still spending money and why
• What activities companies are doing to streamline and make money in the current economy
• How to take advantage of downsizing in your sales strategy
• Why providing real value-add is even more important today
• What are your customer's customers looking for?

What does it mean to be "strategic" given the complexities of a decentralized company, balancing resource allocations, cost-to-serve and local versus global requirements? And what role does the customer play in these executive decisions? C.H. Robinson executive Jim Butts shares his company's progress in mobilizing its internal network and capabilities for both short- and long-term profitable growth.

• How a company can work with the complexities of its go-to-market model
• How to analyze an internal network of people and allocate the right resources as levers for profitability and growth
• How to balance decentralized versus centralized customer management

• Key components of a actionable, value-focused account plan
• How to balance short-term revenue and long-term relationship goals
• How you can focus your account planning process on what your customer values most
• How to benchmark your current account planning process against a set of industry standards

• Creating a cohesive strategic initiative for enterprise-wide cross-selling
• Understanding and addressing the fundamental issues inhibiting cross-selling?among SAMs and across business units
• Developing the tools and rules of the road for a successful cross-selling program

Audio(MP3)

The choice of strategic account management form and structure can add or hinder value for customers. This panel discussion will help attendees structure their own SAM programs more effectively. Panelists will be senior executives in charge of programs at major multinational companies (Schneider Electric, Marriott and Cisco), and the moderator is George Yip, co-author of Managing Global Customers (Oxford University Press, 2007).

The discussion will cover:

• Structure of the global account management team (including to whom it reports, the number of GAM directors and managers and the nature of the extended team)
• Program details from each of three panelists
• How the programs have evolved over time

Audio(MP3)

The proliferation of external procurement consultants poses a real challenge for many strategic account managers. Direct client access is often blocked, SAMs have limited influence over the specification, and win rates are poor at best. This session shares documented strategies used by successful SAMs and presents a best-practice approach for dealing with external procurement consultants. You will learn:

• The critical success factors in managing the involvement of external procurement consultants
• Case study examples and practical strategies that can be applied immediately
• A best-practice planning framework that will help you apply the insights into your real-world situation

This session will help you uncover the critical misalignments that are causing your SAM program to underperform, and then, take action to correct the problems and remove internal barriers causing organizational drag.

You will learn:

• A process for assessing organizational alignment to pinpoint alignment inefficiencies
• How to align around your SAM revenue strategy
• New sources of competitive advantage for each step of the company's revenue process
• Ways to accelerate the capture of new targeted market share

Note: All participants will have the opportunity to benchmark their organization against high-performing SAM organizations.

Audio(MP3)

In the modern paradigm of strategy and innovation, customers actively participate in the shaping of their own experience with an organization at every interaction, either individually or along multiple stages of the business-to-business value chain. This session explores how to harness the forces of co-creation in the context of strategic accounts.

The discussion will cover:

• How to co-create with your immediate customers and downstream the value chain
• How to co-create with suppliers and those further "upstream"
• How to transform your own organization and internal processes through co-creation

Account relationships (and strategic sales pursuits) benefit from a clear understanding of the business journey from the current to the future state. The best way to reach a shared vision is through "structured visual thinking" literally creating a visual map of the business context, drivers and supporting business logic.

• Why Structured Visual Thinking works
• How to do visual thinking and mapping in a strategic account setting
• How you should engage clients in developing a shared visual framework
• How to use visual thinking to win business

Global customers will typically demand global teams from their suppliers. The global teams comprise account managers who lead the customer-supplier relationships in a given country. This leads to significant challenges in the management of global teams. The GAM has to be a true strategic leader, global account coverage has to be optimized, and cultural differences have to be taken into account to adapt local action plans to the global strategy/desired results. Adequate local resources have to be in place to provide the right services/support at the right place and last but not least an opportunity management process has to be consistent globally and supported by an adequate CRM system.

• How to select the right talent
• How to avoid the pitfalls of globalization: poor communication of strategic objectives, cultural differences, measurements, adequate coverage of resources

Back by Popular demand, this workshop is considered one of the most immediately useful sessions delivered at SAMA conferences. It addresses the capabilities required to compete and win in a variety of business-to-business presentation scenarios.

• How to hone overall presentation delivery skills
• How to tailor your presentations to the appropriate audiences
• High-impact presentation formats
• How to compel and close effectively

• A full SAM Program overview for design and implementation
• Best Practice insights, tools and workgroup takeaways on strategy, top level engagement, selecting the right accounts and alignment
• Workshop exercises with your peers, focused on helping to move your program to the next level

• "How companies act on global trends: a McKinsey global survey," The McKinsey Quarterly, April 2008, www.mckinseyquarterly.com.
• 2009 Report on Strategic Account Management Compensation Practices, Strategic Account Management Association and ZS Associates Inc., May 10, 2009, www.strategicaccounts.org.

Audio(MP3)

Learn the customer executive's perspective on supplier account plans and rethink your own approach to account planning. Understand the customer's viewpoint and steps you need to take to validate your customer's drivers and priorities-they will directly inform your plan and enable you to engage and align your company's objectives to those of your account through a realistic, productive process.

You will learn:

• How to validate customer business drivers and priorities
• How to create and use a business filter for assessing opportunities
• How to create and overlay these skills to your account planning process

The value of our relationship is only as good as the credit we get. How many of us have felt the frustration of driving great value but are still getting beaten up on price, always facing competitive threats, watching our margins erode or worse yet, losing the account? What can we do to help create competitive immunity in our most important accounts? This workshop will present an account management process, complete with both strategies and tactics that can be implemented to help you quantify the value you bring to a relationship and differentiate your relationship from your competition. Real life case study examples will be used to illustrate the process.

• To adopt a process for assessing account knowledge, relationships and opportunities
• Understand how to identify and express the value of your key customer relationships
• Enhance your influence

Audio(MP3)

This interactive roundtable will strive to provide key recommendations to senior management on how to refocus SAM programs in a recession. This will be done through active participant discussion and practice exchanges leading to a series of recommendations from the group to senior management of participating companies.

The discussion will cover:

"How to respond to your strategic account's request to renegotiate all the key contracts"

"How to reposition your value proposition: giving more for less money"

"How to keep your share of wallet and avoid being deselected as a strategic supplier"

"How to manage selective relationships in light of all the factors mentioned above"

Audio(MP3)

If you're considering a new, more focused approach to a few selected strategic customers, just launching a new strategic accounts program, or seeking to drive your developing program to the next level of performance, this session combines thought-leadership with workgroup experience and insights to address four critical building blocks of your SAM initiative: Setting the Program strategy and value proposition; Executive sponsorship and support; Account selection criteria; and, Internal and external alignment.

The discussion will cover:

• A full SAM Program overview for design and implementation
• Best Practice insights, tools and workgroup takeaways on strategy, top level engagement, selecting the right accounts and alignment
• Workshop exercises with your peers, focused on helping to move your program to the next level

Audio(MP3)

The value of our relationship is only as good as the credit we get. How many of us have felt the frustration of driving great value but are still getting beaten up on price, always facing competitive threats, watching our margins erode or worse yet, losing the account? What can we do to help create competitive immunity in our most important accounts? This workshop will present an account management process, complete with both strategies and tactics that can be implemented to help you quantify the value you bring to a relationship and differentiate your relationship from your competition. Real life case study examples will be used to illustrate the process.

You will learn:

• To adopt a process for assessing account knowledge, relationships and opportunities
• Understand how to identify and express the value of your key customer relationships
• Enhance your influence and elevate your customer's perception of your value through innovative business presentations

"Finding the right strategic account manager" is one of the most critical challenges for companies today. New research by Korn/Ferry has helped uncover and illuminate a fuller profile of a best-in-class strategic account manager, findings that will assist both SAM organizations and human resource/learning and development personnel to apply more specificity and science to their talent management processes for SAM.

You will learn:

• Which attributes, styles and emotional qualities correlate best with the SAM role
• Which attributes are easier to hire versus coach and develop
• Implications for the effectiveness of SAM power and influence in different cultures
• Logical options to explore for SAM career progression and succession planning

Audio(MP3)

Account relationships (and strategic sales pursuits) benefit from a clear understanding of the business journey from the current to the future state. The best way to reach a shared vision is through "structured visual thinking" - literally creating a visual map of the business context, drivers and supporting business logic.

You will learn:

• Why Structured Visual Thinking works
• How to do visual thinking and mapping in a strategic account setting
• How you should engage clients in developing a shared visual framework
• How to use visual thinking to win business

Focus: Account Manager is published biannually and features case studies, best practices, practical tools and cutting-edge information specific to this segment of the strategic account management population. FAM serves as a supplementary newsletter to Velocity magazine.

This issue features

• "Nalco key account manager using presentations to build trust with customers,"
• "From sales representative to president of global accounts operations: a conversation with Xerox's Thomas J. Dolan" and
• "The top changes that account managers would make to their compensation arrangement to improve it," as well as other content specific to SAM.

• Key structural co-creation principles and areas of focus in the business-to-business world
• A 10-step analytical framework for co-creation
• How to apply a co-creation framework in breakout groups using live case studies

Highlights of this issue include:

• Nalco key account manager using presentations to build trust with customers
• From sales representative to president of global accounts operations: a conversation with Xerox's Thomas J. Dolan
• The top changes that account managers would make to their compensation arrangement to improve it

The responsibility of optimizing the performance of a cross-functional account team is an essential role of the strategic account manager. The most effective SAMs are adept at managing, leading and facilitating their teams as well as coaching team members. This program is focused on how to translate recognized SAM best practices into a practical application of the SAM's team responsibilities.

• Key team challenges in the role of the SAM
• The qualities of an effective SAM leader/manager/coach
• What to coach daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and semiannually

Audio(MP3)

An opportunity for talent management professionals (no consultants, please!) to exchange practices and discuss issues and challenges related to the establishing of the strategic account manager position as a recognized career path. General discussion and breakout groups will cover key areas of attendee interest. Panelists will present their company's specific programs for SAM development and career advancement.

The discussion will cover:

• Best-practice examples of SAM talent management and career pathing
• Barriers to human resource alignment with SAM program strategy and implementation
• What HR/learning and development professionals can do to advance their SAM development and career pathing agendas

• How to audit your own negotiation strengths and weaknesses
• Three key concepts and two critical questions needed to blueprint any business negotiation
• How to integrate a common negotiation language within your organization
• How to align internal stakeholders who affect or influence your negotiation

Audio(MP3)

Cisco has taken significant steps in terms of how it supports strategic customers globally. This session highlights how Cisco achieved cross-functional alignment and governance through a globally coordinated sales model, the key lessons learned along the way, and how collaborating with customers accelerates business growth in dynamic market conditions.

• Ways to build a stronger global community within your organization
• How to achieve customer, organizational, and operational excellence through a globally coordinated sales model
• How to implement a centralized structure that works across geographic and organizational boundaries
• Aligning organizational resources and business priorities around key vertical market customers
• Focusing on five business imperatives designed to drive success under dynamic market conditions

Audio(MP3)

This workshop will help you take control of growth initiatives to protect margins, create competitive immunity, enhance the overall relationship with key customers and also master presentations to executives. Participants will learn the Initiative Storyboard, a summary of account knowledge, strategy and the action plan for success.

You will learn:

• How to develop offers that leverage your core competencies across your organization
• To determine the components of your offer based upon total customer impact and overall deal feasibility
• How to quantify a compelling growth initiative in customer terms
• A complete presentation framework to assure buy-in to the growth initiative

Audio(MP3)

As products and services lose differentiation, the sales organization becomes increasingly more frustrated and desperate and begins to sell solely on price. Profitability slides and growth feels like it's coming to a complete halt. SKF, a recognized world leader in industrial solutions, has dramatically changed its organization over the past five years to sell based on the quantified value they create for customers, and will share concrete examples of their work.

You will learn:

• How to differentiate your offering based on value
• The fundamentals on how to calculate value created (case studies presented on how to quantify your value and get paid for it)
• Methods to present a "total cost of ownership" discussion so your customers are able and willing to pay you for the value you create
• How to help purchasing be seen as an investment not a cost,through their ability to bring sustainable continuous cost savings

This is the e-book version of the spring 2009 issue of Velocity magazine.

Schneider Electric launched collaborative planning with strategic customers in Second Life at the end of 2008. Come hear Schneider's story and lessons for co-creating value with customers while significantly reducing costs using the Web 2.0 platform.

• Virtual worlds as a tool to animate customer meetings
• How to reduce travel costs
• How to implement virtual worlds for customer-supplier collaborations

Resistance to changing sales channels usually boils down to the four C's: control, competency, cost and constructs. In this excerpt from a Velocity article by Mark Donnolo and John DeSarbo, they discuss principles to improve strategic account coverage.

Audio(MP3)

Cisco Systems Inc. rebounded quickly from the Internet marketplace bust of 2000-2001. By bundling services to accompany its products, Cisco scaled offerings across customer accounts, helping both the company and its customers endure the upheaval of the downturn.

The discussion will cover:

• How to generate quick returns from enhanced customer collaboration processes
• How to quickly mobilize internal resources to fulfill new customer opportunities
• How to align account representation and internal operations to increase the scale of customer coverage

Audio(MP3)

In the next few years, every industry will consolidate weaker players, and customers will further consolidate their suppliers. Companies which position themselves now for growth will be the survivors. To be a survivor, suppliers need to create institutional interdependencies with their key accounts. The supplier's executive team, while often in contact with customers, is rarely utilized in a comprehensive and consistent process to create an unbreakable loyalty to the supplier. The basis for this partnership is an organizational alignment at all levels between the customer and supplier, with the common goal of creating mutual value.

The discussion will cover:

• The different models for executive relationship programs
• How to scale programs to supplier and customer resources and decision makers
• A process to make executive engagement more effective
• How to sell and establ

Audio(MP3)

The responsibility of optimizing the performance of a cross-functional account team is an essential role of the strategic account manager. The most effective SAMs are adept at managing, leading and facilitating their teams as well as coaching team members. This program is focused on how to translate recognized SAM best practices into a practical application of the SAM's team responsibilities.

You will learn:

• Key team challenges in the role of the SAM
• The qualities of an effective SAM leader/manager/coach
• What to coach daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and semiannually

Dealing with your most difficult customers can be a daunting challenge for any corporate enterprise. Each individual's approach to a difficult customer will be rooted in common sense, but it also needs to include strategies that are less common. In this keynote session, he will explain a four-step strategy for dealing with difficult people that was developed by SNI in negotiations consulting and deal coaching over the past 10 years and through the experience of Jeff and the other SNI principals.

Topics discussed will be:

• how neutralizing your emotions is critical when faced with managing nature's fight-or-flight response during discussions with a challenging negotiator;
• the importance of identifying one of the three types of difficult negotiators;
• methods to control the encounter with each of the three types;
• and the need to explore options in crafting an acceptable outcome.

In this session Bernard Quancard will discuss the building blocks that everybody, from the beginning account manager to the seasoned SAM executive, must understand in order to produce dynamic results for their customers in challenging times.

• A framework for making decisions around all aspects of strategic account management
• How to assess the current state of one's own SAM expertise, and/or the expertise of one's own program employees or team members
• An overview of cutting edge emerging issues in SAM, as reported by SAMA corporate member companies

This session provides the insights and tools you need to effectively identify and classify the key individuals in your customer's organization, assess their political significance and pinpoint the specific "buying zones" leading to successful access and engagement.

• Create a Relationship Map and Barometer
• Assess the political landscape and formulate your strategy
• Identify the decision-maker Buying Zones and value points for entry

• How to generate quick returns from enhanced customer collaboration processes
• How to quickly mobilize internal resources to fulfill new customer opportunities
• How to align account representation and internal operations to increase the scale of customer coverage

Highlights of this issue include:

• Global strategic account planning transforms account relationships into true partnerships: the STMicroelectronics 'Capture market share' experience, a partnership between the corporate university of ST and Global Partners
• Teamwork, leadership and suffering
• Research data and statistics about the best predictors of compensation package satisfaction and account managers on/managing account teams

Audio(MP3)

Talent management professionals play a key role in ensuring that their company's strategic accounts organization and human resources have adopted and aligned the key components necessary for successful strategic account manager development. These include: insight, motivation, capabilities, real-world practice and accountability. Isolated training deliveries not connected through an integrated development program have a low chance of success and can result in poor outcomes, personal disappointments and ultimately high costs. This discussion will cover:

• A framework for creating an integrated SAM development program
• Examples and stories of implementation options in each program aspect
• A best-practice exchange on what makes a SAM development program successful

Finding the right strategic account manager is one of the most critical challenges for companies today. New research by Korn/Ferry has helped uncover and illuminate a fuller profile of a best-in-class strategic account manager, findings that will assist both SAM organizations and human resource/learning and development personnel to apply more specificity and science to their talent management processes for SAM.

• Which attributes, styles and emotional qualities correlate best with the SAM role
• Which attributes are easier to hire versus coach and develop
• Implications for the effectiveness of SAM power and influence in different cultures
• Logical options to explore for SAM career progression and succession planning

Audio(MP3)

In this session Bernard Quancard will discuss the building blocks that everybody - from the beginning account manager to the seasoned SAM executive - must understand in order to produce dynamic results for their customers in challenging times. You will learn:

• A framework for making decisions around all aspects of strategic account management
• How to assess the current state of one's own SAM expertise, and/or the expertise of one's own program employees or team members
• An overview of cutting edge emerging issues in SAM, as reported by SAMA corporate member companies

The proliferation of external procurement consultants poses a real challenge for many strategic account managers. Direct client access is often blocked, SAMs have limited influence over the specification, and win rates are poor at best. This session shares documented strategies used by successful SAMs and presents a best-practice approach for dealing with external procurement consultants.

• The critical success factors in managing the involvement of external procurement consultants
• Case study examples and practical strategies that can be applied immediately
• A best-practice planning framework that will help you apply the insights into your real-world situation

• The different models for executive relationship programs
• How to scale programs to supplier and customer resources and decision makers
• A process to make executive engagement more effective
• How to sell and establish th

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena:

• June Cotte and Remi Trudel, "Does being ethical pay?" MIT Sloan Management Review, May 12, 2008, http://sloanreview.mit.edu.
• Jacques Bughin, Michael Chui and Brad Johnson, "The next step in open innovation," The McKinsey Quarterly, June 2008, www.mckinseyquarterly.com.
• "Caught in the middle: why developing and retaining middle managers can be so challenging," Knowledge@Wharton, May 28, 2008, http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu.

Audio(MP3)

Global customers will typically demand global teams from their suppliers. The global teams comprise account managers who lead the customer-supplier relationships in a given country. This leads to significant challenges in the management of global teams. The GAM has to be a true strategic leader, global account coverage has to be optimized, and cultural differences have to be taken into account to adapt local action plans to the global strategy/desired results. Adequate local resources have to be in place to provide the right services/support at the right place and last but not least an opportunity management process has to be consistent globally and supported by an adequate CRM system.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to select the right talent
• How to avoid the pitfalls of globalization: poor communication of strategic objectives, cultural differences, measurements adequate coverage of resources
• How to implement an efficient opportunity management process with the right technology/information system

Audio(MP3)

This session offers a proactive, repeatable negotiation blueprinting process that allows strategic account managers to get credit for the value they create and take control of negotiations. Please bring a real negotiation scenario that you can apply to this process.

You will learn:

• How to audit your own negotiation strengths and weaknesses
• Three key concepts and two critical questions needed to blueprint any business negotiation
• How to integrate a common negotiation language within your organization
• How to align internal stakeholders who affect or influence your negotiation

As products and services lose differentiation, the sales organization becomes increasingly more frustrated and desperate and begins to sell solely on price. Profitability slides and growth feels like it's coming to a complete halt. SKF, a recognized world leader in industrial solutions, has dramatically changed its organization over the past five years to sell based on the quantified value they create for customers, and will share concrete examples of their work.

• How to differentiate your offering based on value
• The fundamentals on how to calculate value created (case studies presented on how to quantify your value and get paid for it)
• Methods to present a "total cost of ownership" discussion so your customers are able and willing to pay you for the value you create
• How to help purchasing be seen as an investment not a cost

What are you doing to practice efficient strategic selling? Strategic opportunity management is a proactive approach to winning "needle moving" strategic sales opportunities. It includes the comprehensive assimilation of information, a focus on client value, is based on consistent execution and integrates a well defined strategic sales process along with an ongoing assessment and measurement of your sales strategy and execution until the business is won. There will be numerous examples and short business cases that the audience will discuss with the speaker to engage in the actual issues related to superior execution.

• Formulating an effective strategic sales process (identify, position, discover, design, deliver)
• Assessing and leveraging your client relationship
• Aligning your team with the client's team
• Determining your client-specific value proposi

• How to develop offers that leverage your core competencies across your organization
• To determine the components of your offer based upon total customer impact and overall deal feasibility
• How to quantify a compelling growth initiative in customer terms
• A complete presentation framework to assure buy-in to the growth initiative

Audio(MP3)

Sales compensation is a powerful tool for influencing behavior. This workshop will help anybody who works with sales and/or strategic account management compensation to design a plan that truly pays for performance.

The discussion will cover:

• How to assess whether your incentive plan is driving the desired results
• How to align incentive compensation with other drivers of sales performance
• How to adapt the principles of incentive compensation to the unique characteristics of your own SAM program

• How to co-create with your immediate customers and downstream the value chain
• How to co-create with suppliers and those further ?upstream?
• How to transform your own organization and internal processes through co-creation

This session will help you uncover the critical misalignments that are causing your SAM program to underperform, and then, take action to correct the problems and remove internal barriers causing organizational drag.

• A process for assessing organizational alignment to pinpoint alignment inefficiencies
• How to align around your SAM revenue strategy
• New sources of competitive advantage for each step of the company's revenue process
• Ways to accelerate the capture of new targeted market share

• How different channels and customers? demands cause profit differences
• Which customers you should retain, grow and acquire and which you should not
• Which differentiated services and actions will lift profits higher
• How activity-based costing methods calculate customer profitability

• An overview of an implementation strategy that secures adoption and execution
• How to articulate the role of the coach/manager in that strategy as a vehicle for assuring financial payoff, impact and return
• How to connect the sales manager / SAM relationship to account revenue growth
• How to introduce a coaching and performance management framework that encourages sales skills application and uptake
• How to illustrate results achieved when sales skills implementation includes a coaching component

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena:

• "Make the most of your executive in a sales call," Miller Heiman Inc., 2008, www.millerheiman.com.
• "Gadgets at work: the blurring boundary between consumer and corporate technologies," Knowledge@Wharton, April 16, 2008, http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu.

Audio(MP3)

What are you doing to practice efficient strategic selling? Strategic opportunity management is a proactive approach to winning "needle moving" strategic sales opportunities. It includes the comprehensive assimilation of information, a focus on client value, is based on consistent execution and integrates a well defined strategic sales process along with an ongoing assessment and measurement of your sales strategy and execution until the business is won. There will be numerous examples and short business cases that the audience will discuss with the speaker to engage in the actual issues related to superior execution. You will learn:

• Formulating an effective strategic sales process (identify, position, discover, design, deliver)
• Assessing and leveraging your client relationship
• Aligning your team with the client's team
• Determining your client-specific value proposition

• Ways to build a stronger global community within your organization
• How to achieve customer, organizational, and operational excellence through a globally coordinated sales model
• How to implement a centralized structure that works across geographic and organizational boundaries
• Aligning organizational resources and business priorities around key vertical market customers
• Focusing on five business imperatives designed to drive success under dynamic market conditions

Audio(MP3)

What is the likelihood of success of a strategic account manager to cross-sell if his/her company - top management and business units - is not aligned to an overall strategy and program for implementation? Very small! Zurich invested the time and resources to network its business units, gain leadership buy-in and install incentives and accountability across the company to both motivate and empower its SAMs to embed cross-selling in their role, resulting in desired behavior change and important impact on revenue. The discussion will cover: " Creating a cohesive strategic initiative for enterprise-wide cross-selling " Understanding and addressing the fundamental issues inhibiting cross-selling-among SAMs and across business units " Developing the tools and rules of the road for a successful cross-selling program

An opportunity for talent management professionals to exchange practices and discuss issues and challenges related to the establishing of the strategic account manager position as a recognized career path. General discussion and breakout groups will cover key areas of attendee interest. Panelists will present their company's specific programs for SAM development and career advancement.

• Best-practice examples of SAM talent management and career pathing
• Barriers to human resource alignment with SAM program strategy and implementation
• What HR/learning and development professionals can do to advance their SAM development and career pathing agendas

Audio(MP3)

How does a strategic account manager, focused by nature on building long-term value, deliver the short-term returns required by senior management in tough economic times? Answer: by focusing on innovative, rapid payback opportunities developed in partnership with your customer. This seminar will focus on providing practical tools and real-world examples to increase sales in the midst of a recession.

You will learn:

• How to develop an innovative co-creation approach with your customer
• Specific SAM tools and models used at Schneider Electric to drive both short-term results and long-term value
• How to effectively leverage executive sponsorship during tough economic times

• IBM study: SAMs are needed to beat recession (Editor's Corner)
• Trust builder or buster? (Strategic Reflections)
• Quick Takes
• Data Watch
• Dealing with difficult customers: Part II--controlling and exploring
• Nalco key account manager using presentations to build trust with customers
• SKF: transforming your organization to sell value
• Dealing with external procurement consultants: sleeping with the enemy?
• Vital Velocity: Mettler Toledo's strategic account program--defining strategic accounts and building a value-based program
• Global account management at Henkel: an interview with Franz Speer, corporate director international sales unit
• Royal Mail: managing customers in a new procurement-led world
• Rethinking Sales Management: A Strategic Guide for Practitioners, b

• Create a Relationship Map and Barometer
• Assess the political landscape and formulate your strategy
• Identify the decision-maker Buying Zones and value points for entry

No matter what your starting point as a strategic account manager -- with a large or small company, a well-established strategic account management program or one that's new -- by teaching you some key steps, this webinar will help you add value both internally and externally. We'll explain how SAMs can embed cross-selling in their day-to-day activities, resulting in greater product density and increased revenues. The webinar is led by Ron Davis, who has held SAM roles for more than 20 years and worked with some of the world's largest companies in both North America and Europe. He spearheaded Zurich Financial Services' cross-selling strategy and will share his proven systematic approach and insights for delivering exceptional value as a SAM.

Topics include:

• A quick cross-selling recap and why companies should love to excel at it
• SAM role clarification and how to live up to

Changes in procurement practices -- in particular, supplier relationship management practices -- pose a real challenge to many suppliers, especially in a period of great economic uncertainty. Without an in-depth understanding of procurement practices, you may find your access blocked, value propositions ignored and win rates in decline. In this webinar a former strategic account practitioner, Robin Mar, who was director of new business at Royal Mail Group PLC, and a seasoned procurement director, David Atkinson, managing director of Four Pillars Consulting Ltd., will draw on practical experience to explain how a greater understanding of emerging procurement and SRM practices can help you succeed in a downturn.

Topics include:

• How the role of procurement is changing
• How SRM is being used by your customers to manage you
• How a deep understanding of SRM can enable more eff

Selling and managing accounts has never been harder. Like never before, the economy has affected our customer's ability to buy and invest, and sales cycles are stretching out forever. Yet there are deals being done out there; we just need to win more than our fair share. Never have presentation skills been so important. As strategic account managers we need to leverage these skills to get credit for the value we deliver and inspire our customers to make our projects a priority for customers' limited budgets. This webinar offers practical tips for creating compelling presentations where we give the senior-level decision makers the chance to say yes.

Topics include:

• A presentation flow that can be used to truly differentiate us from our competition
• A powerful relationship review format designed to help us get credit for the value we bring and set the tone for additional oppor

When customer discovery is used in a focused, systematic way, it is capable of driving market share gains within strategic accounts and fostering joint innovation. In this webinar two partners at The Boston Consulting Group share aspects of BCG's rigorous customer discovery program. The process starts by developing a deep strategic understanding of your customer and using this perspective to identify win-win economic opportunities. (One BCG client conducted customer discovery with more than 50 enterprise accounts, institutionalized the program over time and realized average revenue increases of 10 percent to 25 percent varied across product lines.)

Topics include:

• An overview of customer discovery
• When and where it makes sense to enact customer discovery
• Client experiences and success stories
• Institutionalizing customer discovery

Are customers unexpectedly leaving you, and you don't know why? Do satisfaction survey scores show little variation and provide little value to your strategic account management program? Is your organization really tuned in to your customer's needs? In this webinar you will explore how to measure your SAM relationships utilizing seven critical drivers that indicate a high degree of customer loyalty.

Topics include:

• the difference between measuring customer loyalty and customer satisfaction
• establishing an internal champion within your accounts
• key areas to measure when assessing customer loyalty and how to do it

There is a cresting co-creative current overtaking the strategic account management sector. In fact, successful account managers have utilised aspects of co-creation for years as they've become the key facilitators and managers of the corporate sales process. In this workshop, Francis Gouillart will introduce the key principles of co-creation as a transformative corporate and personal development strategy. Through case studies you'll see how complex industry value chains involving multiple parties can be energised by co-creation. You will learn:

• The origins of the co-creation movement including key structural principles and areas of focus in the B2B world
• A 10-step analytical framework for co-creation 
• Interactive breakout groups with coaching as you apply the 10 steps in a case study
• Collective review of case-work to synthesise co-creation lessons learned
• The transform

Even the most strategic account managers need to be able to deal with extreme short-term focus and price pressure from the customer during negotiations. This session reveals the underlying dynamics and psychology of these situations and specifically what you can do about them. The potential for high stress and emotional responses can be reduced with careful documentation and analysis of the balance of power, sound negotiation tactics and appropriate behaviours. You will learn:

• How to handle an unfavourable balance of power
• How to handle zero sum game tactics from purchasing
• How to deploy integrative tactics to add value in the negotiation
• Golden Rules to take with you for your next difficult negotiation

This workshop is designed to provide a value generation process that focuses on bundling your product and service solution sets and leveraging your company's core competencies into the deal. By using this approach, you will protect margins, create competitive immunity, enhance the overall relationship with key customers and also master the "internal sell." This session will include the use of the Initiative Storyboard, a summary of account knowledge, articulated strategy, and the action plan for success. The Storyboard also helps with sales coaching, strategy review sessions, identifying competitive vulnerabilities, and presentations to executives. You will learn:

• To build value-based offers that impact the customer's business well beyond the product/service itself
• To identify customer's key business initiatives and structure value propositions/offers that directly impact thos

Account plans pose a critical test of your programme's value to customers. How do you make sure the plan is creative, insightful and focused on practical strategies that will transform the relationship? This session offers tips on how to put the right information into your account plans. You will learn:

• Elements of a high quality account plan
• Case studies of effective account plans
• Skills and key questions for the SAM in account plan preparation
• Guidelines on designing an account planning process that aligns with sales strategy

In this session you will hear from experienced business and account management practitioner Nick Watson, who helped Cisco rebound quickly in the wake of the Internet economy bust of 2000-2001. In addition to introducing and bundling services to accompany its products, Cisco was able to scale its offerings across customer accounts, helping both the company and its customers endure the upheaval of the downturn. Watson applies the lessons learned by Cisco in 2000-2001 to the environment of today. You will learn:

• How to generate quick returns from enhanced customer collaboration processes
• How to quickly mobilize the internal resources of the company to fulfill newly uncovered customer opportunities
• How to scale a high level of customer excellence to 10s or 100s of accounts
• How to align account representation and internal operations to increase the scale of customer coverag

Which form of global account management (GAM) programme is the most appropriate for each customer? And how many different forms should we provide to customers overall? This panel discussion will cover how this choice can add or hinder value for the customer. Moderated by one of the world's foremost experts on GAM, George Yip, co-author of Managing Global Customers and Dean of the Rotterdam School of Management. Panellists will be senior executives in charge of GAM programmes at major multinational companies that use different GAM structures. Topics discussed:

• Structure of the GAM team (hierarchy, number of GAM directors and managers and nature of extended team)
• Responsibilities of the GAM team relative to country managers
• Programme details from each of three panellists
• How the programmes have evolved over time
• Greatest advantages and disadvantages of each approach

Join SAMA CEO Bernard Quancard on Sunday afternoon, 8 March for a discussion of the building blocks for strategic account management (SAM). This special session will provide both a general understanding of the key elements of SAM and a framework within which all of the sessions for the conference can be better understood. You will learn:

• An overview of the basic building blocks of strategic account management: SAM essentials; programme design and management; and managing the SAM
• A framework for making decisions around many aspects of strategic account management
• How to assess the current state of one's own SAM programme
• Why salespeople and sales programmes increasingly operate more like strategic account managers and SAM programmes
• Cutting-edge emerging issues in SAM

In the end, most buyers focus mainly on price. So why not capitalise on that? This session teaches a step-by-step approach to anticipate the customer's price sensitivity by proactively proposing a comprehensive cost reduction programme. The result: a fairer price negotiated with the customer! Once you acknowledge price concerns and demonstrate your company's capacity for cost reduction, the buyer will overlook your price and instead will focus on the value of your cost reduction potential. You will learn:

• How transparency and "cost productivity" will allow you to justify a fair price structure with the customer
• How to share previous successful cost reduction programmes
• How to assemble a joint team and a communication process for ongoing cost reduction
• How to reassure the buyer about your company's capacity for managing cost reduction programmes
• How to make the buyer lo

Dr. Kaj Storbacka will share some of the findings of a multi-client project on solution business that Vectia has been running in 2008-09. The theme is solution commercialisation and industrialisation. The key lessons from this session are approaches for managing and measuring solution businesses: increasing margins, accelerating growth and driving down costs through repeatability of solutions. You will learn:

• Commercialising solutions for accelerated growth and improved margins.

Key themes include:

• Quantifying and pricing business impact, customer value research together with the customer, piloting and reference management. 
• Industrialising solutions for increased efficiency and scalable solution delivery and sales.

Key themes include: solution repeatability, solution configuration and contract management, solution data management and scalability of solution integration

Especially for an integrated technology company like Siemens, the globalisation of markets and international harmonisation of customer processes create an increasing need for account managers who coordinate the entire breadth and depth of the company's portfolio. Siemens has a strong history of customer-centricity in account management, driven by the Siemens One approach, which is Siemens' answer to customers faced with complex and global challenges.

The main elements of Siemens One are:

• A mindset and attitude of all Siemens employees not to act in silos
• An effective account management setup
• Harmonised and efficient structures and processes in sales and account management

The central Siemens One team has developed its global, cross-group account management approach to a maturity that now allows Siemens to allocate the established account management processes more accurately.

This workshop offers a framework and methodology for intelligent pricing decisions based on real, quantifiable value delivered to the customer. The foundations of value-based pricing as well as tools and approaches for value quantification will be covered. Actual case studies will be used. You will learn:

• Alternative approaches to set prices: strengths and weaknesses of cost-competition, customer value-based pricing approaches " Product differentiation and pricing in B2B (case study)
• Value-based pricing for commodities (case study)
• Quantifying customer value (case study)
• Price controlling and monitoring: avoiding the discounting trap

When the immediate manager of a SAM "owns" the capabilities development and performance management of their direct report, the results are dramatic and measurable. With significant customer opportunities at stake, the manager is best positioned to accurately align the right SAM competencies and behaviours to the company's business objectives. Having worked in both sales and talent development roles at Procter & Gamble for over 30 years, Maria Edelson has excellent perspective on what it takes to transform management culture and practices in this critical area of developing top-performing strategic account managers. You will learn:

• When and where the SAM Manager gets involved
• Alignment of the SAM's desired behaviours/skills to the business objectives
• Assessing gaps
• Ongoing training responsibility
• Tools
• Motivation 
• What are the evaluation metrics for the Manager's and SAM's p

Emerging practices in Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) are having a profound impact on those involved in strategic customer relationships. Often, strategic account managers take too many short cuts when it comes to deeply understanding their customers' needs. In this session, strategic account practitioner Robin Marr of Royal Mail will enumerate how account managers can correctly use SRM to deepen and transform their customer relationships via growth and loyalty. You will learn:

• SRM risks and assumptions that can have a devastating impact on revenues
• Segmenting customers by predictable buying behaviour to enable highly effective deployment of SAM resources
• A systematic approach to understanding every customer's point of view (and not just our regular contacts)
• SRM methods for much-improved decision making
• How to use SRM to craft value propositions that really m

Strategic account organizations are challenged by the need for a formal process to collaboratively plan and co-create value with the C-level at leading strategic customers; the need to reduce costs in a difficult economic environment; and the emergence of Web 2.0 and 3D technologies such as Second Life. Schneider Electric piloted collaborative planning with strategic customers in Second Life at the end of 2008 as a means to bring key people from around the world to help co-create value with customers while significantly reducing costs. You will learn:

• Second Life as a potential tool to animate customer meetings by engaging key managers/experts from around the world while significantly reducing travel costs/time
• Steps to implement Second Life for customer-supplier collaborations
• Results of the implementation, lessons learned and future considerations for using Web 2.0/Second L

Customers expect highly specific value propositions, yet many suppliers find them difficult to develop, deliver and measure. This course offers a straightforward process for creating and validating value propositions that align your firm's capabilities to your customers' business drivers. You will learn:

• How to accurately assess your customer relationships prior to developing value propositions
• How to align the right supplier value drivers with the proper people, at the proper levels within the customer's organisation
• How to present and validate your unique value to the customer

In 2007, Compass Group plc, a leading food and support services company with annual revenues of ?10 billion, launched its International Key Accounts Programme. Although young, Compass Group's programme has achieved strong support both internally and externally. Learn how Compass used a pragmatic approach to quickly establish a durable KAM programme. You will learn:

• How Compass has structured its programme
• The importance of a good health check on your current KAM capability
• What good ingredients look like, including key account selection and key account plans
• How Compass achieved internal buy-in
• Key lessons for launching a KAM programme in a complex business

The modern approach to strategy and innovation is one where customers actively participate in the shaping of their own experience with the organisation at every interaction, either individually or along multiple stages of the value chain. As a result, value is no longer solely created by the firm but is co-created between the organisation, its customers, and its suppliers. The forces of co-creation are at play across the B2B environment and are rapidly redefining the paradigm of value as we know it. You will learn: 

• How to co-create with your immediate customers and downstream the value chain
• How to co-create with suppliers and those further "upstream"
• How to transform your own organisation and internal processes through co-creation

The strategic account manager's position is in jeopardy of losing its long-coveted status as the ultimate pinnacle in a sales career. The role of a SAM is being rendered obsolete in an unceremonious manner by declining budgets and reduced programme support by senior management. As a result many SAM programmes are failing to reach their revenue and profitability targets. Some organisations have openly begun questioning the benefit of having a SAM programme. But the role of the SAM is NOT dead. It is undergoing its first real and dramatic redefinition in many years, and companies that are proactive in redefining the SAM role are positioned to quickly grab wallet-share and create barriers of entry for their competitors. Not only are the SAM roles changing, companies' reliance on the health and viability of SAM programmes will increase.

Much of the good that SAM programmes accomplish for customers comes from teamwork. This session offers a workable approach for using incentives and compensation to drive team effectiveness. You will learn:

• The role of compensation in the context of other key drivers of team effectiveness (e.g., structure, deployment, culture, tools, etc.)
• Examples of how companies have successfully and unsuccessfully leveraged compensation to drive team selling
• Key challenges to successfully designing team-based compensation plans and how to overcome them

For most companies, the products and service lines have become commodities and no longer a source to gain a competitive advantage. Most accounting reports stop at calculating product and service line gross profit margins, yet the big differences are in the channel-related and customer-related costs - the costs-to-serve. A mind shift is needed from pursuing increased sales volume at any cost to profitable sales volume. Hence, the shift for competitive advantage is now on the level of service and the cost-to-serve of differentiated customer segments. You will learn:

• Why product and service line costing and customer gross profit margin reporting is not enough
• How different types of channels and customers' demands cause profit differences
• Which types of customers you should and should not retain, grow, acquire or win back, and how much you should spend on each customer to optimiz

Value-based pricing is an extremely powerful tool for increasing profitability. In this webinar Andreas Hinterhuber presents an overview of pricing techniques and tools. Using case studies on value-based pricing, you will explore how leading companies create, quantify and capture value though value-based pricing.

Topics include:

• why pricing is key for strategic account managers
• value-based pricing: what it is and how you can implement it
• how you can use value-based pricing to develop profitable pricing strategies and avoid the discounting gap

• Ten years later, 'strategic' and 'global' do not necessarily go hand in hand (Editor's Corner)
• Is global account management really necessary? (Strategic Reflections)
• Event Calendar
• At the 10-year mark, looking to the future
• Quick Takes
• Data Watch
• Customer-driven innovation at Qualcomm: an interview with Daniel Obodovski, director of business development
• Siemens: account management at an integrated technology company
• The sales force as an engine of organic growth
• Inside SAMA
• Leading through uncertainty
• Vital Velocity: how a $70 billion company instituted change to become more customer-centric--the power of intercultural communication and teamwork
• How inside sales can maximize your return on outside sales investment
• Dealing with difficult

This is the e-book version of the winter 2009 issue of Velocity magazine.

• Tom Knight and Kate Richardson, "How does your strategic account organization measure up?"

A win-win approach is a time-tested, proven negotiations process, but many strategic account professionals have told us that it won't work with many of their customers. In today's challenging economy even your best customers will be tougher negotiators so they can protect their profits--and in some cases jobs.

• "Compensation consultants and conflicts of interest: two different views," Knowledge@Wharton, April 16, 2008, http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu.
• Hrishi Bhattacharyya and C.K. Prahalad, "Twenty hubs and no HQ," strategy+business, May 29, 2008, www.strategy-business.com.
• Mee-Shew Cheung and Matthew B. Myers, "Sharing global supply chain knowledge," MIT Sloan Management Review, April 24, 2008, http://sloanreview.mit.edu.

This presentation occurred at the SAMA Best-Practice Forum, "The incredible value of strategic account management in a transforming economy."

These are key takeaways from SAMA's Best-Practice Forum, "The incredible value of strategic account management in a transforming economy."

This document is a compilation of responses from seven SAMA member companies to a brief benchmarking survey on sales rewards structures or recognition programs. This survey was conducted in November 2008. Corporate names are not disclosed at the request of respondents.

One of Bradley Corp.'s strategic account managers landed a contract that tripled the growth of the strategic account management program in a year and caused SAM suddenly to become 40 percent of the company's revenue. In this excerpt from a Focus: Teams article by Greg Bartlett, he says the requisite celebration came along with critical questions that needed answers.

This article is an adapted excerpt from SAMA's 2008 Report on Current Trends and Practices in Strategic Account Management, based on fiscal year 2007 with feedback management by the consultancy Walker Information Inc. Diana Woodburn was one of several writers to contribute an analysis to the report, which serves as a major touchstone for making informed, reasoned decisions about SAM strategy, infrastructure, processes, talent management and more.

• A steady hand at the tiller (Editor's Corner)
• Event Calendar
• Strategic account management as a compelling growth and profitability engine (Strategic Reflections)
• Quick Takes
• Data Watch
• Coping with unprecedented growth at Bradley Corp.: a small company's strategy
• Selling with confidence: how to keep revenue and prices up at strategic accounts
• Critical aspects of strategic account management: account selection and alignment
• Evaluating potential partners for serving strategic accounts
• Enable your growth strategy: achieving return on investment from spending $7.2 billion
• Review management at National Car Rental: sales management for today
• Winning large, complex sales opportunities at Hewlett-Packard Co.
• SAMA University roundtable: Part 3

• Matthew Guthridge, Asmus B. Komm and Emily Lawson, "Making talent a strategic priority," The McKinsey Quarterly, Jan. 9, 2008, www.mckinseyquarterly.com.
• Joanna Barsh, Marla M. Capozzi and Jonathan Davidson, "Leadership and innovation," The McKinsey Quarterly, January 2008, www.mckinseyquarterly.com.
• 2008 Report on Current Trends and Practices in Strategic Account Management, Strategic Account Management Association and Walker Information Inc., July 23, 2008, www.strategicaccounts.org.

This is the e-book version of the fall 2008 issue of Velocity magazine.

• Garry Emmons, "Encouraging dissent in decision making," HBS Working Knowledge, Oct. 1, 2007, http://hbswk.hbs.edu.
• Gwen Moran, "Speaking of jargon," strategy+business, March 4, 2008, www.strategy-business.com.
• Thomas H. Davenport, Laurence Prusak and Bruce Strong, "Putting ideas to work," MIT Sloan Management Review, March 10, 2008, http://sloanreview.mit.edu.

Learn how co-creation empowers strategic account managers.

Using a case study, Francis Gouillart will illuminate the key principles of co-creation as a transformative corporate and personal development strategy. You will see how an account manager orchestrated the development of a co-creation map across the value chain, producing a ripple of winning strategies for all parties.

In this webinar you will learn how to build a co-creation map that:

• utilizes the basic elements of co-creation in strategic account management
• identifies co-creation themes and interactions for your own value chain
• forms a set of linked strategic objectives for each co-creative theme
• identifies initiatives that will make the reaching of these objectives possible
• establishes measures against which the implementation of strategic objectives can be discussed and monitored

Focus: Account Manager is published biannually and features case studies, best practices, practical tools and cutting-edge information specific to this segment of the strategic account management population. FAM serves as a supplementary newsletter to Velocity magazine.

This issue features

• "Selling with confidence: how to keep revenue and prices up at strategic accounts,"
• "Coaching corner" and
• "Do you know copyright?" as well as other content specific to SAM.

Highlights of this issue include:

• Selling with confidence: how to keep revenue and prices up at strategic accounts
• Coaching corner
• Do you know copyright?

Focus: Teams is published biannually and features case studies, best practices, practical tools and cutting-edge information specific to this segment of the strategic account management population. FT serves as a supplementary newsletter to Velocity magazine.

This issue features

• "Coping with unprecedented growth at Bradley Corp.: a small company's strategy,"
• "A Trojan horse strategy for managing strategic accounts" and
• "Teams and top-tier accounts," as well as other content specific to SAM.

One of Bradley Corp.'s strategic account managers landed a contract that tripled the growth of the strategic account management program in a year and caused SAM suddenly to become 40 percent of the company's revenue. Along with the requisite celebration came critical questions that needed answers.

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena:

• Mark Buchanan, "The science of subtle signals," strategy+business, Issue 48, Autumn 2007, www.strategy-business.com.
• Lowell L. Bryan, Eric Matson and Leigh M. Weiss, "Harnessing the power of informal employee networks," The McKinsey Quarterly, 2007, No. 4, www.mckinseyquarterly.com.

While strategic account management teams would not want to swarm or conquer their customers, they do want to fully serve and penetrate the accounts. So, as the Greeks did, the key is to establish a beachhead at a client's organization. 

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena:

• Max H. Bazerman and Deepak Malhotra, "Dealing with the 'irrational' negotiator," HBS Working Knowledge, Oct. 3, 2007, http://hbswk.hbs.edu.

Highlights of this issue include:

• Coping with unprecedented growth at Bradley Corp.: a small company's strategy
• A Trojan horse strategy for managing strategic accounts
• Teams and top-tier accounts

There should be very little confusion around a supplier's account ownership. In this excerpt from a white paper by LaVon Koerner, he says that in his experience the best guiding principle is, "Whoever owns the account plan owns the account."

Have you ever felt that your customer is more strategic to your business than your organization is to your customer's business? Many strategic account managers tell us this is precisely how they feel despite the fact that they have implemented strategic account management best practices and solutions.

There are two primary reasons for this. 1. Your customer isn't receiving the measurable value the customer expects from a strategic supplier. 2. Your customer desires more authentic, useful relationships with its strategic suppliers.

Please join us for tips, tools and techniques on how you can drive customer value through authentic, beneficial relationships with your strategic accounts and simultaneously accelerate your account planning process. This webinar builds on the popular SAMA conference session "Keys to effective strategic account planning."

• "The organizational challenges of global trends: a McKinsey global survey," The McKinsey Quarterly, December 2007, www.mckinseyquarterly.com.
• 2008 Survey of Strategic Account Management Compensation Practices, Strategic Account Management Association and ZS Associates Inc., May 18, 2008, www.strategicaccounts.org.

This is the e-book version of the summer 2008 issue of Velocity magazine.

• Larry and Tim Laseter, "See for yourself," strategy+business, Nov. 29, 2007, www.strategy-business.com.
• Scott D. Anthony, Mark W. Johnson and Joseph V. Sinfield, "Institutionalizing innovation," MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 49, No. 2, Winter 2008, http://sloanreview.mit.edu.
• "How investing in intangibles -- like employee satisfaction -- translates into financial returns," Knowledge@Wharton, Jan. 9, 2008, http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu.

• Anchors aweigh (Editor's Corner)
• Event Calendar
• Cultural integration is the key to success in Asia (Strategic Reflections)
• Quick Takes
• Data Watch
• The lessons of the kouros
• Putting the Blink in business: a conversation with Malcolm Gladwell, best-selling author and SAMA keynote speaker
• Inside SAMA
• Growing global accounts at Xerox: an interview with Thomas J. Dolan, president of global accounts operations
• Implementing strategic account management
• Want negotiation power? Then continuously expand and exploit your value
• Account manager compensation: matching the incentive plan to the role
• SAMA University roundtable: Part 2
• Pricing With Confidence: 10 Ways to Stop Leaving Money on the Table, by Reed K. Holden and Mark R. Burton (Book Review b

This annual survey sheds light on how organizations compensate and motivate strategic account managers, an employee group crucial to sales success. The issues researched are not addressed by other surveys, and the material provides practical insights based on deep, functional expertise. The report offers a detailed analysis of 2007 compensation data, including:

• SAM, NAM and GAM positions (new categories that weren't separated out in prior surveys)
• SAM program directors
• Industry breakouts
• Incentive criteria
• Sales and account crediting practices
• Compensation plan designs and measurements

Focus: Account Manager is published biannually and features case studies, best practices, practical tools and cutting-edge information specific to this segment of the strategic account management population. FAM serves as a supplementary newsletter to Velocity magazine.

This issue features

• "The five bid response strategies,"
• "Barriers to account management" and
• "Bulk up your account planning," as well as other content specific to SAM.

• These speakers can write, too (Editor's Corner)
• Event Calendar
• Does your SAM program foster customer-driven innovation? (Strategic Reflections)
• Quick Takes
• Data Watch
• Trust creates true collaboration between Cisco and IBM account teams
• The five bid response strategies
• The sales transformation process: how to optimize growth across economic cycles
• A SAM's guide to working with group purchasing organizations: increasing your strategic account relevance
• Playing the game: effective strategies for combating reverse auctions
• Team selling: getting incentive compensation right
• Say goodbye to commoditization
• Innovate to differentiate: how top-performing SAMs achieve competitive advantage through innovation
• Funnel management of corporate accounts

Highlights of this issue include:

• The five bid response strategies
• Barriers to account management
• Bulk up your account planning

This is the e-book version of the spring 2008 issue of Velocity magazine.

• Jack McGrath and Gary Neilson, "Exercising common sense," strategy+business, Sept. 11, 2007, www.strategy-business.com.
• Wesley Bridges, Robert F. Lusch, Nancy W. Nix and Zach G. Zacharia, "The hand that feeds you," MIT Sloan Management Review, Oct. 26, 2007, http://sloanreview.mit.edu.
• "Why firing your worst customers isn't such a great idea," Knowledge@Wharton, Dec. 12, 2007, http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu.

Focus: Teams is published biannually and features case studies, best practices, practical tools and cutting-edge information specific to this segment of the strategic account management population. FT serves as a supplementary newsletter to Velocity magazine.

This issue features

• "Trust creates true collaboration between Cisco and IBM account teams,"
• "Barriers to account management" and
• "Confusing go-to-market strategies," as well as other content specific to SAM.

Highlights of this issue include:

• Trust creates true collaboration between Cisco and IBM account teams
• Barriers to account management
• Confusing go-to-market strategies

• "What shapes careers: a McKinsey global survey," The McKinsey Quarterly, November 2007, www.mckinseyquarterly.com.
• 2008 Report on Current Trends and Practices in Strategic Account Management, Strategic Account Management Association and Walker, May 18, 2008, www.strategicaccounts.org.

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena:

• Gregory S. Gallopoulos, "Saving good judgment from the BlackBerry culture," Aug. 20, 2007, www.law.com.
• Max H. Bazerman, Kristina A. Diekmann, Ann E. Tenbrunsel and Kimberly A. Wade-Benzoni, "Why we aren't as ethical as we think we are: a temporal explanation," HBS Working Knowledge, Sept. 6, 2007, http://hbswk.hbs.edu.
• Michael Gibbert, Martin Hoegl and Liisa Valikangas, "In praise of resource constraints," MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 48, No. 3, Spring 2007, http://sloanreview.mit.edu.

This regular column includes reviews of timely, relevant articles in the strategic account management arena:

• Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, "Leading clever people," Harvard Business Review, March 2007, www.hbr.org.
• Martha Lagace, "The key to managing stars? Think team," HBS Working Knowledge, May 14, 2007, http://hbswk.hbs.edu.
• Tamara Erickson, Lynda Gratton and Andreas Voigt, "Bridging faultlines in diverse teams," MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 48, No. 4, Summer 2007, http://sloanreview.mit.edu.

Selling value is tougher today than ever before, and the rise of purchasing has become one of the most significant and challenging trends facing sales today. Purchasing is being led by C-level executives (CPOs) in most Fortune 500 companies. They have at their disposal a complete arsenal of weapons that they use to commoditize us, including RFPs, internet auctions, purchasing consultants and buying consortiums. They are setting the ground rules, and those rules are designed to that low price vendors win and value leaders lose.

• The changing dynamics of selling in the information age: the rise of purchasing, consolidation and commoditization
• Skills and processes for effectively communicating value to the right decision makers
• The crucial role of competitive differentiation
• How to navigate vendor auctions and the RFP environment
• How to ensure you have the right mindset to

Audio(MP3)

Back by popular demand!
Presentation skills are more important than ever for both experienced and new strategic account managers. This workshop addresses the capabilities required to compete in a variety of business-to-business presentation scenarios.

• To differentiate you and your company through your presentations
• How to hone overall presentation delivery skills
• To tailor your presentations to the appropriate audiences by using the right presentation at the right time
• To choose and incorporate high-impact presentation formats
• How to close effectively

Global Key Account Management is a journey and not a destination. This session will detail the evolution of the GKAM program within Philips, focusing on a 10-step approach and how this program evolved along with continuous changes in markets and customers.

• To understand the need of changing the SAM program over time
• The critical success factors and common mistakes in Global Key Account Management
• How to integrate newly acquired companies in the GKAM program
• The key challenges and pitfalls Philips experienced in the implementation of strategic account management
• Examples of world class tools, training and systems for strategic account management

This session will detail how HP has planned and executed a world-class pipeline management (PM) process, enabling the firm to make better business decisions regarding deal support and investments, improve forecasting of trends in the business and increase the ability to identify and replicate best practices within the sales organization.

• An end-to-end approach for making PM the workflow of sales
• Key challenges and pitfalls in alignment across geographies, functions and channels
• How to balance short- and long-term pipelines to reflect all deals pursued by the sales organization
• How to leverage the PM process to improve competitive intelligence, solution selling, sales coverage and market segmentation
• Change and process adoption in a large, global sales organization as part of a multiyear strategy
• How to capture best practices for program management and ultimate adopt