“Customer First” Strategic Account Management

August 2023       

In today’s business environment of economic uncertainty, rapidly changing business models, dynamic customer demands, and intense competition, it is even more imperative to understand your customer’s financial and strategic priorities...and align your solutions and products with your customer’s financial outcomes.

Yet, research shows that executive buyers believe that almost 80 percent of enterprise sellers don’t understand their business.

This session begins with an overview of proprietary research conducted by SAMA and FinListics regarding current strategic account management trends and best practices...correlated with account management results, such as increased revenue. FinListics will then overview key elements and new insights for creating strategic, ‘customer first’ account management plans that are more relevant to customer executives. You will also receive a step-by-step template for applying these to your customers.

• How to conduct problem-minded discovery, not solution-minded, to improve problem agreement and solution alignment.
• How to create clear and differentiated contrast between the customer’s installed approach and any competitive alternatives.
• How to articulate your solution’s value in a way that protects your pricing while convincing executive buyers to make a decision.

Speakers: Dr. Stephen Timme, President and Founder, FinListics Solutions; Ben Cagle, Chief Customer Solutions Officer, FinListics

Executive Presence for Strategic Account Managers

JUNE 2023       

Strategic Account Managers are expected to collaborate effectively with customer contacts at all levels. One of the most critical stakeholders we work with are senior-level executives. C-suite executives have high expectations, and we must be at our best to meet and exceed them.

For us to confidently connect with these individuals, our executive presence must be strong. Our preparation, image, message delivery, and conduct all have an impact on the customer, for better or worse. This session will answer the question, “What is executive presence, and how do I develop it?” This webinar will provide usable ideas to help any Strategic Account Manager assess and strengthen their executive presence.

Speaker: Mark Shonka, Co-CEO, IMPAX Corporation

This is a Corporate Member only webinar. Please log in to register. 

World Class SAM's: What to look for in candidates

April 2023       

Finding world class talent is more difficult than ever. Understanding abilities, skills and needs has become more challenging as the next wave of recruits hit your radar. How can you assess the best candidate, and what will you need to do to coach, teach or 'skill up' your SAM's for peak performance? Join us for this webinar to learn how to do just that!

Speaker: Bill Moore, President, Industrial Profit Strategies

This is a Corporate Member only webinar. Please log in to view. 

Account Insights that Guide Team Construct and Account Planning: Insights from the ivory towers!

MARCH 2023      

Strategic accounts expect strategic suppliers to know, anticipate and even predict needs, market changes / shifts and possible ways to create competitive advantages. To effectively meet these account expectations, strategic suppliers need to have an even greater in-depth knowledge including fresh insights directly from their account – often from those they do not have frequent in-person interaction. Senior leaders of accounts expect a strategic supplier to understand their business, isolate opportunities for innovation, create economic value, while providing a high degree of probability of success through their solutions. This webinar will provide a case study example, directly from the strategic supplier themselves, of how utilizing direct from the account insights can create more effective and valuable account engagements; ultimately more mutually beneficial strategic relationships!

Key learning points include:

• Interpreting right insights from accounts that lead to a more effective SAM program and strategic account engagements
• Understand the process, methods, skills, and best practices to integrate Voice of the Account feedback into field-level conversations/planning
• How to transition Voice of the Account feedback into SAM-level collaborative action planning with accounts
• How to deliver on the promise once the Voice of the Account is heard

Speaker: Dennis Chapman, President, the Chapman Group

This is a Corporate Member only webinar. Please log in to register. 

Sorry Shouldn't Be the Hardest Word: Master the Psychology of Effective Customer Apologies

FEBRUARY 2023     

No matter how you spin it, saying “I’m sorry” isn’t easy. Especially if you’ve been saying nothing but “I’m sorry” for the past two years.

Supply chain delays and staffing shortages, combined with rising inflation and continued economic uncertainty, have made service failures not only inevitable but increasingly intolerable. And while vendors can resolve most lapses eventually, repairing the damage to the relationship has proven more challenging—no matter how sincere the apology is.

The good news is, handling a customer crisis the right way can not only rescue the relationship but advance it to an even higher level. That’s a distinct advantage these days, when retaining and expanding customers is the best way to weather an uncertain business environment.

In this session with Tim Riesterer, Chief Strategy Officer at Corporate Visions, you’ll discover a science-backed message framework that you can use to build and deliver your apology—and positively influence even your most frustrated and bitterly disappointed customers. Specifically, you’ll see:

1. Results of an academic behavioral research study conducted with 500 B2B decision makers.
2. The precise message choreography you can use to recover from critical service failures.
3. Why a “just-the-facts” approach proves to be the least effective way to apologize.

Speaker: Tim Riesterer, Chief Strategy Officer, Corporate Visions

This is a Corporate Member only webinar. Please log in to register. 

Modern Buying Behavior and Its Impact on the Future of Key Account Selling

JANUARY 2023     

The events over the last few years have led to a tremendous amount of change in the buying and selling processes, many of which seem to be permanent changes. Modern buyers are remote first and must deal with information overload, decision complexity, value opacity and implementation uncertainty.  For enterprise sellers and key account managers, these changes mean they have to deal with increased sales process complexity, more stakeholders and constantly changing buyer demands.

Join us in this webinar as we explore some of the latest market trends and best practices to adapt proven processes like account plans and opportunity plans to cater to the digital-first buyers.

Key takeaways will include:

• Learn about modern buyer and their preferences
• What should KAMs do differently today compared to 2-3 years ago, and why
• Role of digital-first transparency with buyers to build trust and relationships
• Champion enablement and its role in accelerating sales cycle
• Some tactics that you can adapt into your KAM motion today

Speakers: Shankar Ganapathy, Co-Founder, BuyerAssist.io and Shyam HN, Co-Founder, BuyerAssist.io

Sponsored by: BuyerAssist.io, Inc.

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Account Marketing: How to Integrate Marketing Into Your SAM Journey for Accelerated Impact

JANUARY 2023     

We know that Strategic Account Management is a team sport, yet marketing is often missing at the Strategic Account table.

Account Marketing or Account-Based Marketing plays a critical role in the customer engagement strategy — execution of account plan tactics, and it has the opportunity to play a specific lead role in many of the engagement steps to accelerate relevance and mutual goals achievement.

Join Catherine Lapouge, Group Sales and Marketing Performance Director at Thales, and Dominique Côté, owner & founder of Cosawi and SAMA board member, to hear how Thales integrated account marketing from the starting point of their strategic account management journey and its impact on their growth and roadmap evolution. Hear how this business transformation created acceleration and cohesion of their customer-centric approach. 

Speakers: Catherine Lapouge, Group Sales and Marketing Performance Director, Thales and Dominique Côté, CEO & Founder, Cosawi and Principal, The Summit Group

Creating Competitive Immunity by Deep Customer Discovery

DECEMBER 2022      

One thing we have learned the past couple of years – if as a SAM you weren’t deeply ingrained with your customers in terms of knowledge and relationships, you went backward during the Covid era. If you weren’t prepared, you found your customer’s business and organization changing drastically at the exact time when your access to people and insight was limited. If you weren’t constantly learning about and co-creating with your customers, your competitors were quick to jump in. Another thing we learned – there is almost nothing more important in the role of a SAM than truly understanding your customer’s business and needs, developing a network of supporters, and identifying and gaining access to real senior level decision makers with a customer-focused message.

Although these skills can seem “basic”, understanding your customer’s business and leveraging that deep understanding with senior level decision makers are incredibly challenging and critical skills.

This webinar has been designed for new and experienced SAMs who are working with dynamic customers where the stakes are high, and the payoffs are huge.

Speaker:   Dan Kosch, Co-CEO, IMPAX Corporation

How to Price Fairly for Your Customers and Your Bottom Line

NOVEMBER 2022       

Inflation and pricing pressures from customers are two of the top five global challenges having a negative impact on SAMs today (as reported from SAMA’s 2022 annual conference in May). We expect these challenges to endure, as market volatility looks unpredictable for the next several years. The ability to create trust with customers while positioning price more effectively will be essential to a SAM’s success.

In this webinar you will learn:

1. How to position price based on your audience. Different buyer types have different decision criteria and the way you position the price matters.
2. Why customers focus on price instead of the value they receive, and the tactics you can use to shift the conversation back to value.
3. When and how to communicate price increases.

Speakers: Patrick McCullough, Senior Director, Holden Advisors; Tracy Dent, Marketing Lead, Holden Advisors

Timing Is Everything! Global Service Account Management's Role Early in the Product Life Cycle

OCTOBER 2022       

Coherent Inc. is a global provider of lasers and laser-based technology serving demanding commercial markets like automotive and semiconductor manufacturing. These markets are heavily skewed to post-sale activity with respect to customer satisfaction and company revenue. To meet this need, we created the global service account manager (GSAM) role that, while similar to a traditional GAM role, requires a special understanding of manufacturing, service, logistics and quality.

The Global Service Account Management’s role and engagement early in the product or market life cycle is critical. In this webinar, we will discuss our experience introducing the GSAM role into the automotive manufacturing market.

In addition, we’ll cover:

• Why timing matters
• How to establish relationships, create partnerships and align expectations
• How to tailor your solution’s value across the customer organization
• How to identify key stakeholders (internal and customer) and prioritize activities
• How to leverage enterprise capabilities to differentiate yourself from competitors

Speakers:   Robert C. Willard, Sr. Manager Global Service Accounts, Coherent, Inc.; Chris Miller, Sr. Manager, Global Service Markets and Accounts, Coherent, Inc.

The Future of KAM

SEPTEMBER 2022      

As key account management adapts to a fast paced digital environment, how do you foresee its future?

As businesses become more global and complex, the role of strategic account management is evolving. Strategic account managers are now expected to not only maintain and grow key relationships but also to proactively manage risk and identify new opportunities. In the current business landscape, key account management (KAM) is more important than ever before. As companies strive to increase market share and grow their customer base, they are turning to digital KAM to help them achieve these goals.

Join the discussion about trends, skills, tools and strategies in the key account management landscape, and what to expect going forward.

The panelists will discuss what the future of strategic account management looks like, what will be the new set of skills required while discussing some of the insights revealed in the Future of KAM CSO study conducted by DemandFarm.

Some of the key topics we will cover in the webinar include:

• What has changed in KAM post-COVID?
• What are the top contributors to a successful KAM program
• What are some of the key skills required for effective KAM in the future?
• How will digital KAM change the selling experience, going forward?
• What are the kinds of tools important for KAM today and tomorrow?

Speakers: Abhijit Gangoli, CEO, DemandFarm; Harvey Dunham, Managing Director, SAMA;  Andrew Hazard Sr., Director GTM Enablement, Contentful; Richard Dunn, Senior Director, Global Account Management, DHL

Leveraging Thought Leadership, Insights, and Event Management to Deepen Customer Relationships

SEPTEMBER 2022       

In a world that is moving increasingly towards commoditization, how do you, as a SAM, stand out and how do you get your company to stand out in the sea of competitors? Join SAMA board member, Ron Davis as he and a panel of SAMs from Zurich Insurance discuss how to deepen your customer relationships.

Key takeaways will include:

• Engaging with Customer Advisory Boards can inspire new ideas and improved propositions
• Partnering on thought leadership and innovation with outside organizations
• Finding creative ways to involve Executive Sponsors and other executives
• And more!

Speakers:  Amanda Christensen, Senior VP, Global Relationship Leader, Zurich Insurance; Charlotte Peters, Deal Manager Team Leader, Zurich Insurance; Cornelius Froescher, Director, Global Customer & Distribution Management, Zurich Corporate Life & Pensions, Zurich Insurance; and Ron Davis, Executive VP, Global Head of Customer Management, Zurich Insurance

Corporate Members can register by logging in and selecting "Webinar Registration" from the profile page. Individual Members can register by emailing membership@strategicaccounts.org

Using a Coach Approach With Your Customer to Deepen the Relationship

AUGUST 2022       

The uncertainty we all face in the years to come requires us to reset and reinvent how we engage with each other. This is especially true for the relationship between the SAM and his or her key customers. In this webinar, we will draw from the profession of executive coaching to share immediately applicable practices and questions that will enable you to truly differentiate yourself in the eyes of your customers. You will learn how to give power to the relationship between you and your client; how to establish a verbal contract to give energy to the value they seek; and how to use thought-provoking questions developed by the most seasoned executive coaches to engage, enlighten and empower your clients to excel. The outcome will be a deeper level of trust and endurance that will enable the alliance to thrive in the face of adversity.

Speaker:  Shakeel Bharmal, Senior Vice President, The Summit Group

Ready, Set, Go! Putting More Action, Into Your Strategic Account Planning

JULY 2022       

Let’s be honest: Most account plans don’t actually drive the value we had hoped for them to drive. Most of the time, they are a time-consuming exercise on "what we’ve done," with never enough about "what we’re going to do.” Join Greg Callahan of Bain & Company and Coro Account Planning, as he shares how he helps clients drive 20%-40% increase in booking through better account planning.

Speaker:  Gregory Callahan, Partner, Bain & Company

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging: Creating a Competitive Advantage for SAM Organizations

JUNE 2022       

Join Joseph Machicote (Chief Diversity Officer, Premier Inc.) and SAMA Customer Advisory Board members Jerid S. Lydic (Pfizer) and Jane McGinty (Nilfisk) for a panel discussion and question and answer session moderated by David Barnes Jr.,M.Ed CPC, Managing Partner, Diversity Inclusion Equity Group, regarding how the emergence DEI&B strategies in organization are impacting the role of SAM’s. 

Discussion topics:

• Debunking DEI&B myths and why it is top of mind for CEO’s
• DEI&B impact on SAM’s daily interaction with customers
• Organizations DEI&B strategies emerging impact on the SAM’s sales process, account penetration, increasing differentiation, and customer loyalty

Speakers:  David Barnes Jr.,M.Ed CPC, Managing Partner, Diversity Inclusion Equity Group; Joseph Machicote, Chief Diversity Officer, Premier Inc.; Jane McGinty, Global Strategic Accounts Director, Nilfisk; Jerid Lydic, MBA, CMR, Americas Lead, Global KAM Center of Excellence, Pfizer

Transforming Account Management for Value Creation: Research Insights from an Expert-Panel Study

APRIL 2022       

Given today’s hybrid, digitized and saturated market environment, the role of the strategic account manager is in urgent need of repositioning. To find out what that might look like, we invited 62 experts from sales, marketing, procurement, academia and consulting to provide their views on nine hypotheses of what account managers can do to stay relevant as value creators. 

Should account managers, for example, focus exclusively on high-level value dimensions? Or should they give equal weight to value creation and the prevention of value destruction? 

This webinar will deliver key insights from this expert-panel study, helping attendees to either validate or reframe their sales transformation efforts.

Speaker:  Dr. Axel Thoma, Lecturer, University of St. Gallen and Advisor, Value Creation Lab