Every strategic accounts program, regardless of its size or maturity, can benefit from an outside appraisal of its key components. SAMA’s Program Assessment tool serves as that “second set of eyes” to objectively measure the maturity and structural integrity of your SAM program across 11 key areas most critical for achieving long-term sustainability. Based on the results, we offer practical guidance on how to take your program to the next level.
The evidence is overwhelming: The single biggest factor influencing successful customer co-value creation is the leadership abilities of the strategic account manager – which is why it's so critical to make sure your SAMs have the skills they need to do the job. This 360° assessment combines a self-assessment with input from peers and managers to deliver a snapshot of the SAM’s present-day strengths (and weaknesses). Only with this in hand can you chart a customized course of professional development for your SAMs, KAMs and GAMs.
When choosing strategic accounts, it’s not about identifying which customers are strategic to YOU. It’s about identifying those with the potential for YOU to become strategic to THEM.
In our work with hundreds of marquee B2B companies, we’ve seen that even ones with highly sophisticated strategic accounts programs don’t have an objective system for selecting and deselecting strategic accounts. That’s why SAMA has leveraged years of benchmarking knowledge to build The Facilitator, SAMA’s strategic account selection tool.