2. Preface
The purpose of this document is to present Strategic Account
Management (SAM) issues and performance improvement
elements that have been described to us by corporate firms
throughout the world. These firms are selling a range of
products, services and solutions to other corporate clients,
but they have had difficulty creating effective sales teams to
build strategic relationships, and sell integrated solutions.
The document provides a framework for discussions with
executives, with the goal of creating a prioritized list of
outcomes and expectations for enhancing strategic account
relationships, revenues and profit margins. These
discussions will give you the information you require to
create the kind of profitable growth in strategic accounts
that has been achieved by our clients.
.
3. Breadth of business issues
Depth
of
business
relationship
Vendor
Preferred
Supplier
Solution
Provider
Trusted
Partner
Potential for deepening existing relationship
Source: Adapted from The Trusted Advisor
Tactical Strategic
Strategic
Business
Advisor
WHAT IS YOUR BUSINESS
RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CLIENTS?
7. High Level Issues We’ve Encountered:
• Strategic Accounts are easier to sell to because you have already
established a trust factor with them. Trust is mandatory for any B2B
sale.
• There is a need and opportunity to really grow your strategic accounts,
to build on your trust & success, and to provide exceptional integrated
solutions.
• A need to build more strategic relationships at senior executive levels
• Team Leadership needs Coaching and Strengthening.
• What’s really going on in each account? Where are the opportunities?
• Need to raise Motivation to the Next Level: Objectives, Metrics and
Recognition/Rewards.
• Need Regular Planning Agendas: More Strategic, fill the Funnels.
• More Account Team Members to make client calls.
9. Future Vision for Your Client Team
A strategic relationship exists with the client and you provide a
wide range of services to them. Their senior client executives
consult with you prior to all key initiatives.
You are a “trusted business advisor” to your client, and their
executives periodically join your client team meetings to discuss
their issues and future plans.
Your client team has “heads up” enthusiastic participation from
your staff who represent a wide range of potential
services/products to your client. There is full attendance at all
team meetings.
Revenue growth from this client is accelerating at a pace much
faster than your average client revenue growth and profit
contribution is above average.
11. Some of the outcomes…….
Stabilized trusting relationships mean lower cost of sales,
faster revenue growth and increased account profitability
Effective strategic account teams provide significant upside
from new opportunities. Some of these opportunities can
be identified by looking at unexploited opportunities, and by
issue articulation and decomposition techniques described
later in this presentation.
Strategic Relationships and Trusted Advisor status can be
achieved using the methods described below. The key
benefit is an ability to be “on the inside” learning about
opportunities before they are issued as RFP’s and
sometimes receiving directed bids.
13. Early Client Focus
• Some success
• Limited Trusted Advisor
Status
• Early transformation to
“solutions”
Building
The Client Focused
Infrastructure
• Trained Team
Management
• Enhanced Team
Leadership
• Implement New
support systems
• SAM Coordination
High Performance
Teams
• Consistent
performance
• Friction Free
Transactions
• Improved Organic
Growth
• Higher Revenues &
Profits
Strategic Account Performance
15. Some Recommended Initiatives:
• Raise Motivation to the Next Level: Clearly define team Objectives,
Metrics and Recognition and Rewards.
• Implement Quarterly Team Activity Agendas: Define the
weekly/biweekly agendas, strategy sessions client meetings with
the team etc.
• Increase the account team coordinator support
• Engage more account team members to make client calls. Training
and objectives required
• Create and update the Industry and Client Points of View
• Update the Relationship Funnels, goals, velocities and influencer
diagrams
• Ensure client participation in account team meetings
• Create a quarterly External Audit of Team Performance
• Expand Selective Coaching
17. Relationships
Focus on building client trust in your strategic account teams
and your company… need to focus on more than one staff
member for each of your client relationships
Develop content to engage your clients with thought
leadership, and to help them grow.
Provide more staff training on relationship development.
Note: Most team members usually have very little
relationship training.
Help us to implement ways to understand your firm’s
influence and contacts
Add to your internal systems the ability to handle relationship
information
Spend more time on business knowledge; industry and client
points of view need to be maintained in a current mode
18. Culture
Create more of a “Heads Up” culture. In orientation and
other training sessions, push the concept of each person’s
“Value to your Business”. In orientation courses…encourage
staff to always think about “what can you do to help the
client grow”?
Break down barriers between “silos”.
Improve focus…less pressure to chase too many things…
everything that moves syndrome.
Engage those involved in delivering your services in meeting
and understanding clients.
Stay the course to avoid loss of investment and “flavor of the
week” problems
19. Transformation
Make your measures match your strategic client’s
goals & measures.
Performance objectives and measures need to focus
on the client issues
Need more support tools and feedback around
strategic account processes and teams
Need to incorporate analytics into all decisions.
20. Performance Improvement
Fundamentals/foundation
Know who to go to
Know their objectives and roles
Need a mental shift of staff/cultural fit
More emphasis on selling Value
Learn and respect your Organization Structure
Make it “fun”
22. Becoming a Strategic Business Advisor Requires Skills in
Both Issue Development and Relationship Building
Breadth of business issues
Depth
of
business
relationship
Vendor
Preferred
Supplier
Solution
Provider
Trusted
Partner
Potential for deepening existing relationship
Source: Adapted from The Trusted Advisor
Tactical Strategic
Strategic
Business
Advisor
23. But it is a journey with few short cuts to Trusted Advisor
Engage
Single Service
Client
Integrated
Client Teams
Trusted Advisor
Contact Contracted Client
Relationship
Management
Tactical
Development
Marketing
Business
Development
Public Relations
Reputation Building
The Loyalty Continuum
Multiple Service
Client
26. The Three Phases in Issue Articulation and Decomposition
Issue articulation
Solution
development
Issue
decomposition
1. What is an issue? 2. How do we
decompose issues?
3. How do we link
decomposed issues
to solutions?
28. How Do YOU Benefit?
Faster Results - Shorter Payback - Greater ROI
Better Results with Greater Certainty of
Success
Higher Value and Lower Cost
Fee Structure – Retainer + can be a percentage
of Revenue Gain
29. Effective SAM - Key Benefits
Achieves sales force integration without
reorganization
Creates more cross selling & “integrated”
relationships with more account stability
Transforms business from project or campaign based
to an annuity business…..fewer competitions = more
profit
“Automatic” staff training on client issues through
POV discussions
Revenue & Profits grow more rapidly in effective
SAM clients
30. What We Do and What We Bring!
• We blend our many years of executive sales, marketing and
business leadership experience with world acclaimed
academic research to guide and mentor our clients through a
discovery and change process that achieves effective
execution with measurable results.
• To do it we bring:
– Frameworks
– Processes
– Templates
– Training
– Coaching
– Market Research
– Sample Metrics
31. Lessons Learned
Strategy
• Walk the talk
• Business case with cost
and benefits
• Goals and
accountabilities
People
• Compensation/measures
aligned with strategy
• Defined selection criteria
• Clarify consequences of
undesirable behaviour
Technology
• Integrated CRM
• Analytical tools
• Total Team Commitment
Process
• Overcome resistance to
change
• Discipline in execution
• Dedicated and
accountable resources
Requirements for Success
32. Strategic Account Management (SAM)
Please direct any Questions/Inquiries
to Ian Dainty at
ian@maximizebusinessmarketing.com
