Strategic Account Management THE most challenging saes job.

1. INSIGHTS INTO STRATEGIC
ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Peter Gilbert HR Chally SA

2. The Building Blocks of Strategic Account
Management
CRM Program & Change Management Account-Level Performance Measurement
Increased Enhanced Increased Net
Customer Relationship Future Cash
Value Satisfaction Flow
Customr-Centric Culture Change
Innovative Achievable Selecting SAMs
Account-Level Account with REAL
Value Creation Strategies Talent
Account
Account Management Account Team
Manager Process Re- & Executive
Development engineering Development
CRM Internal External Strategic
Capability Account Account
Evaluation Research Selection
Account Based Information Management
Right People Right Accounts Alignment

3. The StrategicAccount Executive Role
Buyer SAM Seller
The Skills The Issues
Boundary-spanner Turf Wars(Who owns the customer?)
Relationship manager Systems and Processes
Team builder Management Support
Arbiter Communication/Internal Alignment
Coordinator Culture
Problem solver Short-termism/unwillingness to invest
Deliver & Communicate Value Provided Overcoming customer suspicion
Innovator Turning away unprofitable business

4. The Profile of a Strategic Account
Executive
“We want our account executives to be talent magnets able to attract
the best individuals around them. We want them to be hugely
influential with the customer, with ourselves and with our strategic
partners. We want people who can zoom in and out at any level of
discussion and who can act credibly across all geographies and
disciplines. We want those individuals who can thrive on
technology, who can move fast, who have a passion for success
and who have the determination to deliver superior service
excellence.”
- Strategic Account Director, International Telecoms group

5. The Super Strategic Account Executive
Career to date:
ten years as Sales Manager and Account Manager
three years general management experience at German subsidiary
eighteen months as special envoy to the UN
…. learned to walk on water during a brief sojourn in India

6. The Requirements of a SAM
Required Skills
• Communication skills 1
• Team leadership and management skills 2
• Business and financial acumen 3
• Relationship and management skills 4
• Strategic vision and planning capabilities 5
• Problem solving capabilities 1
• Cultural empathy 2
• Selling skills 3
• Industry and market knowledge 4
• Customer knowledge 5

7. The Customer Added-Value of an SAM
Social Visitor
Someone who takes me out to lunch
only to agree next year’s quota
Problem Fixer
Someone we can rely upon to sort out
problems with the relationship
Knowledge Centre
Someone who has significant
knowledge of customers’ products &
services

8. The Customer Added-Value of an SAM
Delivery Champion
Someone who can help Deliver
Consistent High Quality Services
Trusted Advisor
Someone With a Deep Understanding
of My Business
Relationship Builder
Someone Able to Develop Broad
Business Relationships

9. The Supplier Added-Value of a SAM
Sales Achiever
Someone who can be relied upon to hit
their numbers over the year
Enterprise Capability Seller
Someone who can cross-sell different
products across different
departments/divisions/subsidiaries
Consultant Seller
Someone we can sell solutions and
create new offers for the business

10. The Supplier Added-Value of an Outstanding
SAM
Excellent Leader
Strong communicators who can lead
and manage diverse teams
Financially Adept
Someone who can translate soft
relationship issues into hard profit
Relationship Builder
Someone Able to Develop Broad
Business Relationships

11. CRM Evaluation Framework
Components
Purpose & Strategy Attributes Score
Structure & Management Attributes Score
Account Selection Attributes Score
CRM Account Planning Attributes Score
HR Policies Attributes Score
Products & Services Attributes Score
Information Systems Attributes Score

12. Purpose & Strategy - Attributes
Strategy development process
Quality of CRM strategy
Relationship to corporate strategy
Communication of strategy
CRM goals
Resources committed to CRM
Leadership

13. Structure & Management - Attributes
Positioning of CRM within the organisation
CRM internal structure
Appropriateness of customer contact model
CRM alignment with other business units
CRM performance evaluation

14. Account Selection - Attributes
Appropriateness of account selection criteria
Disciplined use of account selection criteria
Assigning accounts to AE’s and support personnel

15. Account Planning - Attributes
Account profiles
Account planning process
Who develops account plan?
Account plan content
Account plan review & approval process
Account plan implementation and monitoring
Joint customer planning
Linking account management to opportunity
management

16. HR Policies - Attributes
Appropriateness of AE selection process and criteria
Disciplined use of AE selection criteria and diagnostic tools
Adequacy of AE personnel resources
AE training, coaching and development
Personnel performance measurement
Compensation
Performance recognition

17. Products & Services - Attributes
Product & service development process
Bringing new products to market
Use of customer research
Product & service performance measurement
Customer satisfaction measurement

18. Information Systems - Attributes
Quality of CRM information system
Access to CRM information system
Integration of sales process with CRM system
Utilisation of CRM information system
Technical support
CRM information system training

19. Analyse the Gaps
Size of gap
Importance of component
Importance of attribute

20. CRM Improvement Plan
Set methods & goals for attribute score (quantification)
Prioritise attributes
Consider impacts of interrelated attributes
Determine … .
 What to do
 Who will own it
 When they’ll complete it