Velocity Spring 2023

VOLUME 25

STR AT EGIC

ACCOUNT

MANAGEMENT

Issue 2 2023

ASSOCIATION

Value. Alignment. Relationships. Growth.

The pursuit of SAM excellence is a journey that requires commitment and resolve, typically undertaken by organizations that have realized the importance of becoming more strategic to their most important customers.

Those that succeed gain competitive advantage by equipping their account teams with proven best practices that support effectiveness in each of the primary account planning and management impact zones.

Value: Today’s strategic and key customers expect their providers to understand their business pressures, objectives and challenges, and deliver solutions and value that address them. Top performing account managers and teams understand what matters most to their customers, and co-create mutual value that enables their accounts to realize the business outcomes that drive success.

Alignment: By engaging cross-functional team members in the deployment of SAM best practices, stronger internal alignment and enhanced customer value co-creation are realized. When account managers and teams understand customer pressures, objectives, and challenges, and align on how to address them, the result is heightened collaboration and value realization with the customer.

Relationships: Strategic customers expect to build trust-based relationships with their providers. Deploying and adopting SAM best practices equips and enables account managers and teams to evolve relationships with key and strategic customers into partnerships, with dramatic impact on how they engage, co-innovate and co-create value together.

Growth: Driving proactive growth is the essence of SAM excellence, and when account managers and teams develop and implement strategies to facilitate expansion of strategic customer partnerships, growth can be accelerated. By building growth strategies collaboratively with customer stakeholders, your approaches to value co-discovery, co-creation and realization provide you with powerful differentiators.

PMI’s customized strategic account planning and management solutions are designed to assist you in your SAM journey. Let’s discuss how we can help you and your team evolve value co-creation, customer stakeholder alignment, trust-based relationships and proactive account growth to new levels of effectiveness in your pursuit of SAM excellence!

PMI Congratulates all of the winners of the 2023 SAMA Excellence Awards™, with special recognition of our clients Boehringer Ingelheim (Outstanding Mature Program of the Year) and LP Building Solutions (Outstanding Young Program of the Year)!

The SAMA Excellence Awards™ honor B2B companies who achieve unparalleled success at elevating relationships with key customers by solving their most critical business challenges.

Read our latest case study and learn more about our strategic account planning and management solutions at performancemethods.com.

Vol. 25 • Issue 2

2023

Features 15 New SAMA member benefit drives internal

alignment and executive support to elevate strategic customer engagement

20 Engage internal stakeholders early and often 25 The practice of account planning 31 Developing amazing SAMs at Airbus Defence

and Space

41 Artificial intelligence and the augmented SAM 47 The state of mental health in sales 57 The strategic account manager as value

creator

62 The extraordinary SAM: Building

stronger customer relationships through the lens of DEI&B

37 Digital sales rooms: Hype or reality?

V ELOCIT Y®

A PUBLICATION OF THE STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

Departments Quick Takes .………………..……… 9 Data Watch ………………………… 13

Publisher: Denise Freier | Editor-in-chief: Harvey Dunham | Associate Editor: Nic Halverson Creative Director: Aimee Waddell | Advertising: Ashley Davis The Strategic Account Management Association is a global knowledge-sharing and networking organization devoted to developing, promoting, and advancing strategic customer-supplier value, collaboration, and learning.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission.

Copyright © 2023 by the Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA). The SAMA® logo is a registered trademark of the Strategic Account Management Association.

Velocity ® is published three times a year. The annual subscription rate is $65.

Changes of address, suggested articles, and requests for extra copies of this publication should be directed to: SAMA, 4740 N. Cumberland Ave., #389, Chicago, IL 60656.

Tel: 312-251-3131 Fax: 312-251-3132 Internet: www.strategicaccounts.org For membership information or to join SAMA, contact Chris Jensen at 312-251-3131 x10 or jensen@strategicaccounts.org.

Vol. 25

Issue 2 2023

Ve l o c i t y ®

3

SAMA Corporate Members Abbott ABM Industries Inc. Agilent Ainsworth Inc. Air Liquide Airbus Defence and Space Abbvie Amgen Canada Arcadis Astellas AVI-SPL Avient Corporation Axis Communications Inc. Bailey International Bayer AG Bellevue University bioMérieux Boehringer Ingelheim Brenntag Specialties Inc Buckman North America Bunge CAS Ceva Santé Animale CH Robinson Cisco Systems, Inc. Clarios Cox Automotive CPC Worldwide Danaher Companies DHL Donaldson Company, Inc. Ecolab Eisai, Inc. Elanco Animal Health Emerson Automation Solutions Endress+Hauser Expeditors FCM Formerra Freeman Genmab US, Inc. Greene, Tweed & Co. Grifols Therapeutics Inc Henkel Hilton Worldwide Honeywell Hovione Hyatt Hyland IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. John Deere Johnson & Johnson Lilly USA, LLC. 4 Ve l o c i t y ®

LP Building Solutions Lubrizol Medtronic Merck Michelin Mölnlycke Health Care New York Power Authority Inc. Nilfisk Novo Nordisk Inc. O-I Optum Inc Organon LLC Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc Owens Corning Pfizer, Inc. Premier Inc. Rockwell Automation Saint-Gobain Sanofi Vaccines Sensata Technologies Schneider Electric The Sherwin-Williams Company Sidel Siemens Solecta, Inc. Solenis Sonoco supplyFORCE The AAK Group The Qt Company

SAMA Board of Directors Steve Andersen President and Founder PMI Dino Bertani Executive Director, International Strategic Account Management AbbVie Anju Birdy Strategic Account Management Excellence, Vice President Schneider Electric Noel Capon R.C. Kopf Professor of International Marketing Columbia Business School Mauro Cerati Senior Vice President, Global Customers Bunge Dominique Côté Owner and Founder, COSAWI in/Sprl Ron Davis Executive Vice President, Head of Customer Management Zurich Insurance Group Jim Ford Chief Commercial Officer Solecta, Inc. Chairman of the SAMA Board Denise Freier President and CEO SAMA

*John F. Gardner Retired - President, Global Strategic Accounts Emerson Automation Solutions

Dr. Hajo Rapp SVP Strategic Account Management & Sales Excellence TÜV SÜD AG

*Rosemary Heneghan Retired - Director, International Sales & Operations, Worldwide IBM

Kevin Reilly Global Sales Development Leader, 3M Healthcare Business Group 3M Company

Eric Gantier President, Global Engineering, Manufacturing & Energy DHL Customer Solutions and Innovation (CSI) Gerilyn Horan Vice President, Group Sales & Strategic Accounts Hilton Denise Juliano Group Vice President, Life Sciences Premier Inc. Renae Leary Chief Commercial Officer – Americas Ansell Mike Moorman Managing Principal, Sales Solutions ZS

Tony Stanich VP Global Corporate Accounts Food & Beverage for Water and Process Services Nalco, an Ecolab Company Jennifer Stanley Partner McKinsey & Company *Dr. Kaj Storbacka Retired - Hanken Foundation Professor Hanken School of Economics Geoff Williams Vice President, Global Accounts Danfoss *Distinguished Board Advisors (lifetime contributors; nonvoting members)

Geoff Quinn Director Key Account Management Center of Excellence Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals Group

TÜV SÜD UL Solutions United Airlines Vallourec Veolia

Special thanks to SAMA’s providers

VSP Global W.L. Gore & Associates Wajax Corporation Waters Corporation West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. Wolters Kluwer Belgium WorkCare, Inc. Xylem Inc. Zurich Insurance Group

Vol. 25

Issue 2 2023

V ELOCIT Y® A PUBLICATION OF THE STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

SAMA 2023 EVENTS

Publisher: Denise Freier Editor-in-Chief: Harvey Dunham Associate Editor: Nic Halverson Creative Director: Aimee Waddell Advertising: Ashley Davis

SAMA Staff Executive President & CEO: Denise Freier Finance/Operations/Meetings Director of Finance, Meetings and Operations: Fran Schwartz Senior Manager, Meetings and Events & Individual Member Liaison: Rhodonna Espinosa Finance & Operations Manager: Jaclyn Such Registration Manager: Shannon Feeney Customer Solutions Director, Customer Solutions: Christopher Jensen Corporate Account Manager: Michael Johnson Corporate Account Manager: Dina-Marie Farrell Sr. Corporate Solutions Manager: Ed Zupanc Salesforce Analyst/Administrator: Erin Pallesen Sr. Account Manager, Business Leader - AMS: Stephanie Fahey Knowledge, Certification & Training Director, Knowledge, Certification & Training: Libby Souder Assistant Director, Knowledge & Training: David Schweizer Knowledge and Training Manager: Brad Maloney Research

Academy Online - APAC (CORE 3) June 13-15 SAMA Academy Chicago July 18-20 Academy Online - Third Quarter 2023 July-September SAMA Academy Online - APAC (CORE 4) September 19-20 ABM Academy: Next Generation ABM Customer-Led, Team-Enabled September 19-20 SAMA Pan European Conference October 11-12 SAMA Academy Europe October Academy Online - Fourth Quarter 2023 October-December SAMA Academy Online - APAC (CORE 1) November 27-30 SAMA Tech Fest November 1-2

General Manager, Research & Customer Experience: Joel Schaafsma Strategy, Marketing, & Communications Managing Director, Strategy and Marketing: Harvey Dunham Creative Director: Aimee Waddell Associate Editor: Nic Halverson Marketing Manager & Sponsorship: Ashley Davis

Join the conversation with SAMA on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/strategic-account-management-association.

SAVE THE DATE! SAMA 2024 Annual Conference May 20-22, 2024 Fontainebleau © Miami Beach | Miami, FL

For more information, visit https://strategicaccounts.org/en/events.

Follow SAMA on Twitter at www.twitter.com/samatweet.

6

Ve l o c i t y ®

Vol. 25

Issue 2 2023

EDITOR’S CORNER Customer relationships and embracing the whole value chain

Nic Halverson Associate Editor Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA) Sewn throughout this issue of Velocity is the common thread of transformation. This idea of refinement and enhancement — whether you apply it to your customer relationships, your strategic account management program, or your company at large — begins with one person: yourself. But not just a cardboard cutout of yourself — your authentic self.

Finding that person takes courage. The courage to be intentional and vulnerable, defy convention and stereotypes, and help you shift to a more customer-centric mindset. Herein lies the harmony of being truly strategic.

To sustain this harmony and elevate your relationships, SAMA is thrilled to announce our partnership with The Congruity Group, which we have selected to build and execute our Strategic Customer Advisory Board. Our collaboration will launch multiple initiatives, including customized tools for SAMA members “that accurately identify and measure areas in which organizations can improve their strategic engagement with customers, while also aligning internal teams and advancing executive support,” as Congruity CEO Betsy Westhafer outlines in our first feature.

Still, internal alignment remains the albatross around many a SAM’s neck, right? However, in his article on engaging internal stakeholders, Adrian Davis, President and CEO of Whetstone Inc. and Principal Partner at The Summit Group, proposes a novel solution: apply the discipline of strategic account management to your own organization and add it as one of your strategic accounts.

are at the heart of what we do at SAMA — just ask Airbus Defence and Space. Read all about how they zeroed in on SAMA’s methodologies to develop amazing SAMs and took advantage of the SAM2Win simulation, an online game used

by SAMA, universities, and corporations to teach advanced account management.

To say that simulations and artificial intelligence (AI) stand to revolutionize strategic account management is “a masterpiece of understatement,” according to Robert Box, Managing Partner and Global Account Director at Mercuri International.

Still, Box says everyone should be asking, “What exactly can [AI] do for my job, and if I’m going to benefit, what changes do I need to make in the way I think?” In his article on AI and the augmented SAM, Box offers a practical way forward, including action items for SAMs on the current and future application of AI. As salespeople, we also need to change the way we think about our mental health, studies show. According to data in the 2022 State of Mental Health in Sales Report, published by Sales Health Alliance, there is a correlation between mental health and the ability to achieve sales targets. The prognosis isn’t good, as the mental health of salespeople continues to get worse. However, Sales Health Alliance founder Jeff Riseley identifies 13 factors sales leaders can use to improve mental health, such as “clear career pathing, boundary setting, and embracing more vulnerability within sales.”

Joe Machicote, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Premier, Inc., is the ne plus ultra of someone who embraces vulnerability. When you read his riveting interview with SAMA President & CEO Denise Freier, witness how proactive and intentional he is about his own mental health. In a fitting finale to close out this issue, Machicote reveals his formula for being extraordinary and shares key insights that helped him

We’re all familiar with the salesperson stereotype: the pushy,

find clarity in the face of tragedy. Applying his resiliency and

lone wolf with the hunter vs. prey mindset. “As absurd as this

mindset shift to all aspects of life — including DEI&B initia-

mindset is, it is still prevailing in many organizations,” Nigel

tives — his life-affirming advice is guaranteed to motivate you

Cullington, VP of Marketing at Upland Altify, observes in his

to become the best version of yourself. n

piece on account planning. To succeed, “sellers must put this approach behind them once and for all,” he writes. “Instead, they must seek to put their relationships at the heart and center of everything they do.”

Vol. 25

Issue 2 2023

Ve l o c i t y ®

7

KANECT IMAGINE if you could gain DEEPER INSIGHTS, especially during times of disruption and

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OBSERVABLE and

NON-OBSERVABLE BEHAVIORS of your accounts.

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TM

QUICK TAKES

DEFYING SALES STEREOTYPES TO DELIVER AUTHENTICITY AND TRANSFORMATION In an excellent interview with McKinsey and Company, University of Southern California (USC) adjunct professors of entrepreneurship Colin Coggins and Garrett Brown posed the question: What do you think of when you hear the word salesperson?

“The stereotype around sales and salespeople was so pervasive that you could ask anyone,” said Coggins. “And they would say, ‘Yucky, manipulative, pushy, smarmy,’ but that wasn’t our experience.”

In their new book, “The Unsold Mindset: Redefining What It Means to Sell,” Coggins and Brown paint a different portrait of salespeople — one that defies stereotypes. Drawing on personal experience and research, Coggins said they set out to “change the way that the world viewed sales and salespeople by changing the way that these people viewed themselves.”

As they trace the contours of today’s successful, modern seller, what takes shape is a salesperson who embraces a more holistic mindset that emphasizes emotional intelligence, purpose, and authenticity — to make sales less about transaction and more about transformation.

Up first on the chopping block: the vicious cycle of inauthenticity.

Fortunately — as a silver lining — the pandemic provided

have a job to do, so we’re going to do it.’ You would see this reciprocation of love from the customer on the other end.”

This acknowledgment of vulnerability and imperfection, Coggins said, was a gateway to authenticity.

“When you think about a way that a salesperson can mitigate inauthenticity, rule number one is to be aware,” Coggins added. “Give yourself permission to be authentic and be aware that the world will give you credit for your flaws, that the world will give you credit for being just like the person you’re talking to, who is imperfect. Inauthenticity is rooted in someone who’s trying to seem like they’re better than they are, but that’s not actually what we want. Those aren’t the expectations, and there’s a real disconnect between that.”

Brown suggests listening to that little voice inside your head, which inspired their classroom mantra. “We say that if you think you sound like you’re being cheesy, then you’re probably being cheesy,” he said. “A corollary to that is, if you think you sound like you’re being inauthentic, you’re probably being inauthentic.”

But can you teach the average person to be a great, authentic salesperson?

“We absolutely believe that,” Brown said. “The reason we take a mindset approach to selling as opposed to a tactical approach: there’s a lot of places that you can go, and you

ample opportunity and research for the authors, who had access

can learn how to build rapport, handle

to “tons of hours of recordings” of sales calls. From these calls,

objections, and do the day-to-day

a curious phenomenon occurred. Typically underperforming

tactical approach to selling, but not

sellers started thriving during COVID, while traditionally high-performing sellers went into a tailspin as lockdown hit.

But why?

According to Coggins, “for the group that historically underperformed but that performed high during COVID, all of their conversations started almost the same way. They would say, ‘I have no idea if we should even be having this conversation right now. This is very weird. This is my first pandemic, too, but I know that you accepted this calendar invite, and we

Vol. 25

Issue 2 2023

a lot of people are talking about how you think.”

Taking this mindset approach means tapping into one’s emotional intelligence — the capacity to be aware of, control, and express emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

“We started to have conversations with

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9

QUICK TAKES

all of these amazing sellers, with and without sales in their

talk to” because “you act differently when you actually care

title,” Brown said. “We talked to everybody from CEOs and

about somebody.”

founders to doctors and lawyers and artists and hypnotherapists and everything in between. We realized that they all had things in common […] things that are related to emotional intelligence and mindset and things that can absolutely be taught and developed over time.”

Great questions are the hallmark of great sellers. But Coggins takes it a step further, suggesting that great sellers think and care about their customers differently. In conversations driven by empathy, buyers don’t feel like they’re being sold. They don’t feel stripped of their agency. They feel part of a process of mutual co-creation.

In teaching this ethos, Coggins wisely observed, “It’s probably not a conversation about adding. It’s a conversation about stripping away” and making space for intentional ignorance.

The authors teach this concept via their idea of “love threeby-three.”

“Spend three minutes before any call or any conversation finding three things that you love about the person you’re going to talk to,” Brown said. “Go on their LinkedIn or other social media profiles or on the company website and find things that you love.”

There’s abundance everywhere, as Coggins put it. But if you’re so narrowly focused on the transaction and not the transformation, not only are you wearing blinders, but you might also be sitting — quite literally — on an opportunity and not even realize it. To wit: Coggins relates a superb anecdote about an enlightened account executive accused of hoarding leads. After Coggins calls him in to address the

“Great salespeople don’t know it all, intentionally,” Coggins

allegations, the account exec sits down on a couch, admires

said. “The reality is, you’d be way better off if you said, ‘I don’t

its comfort and quality, flips over the cushion, identifies the

know, but I do know someone smarter than me who does,’

maker, and scouts the company for prospects on the spot. No

or ‘I don't know, but let me go find out for you.’ Customers

further questions needed. He wasn’t hoarding leads; he was

are giving people more credit for being resourceful than they

just finding opportunities where others weren’t looking.

are for having every single answer. Because if you have every answer, you strip the agency away from people, and people start saying no to you just because you’re right, not because you’re wrong.”

The authors say the baseline of their book is that “if you look for the good, you’ll find it” — beautiful, universal wisdom that we can all apply to our lives both on and off the clock. But for SAMs specifically, Coggins follows that up with

To foster resilience amid current global challenges, Brown suggests salespeople should celebrate the process — not just the wins and achievements, but also the rejections and lessons learned, so sellers can examine what went wrong and recalibrate for next time.

“When you’re talking about resilience, I think looking for the good, celebrating the process, and realizing that what the brain looks for it typically finds more of is

the real kicker.

“If you want to be a great salesperson, people are looking for the good in you,” he said. “People are looking for the good in your product or your service or your ideas.”

People are looking for the good in you. How will you respond?

With the authenticity of a trusted advisor seeking transformation? Or with a version of yourself reserved for transactional vendors?

a really important lesson that we learned from the people we spoke to,” Brown said.

One of the many hurdles that salespeople must transcend is viewing their customers as just another name or just another number on a long list of cold calls and follow-ups. As a solution, Brown proposes the radical, yet basic, concept of

Adapted from “Author Talks: How the most successful salespeople defy stereotypes,” published at McKinsey. com, by McKinsey Global Publishing’s Vanessa Burke. https://w w w.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-onbooks/author-talks-how-the-most-successful-salespeople-defystereotypes.

“falling in love with the person you’re going to

10

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Issue 2 2023

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DATA WATCH

EXECUTIVE MINDSET: AN OUTSIDE-IN ASSESSMENT ON CUSTOMER DISCOVERY, SOLUTION DEVELOPMENT, AND COMMUNICATION RELEVANT TO EXECUTIVES SAMA Research partnered with FinListics to study their existing model that helps sales and strategic accounts organizations be more relevant to executive buyers. Through this study we collected practices from 93 companies defining how companies are executing discovery, solutions, and communication in terms of: 1. How often and where to look.

2. Effectiveness of solution-impact areas and communication-strategy areas.

3. What customer insights to use in the account planning process.

Companies With a Structured, Frequent Cadence of Customer Discovery and Customer Meetings Specific to Co-creation are Significantly More Effective When Expanding Customer Relationships Within your top customers, how effective were you at expanding your customer relationships “higher, wider, and deeper” into new functional areas, business units, or key stakeholders?

47% 40% 30%

26% 19%

20% 10%

6%

2%

0%

Not at all effective

Slightly effective

Moderately effective

How often do you conduct customer discovery?

Annually Twice a year Quarterly Ad Hoc / As Needed

25% 9% 6% 59%

Almost 60% of respondents that were slightly or not-at-all effective at expanding customer relationships conduct customer discovery on an ad hoc/as needed basis.

Annually Twice a year Quarterly Ad Hoc / As Needed

Issue 2 2023

Extremely effective

Do you conduct customer meetings specifically to co-create innovation?

Yes

48%

52% No

Only 48% of respondents that were slightly or not-at-all effective at expanding customer relationships conduct meetings specifically to co-create innovation.

10% 13%

23% 47% 30%

Nearly half of respondents that were very or extremely effective at expanding customer relationships conduct customer discovery quarterly.

Vol. 25

Very effective

Yes

No

77%

77% of respondents that were very or extremely effective at expanding customer relationships conduct meetings specifically to co-create innovation.

Ve l o c i t y ®

13

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NEW SAMA MEMBER BENEFIT DRIVES INTERNAL ALIGNMENT AND EXECUTIVE SUPPORT TO ELEVATE STRATEGIC CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

By Betsy Westhafer CEO The Congruity Group

A recurring sentiment consistently expressed

measurable approach that spotlights the cur-

by strategic account managers (SAMs) is that

rent state of eight key areas that are critical to

they spend more time selling internally than

successful customer engagement:

they spend with their customers. In fact, SAMA research finds that SAMs spend 70% of their time selling internally and only 30% of

• Customer engagement strategy

of reversing those percentages.

• Internal team alignment and engagement

Furthermore, challenges in gaining execuments, and process improvements that impact the customer experience are often cited by SAMs regarding the barriers they experience in optimizing success in retaining and expanding their key accounts.

Helping members solve both of these challenges is a committed focus area for SAMA leadership, and as a result, SAMA is offering a new solution to identify and overcome the gaps that lead to misalignment, ineffective use of time, and competitive pressure.

The Customer Engagement Assessment™ and Customer Engagement Score™ are customized tools that accurately identify and measure areas in which organizations can improve their strategic engagement with cus-

Issue 2 2023

• Commitment to customer engagement

their time with customers. Imagine the impact

tive support for engagement, product enhance-

Vol. 25

• Customer-centric culture

• Co-innovation with customers • Value add from customer engagement • Customer engagement programs • Customer advocacy The Assessment is offered as an annual complimentary benefit for up to five senior leaders within SAMA’s corporate member organizations, and for up to three senior leaders from individual member companies. By taking the Assessment annually, participants have a consistent approach with benchmarks, ensuring progress is being made and collecting data to identify and mitigate any red flags that may appear on the horizon.

The importance of customer engagement metrics

tomers, while also aligning internal teams and

Until now, it has been difficult to measure

advancing executive support. The Customer

and monitor improvement with regard to stra-

Engagement Assessment is a methodical and

tegic customer engagement. The Customer

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15

THE IMPORTANCE OF CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT METRICS

How the Assessment drives internal alignment A key feature of the Customer Engagement Assessment is that all individual responses are kept confidential and shared only with the person completing it. This allows for participants to be open, honest, and transparent with their responses.

When multiple senior leaders within an organization com-

2.96

plete the Assessment, the responses are aggregated to illustrate underlying trends and patterns across the participating

Engagement Assessment provides a comprehensive Customer Engagement Score that serves as a baseline from which to build a more robust, strategic, and consistent approach to elevating customer engagement throughout an organization.

organization. A graphical view is provided to quickly and easily identify areas in which there is alignment and misalignment among the participants. This visually illustrates the opportunities to focus conversations on areas that will help leadership teams better align and develop action plans that

In addition, a score is provided for each of the eight focus areas (Figure 1), giving participants a micro view of where the

will elevate strategic customer engagement for greater impact, including retention and expansion of key accounts.

current approach is working well

In the real-life example that

and where improvement is most needed.

An in-depth, customized Report

follows, four senior leaders of an

FIGURE 1. CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT SCORE SUMMARY

organization participated in the

Overall Score Summary

following statements were posed

of Findings is included and outlines observations and recommenda-

and participants were asked to rank

5

tions for elevating the effectiveness

3.4

within the eight focus areas.

3.73 2.8 2.93

3.27 3.2 3.4

3

• We provide a forum for our key cusproduct roadmaps and provide per-

strategic customer engagement

0

spectives so that we make accurate

programs, to offer this proprietary

● Customer-Centric Culture ● Commitment to Customer Engagement ● Customer Engagement Strategy ● Internal Team Alignment and Engagement ● Co-Innovation with Customers ● Value Add from Customer Engagement ● Customer Engagement Programs ● Creating Customer Advocates

strategy decisions.

tool as a complimentary benefit of SAMA membership. Upon completion of the Assessment and delivery of the Report of Findings, The Congruity Group will schedule an

• We regularly engage our customers with regard to their future needs from our company so that we deliver what they want, how they want it, and when they want it.

There are three specific perspec-

executive briefing with participat-

tives the Assessment is looking for

ing organizations to review the

16

their responses: tomer executives to see our long-term

SAMA has partnered with The Congruity Group, providers of

Assessment. In this illustration, the

report, answer questions, and offer strategic recommenda-

within each statement:

tions and next steps.

1. Our organization has or does this.

Marge Murphy, President of Acadia Lead Management

2. Our organization does this consistently.

Services, points to multiple benefits of taking the Assessment.

3. Our organization does this effectively.

“As a service organization, customer retention is extremely

As Figures 2 and 3 illustrate, there are some areas in which

important. We were looking for a tool that would challenge us to

the majority of the participants are aligned, and some areas

rethink and/or validate our strategy. The Assessment defined areas

where no two participants answered in the same way. For

of strength but more importantly, opportunities for improvement.

example, when asked how effectively the organization regu-

The results clearly stated observations and recommendations which

larly engages customers with regard to future needs, there

enabled our team to align around the action plan.”

is a definite disconnect among respondents. This presents

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the opportunity to have an internal discussion to gain deeper

Growth Champions have the highest five-year compound

insights into how the company can more effectively engage

annual growth rates for sales and profitability. They live by

customers with regard to their future needs.

the mantra “We love long-term customer success.”

Who should take the Customer Engagement Assessment?

nization. Bringing this Assessment to your executive leaders

The C-suite is ultimately responsible for growing the orgahelps them identify how they can best engage with customers

For maximum impact and to provide the greatest opportunity for executive support and internal alignment, the following roles are best positioned to participate in the Assessment:

FIGURE 2. CO-INNOVATION WITH CUSTOMERS Our organization has/does this: We regularly engage our customers with regard to their future needs from our company so that we deliver what they want, how they want it, when they want it.

• Chief Executive Officer • Chief Marketing Officer

Agree

25% (1)

• Chief Revenue Officer • Product Leader

50% (2)

Somewhat Agree

• Highest-producing SAM Having this cross-functional approach

0% (0)

Not Sure

helps ensure that various perspectives are considered. For example, helping the C-suite align around what the SAMs are

Somewhat Disagree

25% (1)

hearing directly from customers while at the same time helping SAMs understand the strategic impact with regard to the

Disagree

CEO’s priorities and investments is the

0% (0) 0

holy grail when it comes to organizational

0.25

0.5

0.75

1

1.25

1.5

1.75

2

alignment. It will also help identify blind spots that are impacting the customer experience and bring those to light for the C-level as well as the new business and retention sales leaders.

FIGURE 3. CO-INNOVATION WITH CUSTOMERS Our organization has/does this: We provide a forum for our key customer executives to see our long-term product roadmaps and provide perspectives so that we make accurate strategy decisions.

CEOs who have mastered customer engagement are referred to as Growth

Agree

25% (1)

Champions in research conducted by Noel Capon and Christoph Senn. Their research notes that these executives are

Somewhat Agree

0% (0)

Not Sure

0% (0)

deeply engaged at the strategic level with their key accounts and commit to a regular cadence of meetings that are marked by in-depth business discussions. Capon and Senn note that this type of strategic

Somewhat Disagree

75% (3)

engagement requires a robust investment and is not feasible for all customers.

Disagree

0% (0)

Relative to other levels of executive engagement (Figure 4 on page 18),

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0

1

2

3

4

Ve l o c i t y ®

17

FIGURE 4. REAPING THE REWARDS

Sales

Comparing the five-year compound annual growth rates for sales and profits at the 515 companies in a study by Capon and Senn shows the gains realized by Social Visitors, Dealmakers, and especially Growth Champions.

Profitability

likely is not being leveraged or used by your competitors.

How to take the Customer Engagement Assessment To get started, go to thecongru-

Hands-Off

Loose Cannon

Social Visitor

Dealmaker

Growth Champion 9.7% 8.8%

itygroup.com/SAM A/assessment to learn more and to register the participating members of your organization. SAMA is excited to offer this new membership benefit and

7.7%

strongly encourages you and your

6.9%

colleagues to take advantage of this impactful tool.

4.7%

1.7% 1.2%

4.1%

COMING SOON!

2.7%

In addition to being able to obtain a 180° view of your internal strategic customer engagement performance,

-0.3%

you will also have the opportunity to increase that view to 360° by solic-

Reproduced with permission from Noel Capon

iting similar feedback directly from your strategic accounts. This will allow your team to align around

to accelerate sales and profitability, while at the same time

how your customers view your engagement with them in the

supporting the efforts of the SAM responsible for the account.

same eight focus areas. Customized reports will be generated, delivering a market-validated roadmap for strategic customer

How the Customer Engagement Assessment creates competitive advantage Strategic account management works best when the teams are aligned and customers are properly engaged. It’s just that simple. Having a tool to ensure that your organization is flying in formation and functioning at the most strategic levels of engagement is the best insurance against competitive forces. This is best performed with consistent monitoring of key performance indicators that the Customer Engagement

engagement as well as a powerful competitive advantage. n

Betsy Westhafer is the CEO of The Congruity Group, a consultancy that focuses exclusively on strategic customer engagement programs.

Betsy is the co-author of the #1 bestseller, “The Rarest Advantage: How to Co-Create Strategic Value to Retain and Grow Your Key Customer Accounts.” She is also the co-host of the REALLY Know Your Customer podcast, named one of the “Top 15 Customer Retention Podcasts on the Web” by Feedspot. Betsy can be reached at 937-550-1701 or at betsy@thecongruitygroup.com.

Assessment and Score provide. It’s a unique and valuable approach that is a benefit to you as a SAMA member that

INCLUDED IN THE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT ASSESSMENT: 3 Comprehensive customer engagement score 3 Engagement scores for each of the 8 focus areas 3 Customized Report of Findings, including observations and recommendations 3 30-minute review of your report and results with a Congruity Engagement Strategist

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Vol. 25

Issue 2 2023

MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR NEGOTIATION IMPROVEMENT FOR YOUR ACCOUNT MANAGERS? THREE REASONS WHY WE MAY BE A GOOD FIT:

Brian Dietmeyer Founder & CEO of Think! Inc.

#1 ENOUGH WITH FLUFF Our work is 100% custom to you and focused on how to: • Negotiate your actual commercial terms • For your actual products and services • Against your actual competitors • Given actual verbatim tactics from your customers

#2 WE CALL B.S. Negotiation has long been thought of as unpredictable and hard to measure.

Our approach is different. Our research (yes, we have proof) shows that buyer tactics are 97% predictable and fall into two categories.

#3 HOLD US ACCOUNTABLE • Documented case studies that show 466% average ROI for our clients.

• Clients include Google, Microsoft, FedEx, across 47 countries over 17 years.

It’s all we do. And we’re good at it.

If you like our approach, let’s jump on a call or drop me a note to discuss.

Brian CALL ME AT: 312.925.9326

|

EMAIL ME AT: BJD@THINK5600.COM

ENGAGE INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS EARLY AND OFTEN Our global economy is experiencing seis-

Digital disruption

By Adrian Davis

mic shifts from forces which are beyond our

President and CEO Whetstone Inc. Principal Partner The Summit Group

The rise of digital technology has already

control. Amid this ongoing evolution, one

disrupted many industries, from music and

thing remains evidently clear: the impor-

media to retail and finance. As more busi-

tance of strategic account management has

nesses adopt digital technologies and shift

never been greater. To stay relevant amid this

to online platforms, traditional brick-and-

shifting marketplace, we must consider the

mortar businesses may struggle to keep up.

driving factors of such change.

Climate change Automation Advances in robotics and artificial intelligence are making it possible to automate many jobs that were previously done by humans. This has the potential to make many businesses irrelevant if they are unable

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Climate change is expected to have a significant impact on the economy in the coming decades, particularly in industries that rely on fossil fuels or contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Businesses that are unable to adapt to new environmental regulations and shifting consumer prefer-

to adapt and compete with the increased effi-

ences for sustainable products and services

ciency and lower costs of automated systems.

may become irrelevant.

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Globalization The increasing interconnectedness of the global economy has made it easier for businesses to operate across borders and reach new markets. However, it has also increased competition and put pressure on businesses to adapt to changing consumer demands and preferences in different regions.

complexity of organizations. Multiple re-organizations, matrix configurations, and global cooperation between branches add to the complexity. However, we can’t place all the blame on the complexity of our organizations. We must accept some of the blame for at least three reasons: 1. We don’t treat our own organization as a strategic account.

2. We don’t proactively sell to our internal stakeholders with

Demographic shifts As the population ages and becomes more diverse, busi-

the same level of discipline as we do to external stakeholders.

nesses will need to adapt to changing consumer preferences

3. We tend to think of internal stakeholders as an afterthought.

and behaviors. This may require new products, services, and

We desperately seek their approval when we are about to

marketing strategies that cater to different categories of con-

cross the finish line.

sumer.

If we added our own organization as one of our strategic accounts, it would be natural for us to apply the discipline

Inflation Significant amounts of money had to be printed during the pandemic. On top of that, many businesses closed their doors forever. The combination of increased circulation of money and a decrease in supply resulted in inflation. This has been exacerbated by repeated banking failures, which also fuel inflation.

As players in every industry grapple to come to terms with these and other adversarial forces, they will have to acknowledge that they cannot address these significant issues by themselves. Increasingly, they will turn to suppliers that have the expertise and resources to co-create with them.

of strategic account management to our own organization.

This would immediately result in us lining up our internal stakeholders at the starting line rather than desperately reaching out to them at the finish line. As we proactively engage them, we would also learn what’s important to them and how including their different perspectives will enable us to develop robust solutions that are not overengineered, that don’t deplete our company’s profitability, and that advance our company’s strategic objectives.

Risks of neglecting internal stakeholders When SAMs approach internal stakeholders as an afterthought, they face the following risks:

The importance of internal stakeholder involvement The caliber of strategic account managers that we have

1. Developing initiatives that excite their customers, but are misaligned with their own company’s strategic objectives.

trained over the past decade is impressive. These SAMs are

2.

D eveloping initiatives that excite their customers, but

intelligent, creative, and highly motivated. They face the

which are overengineered and are not mutually profitable.

challenge of increasing external stakeholder involvement in

3. Creating unnecessary friction and resistance because inter-

their initiatives, with the added complexity of fostering these relationships with empathy, determination, and commitment.

However, many SAMs are unprepared for one of the most pressing challenges: increasing involvement with internal stakeholders. Many express frustration, exasperation, and disappointment when, after aligning external stakeholders around a new, creative initiative, they are met with internal roadblocks. On multiple occasions, I’ve heard SAMs state, “It’s harder to sell to my own company than it is to sell to my client!” Whenever this statement is expressed within a class, it is met with immediate support from the other participants.

Part of the reason for this exasperation is the growing

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nal stakeholders do not have sufficient time to understand the initiative. Buy-in is almost impossible at this point because of the disrespect the internal stakeholder experiences by not being consulted earlier.

4. Missed opportunities to align internal and external stakeholders.

5. Missed opportunities to identify additional creative initiatives.

6.

Damaging internal relationships by being perceived as disrespectful and reckless.

7. Damaging external relationships by setting expectations

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21

co-creation process. This is critical to ensuring their buy-in and commitment to the process. Early involvement allows stakeholders to provide feedback on the proposed transaction, identify potential risks, and offer suggestions for improvement. It also helps to build trust and transparency among stakeholders.

3.

P rioritize internal stakeholder involvement based upon their level of influence and level of interest. Not all internal stakeholders need or want the same level of engagement.

Some you need to actively collaborate with, while others will be satisfied by simply keeping them informed.

4. A lign your initiatives with your company’s strategic objectives as well as your customer’s strategic objectives. Ensure that you leverage the insights of internal stakeholders in order to shape the terms and conditions of your agreement.

As the SAM, take the responsibility of ensuring your initiatives create a win-win situation, to set up your strategic relationship for success in the long run.

5. Leverage your internal stakeholders to prevent the overengineering of your solutions. Overengineered solutions can lead to unnecessary costs, delays, and inefficiencies. SAMs that cannot be met and demonstrating that they don’t have the influence within their organization that is required to advance creative initiatives.

8. Increasing the probability of implementation failures by not having cross-functional support for their solution.

Practical approaches for SAMs to engage internal stakeholders Engaging internal stakeholders is crucial to ensure the successful outcome of co-creation initiatives. Here are some practical approaches to engage internal stakeholders in these initiatives.

1. SAMs should foster a culture of internal collaboration and rigorous debate. This includes creating an environment where internal stakeholders can freely express their opin-

should focus on developing practical solutions that are easy to implement and deliver mutual benefits to both parties.

In conclusion, customers are going to be looking to their suppliers for greater assistance as they face more demanding challenges in an uncertain economy. Waiting until the last minute to engage internal stakeholders is a recipe for disaster.

On the other hand, engaging internal stakeholders early puts SAMs in an increasingly strong position to co-create value not only for their customers but also for their companies. SAMs should, therefore, adopt a collaborative approach, and treat their own companies as a strategic account and involve internal stakeholders early, often, and in meaningful ways. These practical approaches can help SAMs to achieve successful outcomes in large co-creation transactions and build stronger relationships with their stakeholders. n

ions, share their perspectives, and challenge each other’s assumptions. This approach enables the SAM to leverage the collective wisdom of their internal stakeholders and ensure that everyone is working toward a common goal.

2.

E ngage internal stakeholders at the beginning of the

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Adrian Davis is President and CEO of Whetstone Inc, a SAMA faculty member, and a Principal Partner of The Summit Group.

Contact Adrian at adavis@whetstoneinc.ca or connect with him on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/adriandavis.

Vol. 25

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NOW OPEN

TH E W HE TS TO NE IN ST ITU TE OF SA LE S TR AN SF OR MA TIO N

V is it o u r web site for m ore d et ai l s:

TWIST.whetstoneinc.ca

THE PRACTICE OF ACCOUNT PLANNING How sales leaders can go beyond being just another vendor to build trust and grow revenue

By Nigel Cullington VP of Marketing Upland Altify

In the digital age, it can sometimes seem out of touch to say that the human touch is the most valuable aspect of a B2B sales interaction.

However, increased digitalization has, if anything, heightened the need for sellers. In fact, recent Forrester studies have found that not only is face-to-face selling on the rise post-pandemic, but buyers are more likely to turn to face-toface, in-person meetings and rely more heavily on sellers when sales are large and complex.

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for the entire revenue team.

Sadly, many businesses haven’t caught up.

For many, the world of sales looks much like what it did many years ago, where relationships resembled something much more akin to a hunt, instead of relationships based on the reciprocal exchange of value.

With sales cultures so deeply entrenched in a “hunter vs. prey” mindset, it can be daunting

The most important deals rely on relation-

for a sales leader to even attempt to overcome

ships. Building those relationships starts with a

this obstacle and switch to a customer-centric

strong foundation in account planning practices

mindset.

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25

their relationships at the heart and center of everything they do.

Selling is all about relationships In modern sales deals, it’s relationships that matter. When problems come down the line, it’s the quality of the relationship that gets the seller that coveted phone call from a buyer who needs advice. Through building a trusted advisor status with your account, sellers can make relationships that matter and drive revenue as a byproduct of their effort.

Making the transition to a relationshipcentric sales model, however, takes a monuLuckily, it’s not impossible. In fact, it’s as easy or difficult as a change in mindset.

The era of lone wolves — what selling used to look like Have you been to a used car lot lately? The old world of B2B sales used to look a lot like the kind of behavior you are likely to experience there. Sellers were encouraged to “hunt” — they were the wolves; buyers were their prey.

In a world rife with buying groups of more than 10 individuals (according to Gartner), and most of the buying journey happening outside of the seller’s direct involvement, it’s almost absurd to imagine B2B sellers still functioning this way. This is for several reasons: • A lone-wolf approach works best in one-on-one sales situations. However, enterprise-level sales are rarely done oneon-one.

• Buyers are more discerning, meaning they are not likely to trust the “hunter” who simply puts together a proposal based on basic information and fires it over.

• With limited interactions with the buyer in comparison to the full buying journey, sellers need to prioritize understanding buyers and their challenges, and work together with a team. Given the disproportionate length of the buying cycle spent apart from the seller, they need to maximize their time with the buyer.

As absurd as this “lone-wolf” mindset is, it is still prevailing in many organizations. To succeed in the practice of account planning, however, sellers must put this approach behind them once and for all. Instead, they must seek to put

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mental shift akin to seeing the world as the center of the universe one day, and the next day seeing a spinning orb moving through the universe at incredible speeds.

Sales leaders, therefore, need to get buy-in not only from the revenue team, but from the leadership team, as well, before moving forward with account planning, or else, like Galileo, they could end up on the short end of this big revelation, instead of being heralded as a prime example of what good looks like.

With that in mind, sales leaders need to consider a few integral steps as they move toward becoming trusted advisors.

The first step has to do with teamwork.

It takes a revenue team to build an effective account planning practice Speaking of those large buying groups — what does their prevalence mean for sellers?

For starters, it means sellers need to be a lot smarter about how they target accounts. It means they need to truly understand their accounts — most of all the people, problems, and politics in them.

But before they can move to build those relationships, their own house must be in order. This means gathering the entire revenue team and getting them oriented behind sellers on a multi-armed approach to sales. Doing this starts with the account plan.

What is a revenue team?

We talk about revenue teams a lot, and their importance. But

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not everyone is familiar with this term or concept. It is crucial

without a revenue team and without the right tools and meth-

to fully grasp the idea of the revenue team before getting too

odologies to collaborate on account plans when it counts.

deep into how sellers can tackle the deals that truly matter.

Simply speaking, a revenue team is a team of professionals across different functions all banded together to work toward the common goal of driving revenue. This means that instead of different departments working in disparate silos, every function is part of a greater whole aimed at generating mutual success. This includes people in sales, customer success, marketing, and other customer-facing roles. As they work together on account plans, they begin to function cohesively as a team, consistently and reliably arming sellers with everything they need to make the most of their relatively limited time with potential buyers and existing customers.

A few core tenets of your revenue team include: • Effective coaching for sellers: Making relationships a priority starts at the internal level. Sellers need top-notch coaching and mentorship as they work through deals.

• C ollaboration: It’s often been said that the difference between a good account plan and a great one is collaboration.

Therefore, regular collaboration on account plans between sellers, leaders, and customer success and marketing teams

Account planning as a team starts with understanding your own people Massive shifts in mindset can seldom be effective in a vacuum. That’s why a fundamental aspect of making the leap to relationship-centric selling is getting buy-in from the greater team at the highest level. One of the stories in our upcoming book, “Not Just Another Vendor,” focuses on the power of buy-in, and how important it is to get everyone, even the CEO, behind you as you roll out your account-based selling program.

Not everyone will be on board right away. Remember, a sales leader bringing an account planning practice into being within their organization is telling the Renaissance world that the globe revolves around the sun.

In our stories, you will see how sales leaders often face a good deal of adversity from their own internal team members as they try to guide them through this momentous change.

What are the strategies they took to overcome this hesitancy?

is vital to tackling accounts as one cohesive revenue team.

One sales leader we highlight in the book is Eddie Pyrtle,

• Sales enablement: As teams work through their account

Sales Excellence: Value Selling Coach at Qlik Technologies.

plans together, they can begin to strategize on ways to effectively support sellers through content, sales enablement, customer success stories, and added training.

The moments you get with buyers are few — use them wisely

Eddie took a unique approach to this issue. Instead of bulldozing everyone into getting them to collaborate on account plans, he sought to understand what was causing the hesitancy of the seller or team member.

And by taking this approach, he was able to turn the ship around and head them toward more profitable waters.

One of the reasons it’s so important to have a revenue team

It’s not easy to take your sales teams from a pack of lone

behind you is what you’re up against. Did you know that,

wolves and turn them into a revenue team, but it is possible.

according to Gartner, a meager 17% of the buying cycle is spent

And much like seeking to understand the people and problems

with the seller? As digital channels have grown and become

in target accounts, it starts with understanding the issues your

more robust, there is more and more ample information to be

people are facing first and foremost.

gleaned about a solution without spending time with a seller.

“Account planning is a journey,” Pyrtle says.

This doesn’t devalue the seller. What it does mean, however, is that the seller is under immense pressure to deliver impactful interactions every time they interact with a customer.

With so little time spent with the seller, the idea that a lone wolf is going to single-handedly tackle a buyer, bag them, and bring them back on their own through sheer power of will is almost laughable. We don’t want that. Instead, we want a scalable, repeatable account planning practice to build meaningful relationships and grow and retain revenue. This is impossible

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Through building meaningful relationships, you can establish yourself as a trusted advisor Ultimately, there is one thing sellers need to seek above everything — even the deal!

That one thing is to establish themselves as trusted advisors to their customers — both prospective and existing.

Relationships are the currency through which this trusted

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27

• W hat goals, pressures, initiatives, and obstacles are top of mind for key players?

• How do our solutions solve the key challenges facing the account?

Armed with this information, revenue teams can begin their arduous but integral journey to becoming strategic partners to those with whom they want to do business.

Prioritize relationships and become a trusted advisor We’ve covered a lot of ground here and have seen the challenges and benefits of building impactful relationships with prospective and existing customers. To add even more color, these are the specific benefits companies and sellers can hope to gain from delivering on a cohesive account planning practice.

• Better relationships: Buyers don’t want to be treated transactionally. They want and need the human touch to make complex purchasing decisions. Account planning helps with that — seeing the deal as an opportunity to add value.

• Achieve trusted advisor status: Through account planning, sellers can establish themselves as trusted advisors to their accounts, enabling them to be seen not just as another advisor’s status is achieved, and solving problems is how that currency is made.

To solve the challenges of multiple buyers within your account, however, you first need to uncover their biggest problems. And this is anything but easy. As we mentioned earlier, it takes collaboration between multiple stakeholders, data, technology, and methodology to get this done.

It also takes one thing far more valuable than anything else: time. It takes time to map the political structure hidden behind the organizational chart. But that time is well spent. Top sellers uncover influence in all kinds of ways, both from the information they can gain from each other as well and through behindthe-scenes insights only contacts in the account would know.

To make this shift in mindset, sellers must ask themselves a few questions. These include: • Who matters?

• How do they think?

vendor. This way, when the big calls come in, they are invited into the inner circle to help.

• More revenue: As you can see, putting the relationship first — ahead of everything else in the sale — leads to more revenue as a byproduct. As sellers seek to understand their accounts, get to know the people within them, and earn that place at the strategy table, more revenue follows.

It’s never been a better time to put relationships at the heart of everything your revenue team does and establish account planning as a daily practice. As face-to-face selling becomes once again the go-to way for buyers to make complex B2B purchases, relationships are once again king and will stay that way for the foreseeable future. As you seek to build what “good” looks like in account planning, our upcoming book, “Not Just Another Vendor,” will be your consummate companion, guiding you through what real sales leaders from major organizations are doing to instill account planning practices for today and tomorrow. n

• What is the current relationship?

• What is the relationship gap?

• How can that gap be bridged?

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Nigel Cullington is VP of Marketing at Upland Altify. Connect with Nigel on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/nigelcullington.

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Commercial Success.

Is it time to take a fresh look at how your pharmaceutical or medical device organization approaches its market?

Our consulting and SAM training are laser-focused on driving commercial success. From a fresh perspective.

“Vantage’s approach made me think, ‘Wow ... I’ve been struggling with this.

Now I see it completely differently. This is invaluable.’”

Sales Executive, Strategic Accounts Group, Medical Instrument Manufacturer

Let’s talk.

www.vantagepartners.com/SalesUniversity SAM@vantagepartners.com

DEVELOPING AMAZING SAMs AT AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE Airbus is known for its aircraft, but it also

However, in addition to commercial

works with customers such as the European

aircraft, it also operates in the helicopter,

Space Agency to build satellites and space-

defense, and space sectors. Airbus Defence

craft. To better serve its customers, the

and Space is a division within Airbus which

company recently adapted the training of its

provides commercial and defence solutions

Andreas Pilz

key account managers (KAMs). It now has

across land, air, sea, space, and cyber. These

Head of KAM Program Airbus Defence and Space

a three-stage development program which

solutions are sold to governments, institu-

utilizes external experts and has a final sim-

tions, and agencies around the world. Key

ulation-based level.

accounts include space agencies, military

By Edmund Bradford Managing Director Market2Win Ltd

and

Airbus is a leader in designing, manufac-

procurement agencies, and corporations (for

turing, and delivering aerospace products,

example, needing cybersecurity solutions).

services, and solutions to customers worldwide. It is the largest aeronautics and space company in Europe with around 130,000 employees. It is at the forefront of the aviation industry and has about half of all the global commercial airliner orders. Many people reading this will have flown on an Airbus aircraft.

Airbus Defence and Space has approximately 250 KAMs looking after all its key accounts of different sizes. All accounts require a high degree of cross-KAM, crossfunctional, cross-enterprise, and international collaboration.

A new approach — the Airbus Defence and Space KAM Program The introduction of KAM in 2018 was mandated across Airbus Defence and Space. There was an additional push on the program when Airbus Commercial Aircraft jumped on board in 2019.

Airbus Defence and Space reviewed the SAMA approach to program design as part of an early benchmarking exercise. It found the SAMA approach provided some major advantages compared with other methodologies.

First, it was a perfect match with the established sales methodology of “Capture Management” as recommended by the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP). It

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31

also emphasized the importance of outcome management, which

KAM1 Training aims to develop a common and strong

embraces the whole value chain of a company. It provided “off-

foundation across the KAMs. A tangible outcome of this

the-shelf” support using best industry practices and trainers.

so-called “workbench” is a ready-to-use KAP, which can

It was agreed that a long-term, phased approach should be

immediately be acted upon, regardless of coming refinements.

It is delivered in a two-day online workshop using instructor-

undertaken: • Phase 1: An “as-is” analysis with a “Liquid Team.” This was a small task force of volunteers who had been approved to

led training in a virtual classroom provided by the Pro Sales Academy in Brüggen, Germany.

contribute to the program. The Liquid Team developed the

KAM2 Coaching is focused on individual coaching of the

first set of key account plans (KAPs) and laid the foundation

KAMs using the current talent across the business. It takes

of the “KAP Template.”

a multilevel, multi-peer approach using trained coaches and

• Phase 2: A “to-be” definition of new ways of working,

peer support both across KAM teams and within KAM

including what training and coaching was needed to turn

teams. In preparation for the sessions, the KAMs are asked

KAMs acting as regional sales managers into strategic

to identify a major challenge they have experienced in imple-

account managers (SAMs).

menting the KAPs. Using a specific format, each challenge is

• Phase 3: The development of an effective KAM process

then presented to the peers. Using a structured process, the

that defines new ways of working as part of the business

peers develop new ideas and concepts to overcome the chal-

management system.

lenge. The presenting KAM then makes a commitment to

• Phase 4: Coaching of the KAMs on how to improve and

implement the agreed actions. Finally, the KAMs present the

deliver the KAPs before rollout of the process to a broader

plans to their peers. Again, using a structured process, the

set of KAMs.

presenting KAM and the peers develop a variety of activities

Phases 1 to 3 are now largely complete, and Phase 4 is cur-

to improve the situation with the target KAM. This training is provided by NewLeaf Partners Europe GmbH, in Dreieich,

rently underway.

Germany.

The Three-Stage KAM Development Model

KAM3 Advanced aims to elevate KAMs to an advanced

A key output from the first two phases was a Three-

level of competency. It uses a simulation combined with coach-

Stage KAM Development Model (see below). This provided

ing by a trainer to learn and practice how to be a true SAM.

the development pathway for KAMs from foundation to

This training is provided by provided by Market2Win Ltd in

advanced levels.

Alcester, UK.

FIGURE 1. AN OVERVIEW OF THE AIRBUS THREE-STAGE KAM DEVELOPMENT MODEL • When operating an account, how do I mine it?

• How can I turn my relationship with my account into qualified sales opportunities?

KAM3 Advanced

KAM2 Coaching

KAM1 Training

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• Once I develop a KAP, how can peer coaching help improve it?

• How can I use my KAM team and my project teams to generate additional insights?

• What is a key account plan (KAP)?

• How do I create and use relevant insights about chances to win and generate impact?

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KAM3: Using the SAM2Win simulation to develop advanced skills

it allows participants to practice the ideas and therefore build their skills in the topic. You would not get in a car with some-

Being strategic is important for all leaders. As Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood wrote in a famous 2007 Harvard Business Review article, “Building a Leadership Brand,”

one that had only read how to drive, yet we expect account managers to drive strategic relationships from reading books on the subject.

“Leaders must master strategy; they need to have a point of

It was agreed that a “pilot” exercise be undertaken over four

view about the future and be able to position the firm for con-

weeks at the end of 2022. Its objectives were to demonstrate

tinued success with customers.” KAMs are no exception and

the course, explore key areas of the learning, understand the

need to do this for their key accounts. For firms to achieve this

course being offered, and assess how to deliver a full course

— and for some managers, to deserve their title of strategic

successfully.

account manager — they need to be good at strategic thinking (listed as a key competency by SAMA).

It was carefully crafted to include participants from different areas of the business in different locations. This included

Andreas and his Defence and Space team asked SAMA for their support. Libby Souder, SAMA’s Director of Knowledge, Certification & Training, recommended the SAM2Win simulation by Market2Win Ltd. Market2Win has been a long-

participants from Airbus Commercial Aircraft and Airbus Helicopters, and included KAMs, sales managers, and other senior commercial staff plus learning and development staff drawn from across Europe and the Middle East.

term collaborator with SAMA, and it was important that the

The approach was to combine instructor-led training with

KAM3 training was consistent with the SAMA model and

webinars, gameplay, coaching, team exercises, and reflective

language embedded in the KAM1 and KAM2 training.

learning (see below).

The SAM2Win simulation is an online game that has

Typically, each decision round consisted of the competing

been used by SAMA, universities, and corporations to teach

teams reviewing their performance (which included feedback

advanced account management. Participants compete in

from Market2Win), instructor-led input on new account man-

teams where each team represents one of five suppliers, selling

agement tools to use in the new decision round, a team discus-

to a single, large key account. At the end of the program, the

sion on the future account strategy, updates to the account

team that makes the most profit is declared the winner. There

plan, and then execution of the plan in the simulation. The

are several advantages of an online game. Most importantly,

coaching sessions provided an additional opportunity for the

FIGURE 2. SAM2WIN PROGRAM OUTLINE (ACTUAL)

Decision Round 1

Decision Round 2

Decision Round 3

Decision Round 4

Decision Round 5

Segmenting the Account

Targeting the Best Opportunities

Positioning to Win

Planning for Growth

Implementation Success

Launch & Training Webinars

Team Coaching Calls

Training Webinar

Team Coaching Calls

Summary Webinar

(Period 2)

Short Pilot Exercise

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(Period 3)

(Period 4)

(Period 5)

(Period 6)

Wind forward Week 1

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Week 2

Week 3

Wind forward Week 4

Ve l o c i t y ®

33

teams to engage with the instructors directly and discuss how

• A clearer learning and development path for KAMs.

to apply the learnings to their real account challenges.

• Better training of KAMs to handle key strategic challenges

The results were impressive. A post-training online survey

such as understanding future customer needs, predicting

was issued to the participants, which highlighted the following:

competitor behavior, and choosing the best opportunities on

• 100% said it helped with their communication of customer-

which to focus.

focused strategy.

• Acceptance that KAM is not a short-term sale but a long-

• 87% said it improved their commercial and strategic leader-

term commitment by employees, customers, and companies.

ship, plus increased team collaboration across the business.

• A considerable amount of knowledge which helps the com-

• 75% of the respondents said it improved their knowledge of

pany to ensure continuity of the business and consistency of

key tools of KAM, helped them to find additional account

its proposals, beyond the great individual customer insights

business, transition from products to services, solutions, and

of the account planning process itself.

projects — and avoid RFP shocks.

• There was also a clear upward shift in self-rated KAM skills

• Increased lead generation through better mining of the account for new leads.

ratings from OK/Good to Good/Very Good.

As a result of the positive feedback, the simulation-based training will be included in the Airbus learning catalog and made available across the company.

Three quotes from participants highlight the key lessons

Airbus will continue to improve the KAM program in the years to come. Work is currently underway to develop a new training level, KAM4, which will be focused on sales leader-

learned.

ship. There will also be a more seamless path from KAM1 to

1. The importance of focusing hard on the right sales opportu-

KAM4 and better integration between KAM training and

nities: “Develop a clear strategy of what you want to achieve, why you want to achieve it and what you will NOT do.”

2. Borrowing brilliance from marketing strategy led to new ways of approaching account management: “Segmentation was key. Other useful tools and principles [were] targeting, positioning, structured analysis and customer approach.”

3. The importance of anticipating the future: “Anticipation is

other trainings (for example, current sales training). KAM training will also be used for broader commercial leadership, for example, in using SAM2Win to develop broad strategic thinking skills across all the commercial teams. The program also aims to go deeper in the four key home countries.

Be an agile pilot

the key for success; the better the understanding of future

The future of the program draws inspiration from one of

market developments and corresponding customer motiva-

Airbus’s products: “The Eurofighter Typhoon” — the world’s

tions, the better the strategy and business success.”

most advanced swing-role combat aircraft, which provides

These fit nicely into SAMA’s definition of strategic think-

simultaneously deployable air-to-air and air-to-surface capa-

ing, which states that it is “the process of developing a clear and winnable strategy…,” going “beyond conventional modes of thinking…,” imagining “different ways of strengthening the relationship…,” and “making decisions regarding resource allocation to ensure deliverables and including where not to invest resources.”

Benefits The Airbus Defence and Space KAM Program has already provided significant benefits to the business. These include: • Better continuity in the customer relationships.

• More consistency across the business in how key customers are managed.

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bilities.

There are a number of collateral lessons here which Airbus Defence and Space will strive to achieve in the future: 1. F ly straight and level: This means operating in a stable condition and being able to respond effectively to unforeseen challenges. By responding this way, businesses can both protect their current value and focus on increasing it.

2. Maintain a state of situational awareness: Transparency and visibility is critical for companies in the digital age to make the right decisions at the right time. By creating an unobstructed view, businesses can see where they are heading. In the cockpit of the Typhoon, pilots always have optimum situational awareness.

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3. Set a clear destination: A fighter aircraft crew has a clear mission, a detailed plan, and objectives for a successful outcome. In KAM1 to KAM3 we at Airbus train our KAMs to identify key waypoints that must be hit. In business, the path to a destination is never a straight line but is clearly communicated to the teams involved along the customer pathway. In business, the requirement to be profitable is a given, like a pilot returning safely, but there also needs to be a higher purpose. These are the essential focus elements in every key account plan.

4. Maintain a continuous feedback loop: Pilots are always debriefed after missions and given feedback to the home base, which determines the safety of future assignments. Businesses should also continuously challenge their own performance, whether this is through employee and/ or customer surveys, online reviews, or other means.

5. Deliver one joined-up truth: Flying the aircraft is incredibly demanding, and only elite pilots are recruited. The pilot’s decision-making on how they fly the aircraft is critical and based on a single, unambiguous set of data presented to them in the cockpit. With a streamlined and joined-up approach, businesses can make better decisions based on one set of reliable first-hand information, which also enables better communication with customers.

The Airbus Defence and Space KAM program has shown that organizations can balance agility and long sales cycles with hard financial goals. In this, there are lessons for all SAM/GAM/KAM program managers.

Put simply, if you want real and lasting KAM success, be an “agile pilot” with a clear task and mission. n

Edmund Bradford is Managing Director at Market2Win Ltd. He can be reached at e.bradford@market2win.com.

Andreas Pilz is the Head of KAM Program at Airbus Defence and Space. He can be reached at linkedin.com/ in/andipilz. NewLeaf Partners can be reached at ago@ newleafpartners.com. Pro Sales Academy can be reached at sr@prosalesacademy.com.

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or Thrive Survive…

In our AI-enabled, omnichannel world, how organizations and people collaborate, learn, engage customers, and co-create value has never mattered more… and will never be the same

Our Transforming Sales: Business-to-Business Value CoCreation research and doctoral journey into the past, present, and future of strategic selling revealed insights into how organizations and people can develop “fit for the future” sales and account management capacity and capabilities

We invite you to join us in the upcoming SAMA Webinars* and/or contact us to explore the research insights we uncovered and discuss their implications for your organization, you, and your team

Phil Styrlund: ps@summitvalue.com

James Robertson: jr@summitvalue.com

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* SAMA will share dates/times once scheduled Vol. 25

Issue 2 2023

DIGITAL SALES ROOMS: HYPE OR REALITY?

By Anne Slough Principal Analyst, Sales Operations Strategies Forrester

In 2001, Apple launched the first iPod.

Besides creating innovative products, Apple

Able to store 1,000 songs, it revolutionized

has created a user ecosystem for those prod-

how listeners stored and transported music.

ucts, one that maximizes the value of the

No longer did listeners need to carry bulky

product. Operating outside of the ecosystem

CDs and portable CD players. Then, in 2010, the first iPad was unveiled. The value seemed much less clear. Why would someone use an iPad versus a laptop? Usage revealed the value.

It was lighter, smaller, and easier to transport.

Then, in 2015, Apple introduced the Apple Watch in conjunction with the iPhone 6. Why would anyone need an iPhone and an Apple Watch? Based upon the hype surrounding the watch, I bought one for my son, and now he says he can’t live without it.

complicates the user experience and creates friction. Users often evangelize and refer these products to others, which encourages adoption and brings new users into the ecosystem. Digital sales rooms (DSRs) function a lot like this. Understanding the value of DSRs is most readily realized by using these spaces, but there is a lot of hype surrounding the benefits and capabilities of DSRs.

What are digital sales rooms?

Digital sales rooms are centralized locations or microsites where sales reps and buyers can collaborate. Sellers co-create value and create transparency throughout the sales process by interacting within these digital spaces. Alignment is fostered, throughout each stage of the buyer-seller process, by checking for agreement and determining next best actions/steps.

How do DSRs function?

Digital sales rooms offer a one-stop shop for seller and buyers to interact — a place where all buyer and seller motions are captured.

Within these digital rooms, sellers can create branded experiences that offer buyers secure access to personalized content, such as videos, mutual action plans, chat platforms, and calendars that enable a buyer-centric experience. Sellers, then, can see how and when the buyer (or prospect) engages with these unique pieces of content, and use those insights to tailor their strategies. Bottom line, DSRs help

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sellers adapt to their customer’s interests and address their

and orchestrating the buyer and seller journey in one portal,

needs more quickly, so they can secure more sales in less time.

can offer real-time engagement insights, with the potential to offer insights regarding correlation of activities to out-

What’s the hype?

DSR vendors lavishly advertise the potential benefits. They tout the ability to provide buyers with “white-glove” experiences, a frictionless buyer journey, and rooms chock-full of hyper-relevant content. For sellers, DSRs claim to be “instant set-

comes. Sales activities like forecasting become based on buyer action, not seller opinion. According to Forrester’s B2B buying studies spanning 2015 to 2021, the total number of interactions during the purchase process increased from 17 to 27 and the purchase timeframe of four months or more increased from 19% to 32%.

up,” allowing them to maintain

Which organizations benefit most from DSRs?

control of the sales process and create instant and ongoing transparency throughout the

While there isn’t one type of organi-

sales process. This allows

zation that would benefit from DSRs,

sellers to win more deals,

or one single set of success factors,

faster. For sales leaders and

common threads of application emerge

sales operations, DSRs claim

when considering how and where a

to offer detailed insights

DSR can be of use.

around buyer preferences (e.g.,

• Long, complex buying cycles:

the best content to provide at each

Organizations whose sales cycles

stage to advance a deal) and to leverage AI to recommend next best actions for sellers and key insights.

What problems can DSRs solve?

When deployed effectively, DSRs can solve three main problems.

1. Substandard buyer experience: Buyers are often frustrated by and disengage with the sales process because of repetitive content sharing — receiving dozens of communications (e.g., emails, files, PowerPoint presentations) and experiencing inconsistent branding across the buying group.

DSRs offer appealing, accessible, and tailored personalized experiences.

2. Inefficient sales: Buyers are recipients of poorly coordinated sales experiences because sellers have little to no insight into the buying group and each stakeholder’s desired outcomes,

are characterized by large buying groups, multi-person sales teams, and significant revenue generated from existing customers.

• Process reinforcement: Organizations that hire large numbers of new sales reps and/or need to reinforce new sales processes or sales methodologies.

• Personalized experiences: Customers/buyers that cite personalized experiences as instrumental in the decision process, partners that extend the organization’s reach, and customers with shorter buying cycles but a need for personalization.

What are the barriers to DSR implementation?

Don’t assume that “if you build it, they will come.” DSRs change buyer-seller interactions and require support. Be sure to consider the following challenges.

which elongates a repetitive and manual sales process that

• Shared ownership. Sellers and buyers must agree to adopt,

can jeopardize the deal. DSRs create a shared visibility into

use, and collaborate within the DSR. Otherwise, the value of

the buyer-seller process. This integrated approach amplifies

DSRs becomes diluted.

the impact of each sales activity.

• Privacy concerns. Increased privacy concerns and current/

3. Lackluster insights: Despite a robust sales tech stack that

impending privacy regulations may inhibit some buyers and

promises to offer sellers opportunity and level insights on

sellers from fully using DSRs. Buyers and sellers need to

accounts and stakeholders, the promise of aligned and robust

feel confident that contracts, pricing, and other sensitive or

insights has yet to be fully realized. DSRs, by coordinating

confidential information and conversations are protected.

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• Training and reinforcement. Sellers and buyers need to be

Step 2: Build for Success. Develop templates, microapps,

acclimated to DSRs’ features, functions, and value. Without

activity maps, and content that mirror your buyer-seller pro-

the proper onboarding and understanding of the rules of

cess. Build upon the initial launch with repeatable processes

engagement within DSRs, buyers and sellers will not realize

and templates that will enable the adoption of DSRs by sellers

the value of the ecosystem.

and buyers. Ease of use is a strong factor in determining

• Marketing support and automation. Sellers need support from marketing, from both a content and insight/data perspective. Understanding the buying group, its preferences, and what content to supply at which stage of the sales process is an imperative for seller success.

• Clarifying customer benefits. Customer adoption and engagement are paramount to fully realizing DSR potential.

Without a clear buyer understanding of the “what’s in it for me,” adoption and engagement will be low.

How can organizations get started with DSRs? Four key steps can ensure success with DSR implementation.

whether buyers and sellers choose to interact with DSRs. Step 3: Reinforce. Front-line sales leaders are key drivers for DSR success. Ensure that sales leaders are coaching and reinforcing the usage of DSRs for each deal. Inspect what is expected.

Step 4: Capture Gains. Identify which metrics will determine success. Track before-and-after metrics on deal management and content usage. Track customer and rep satisfaction.

Understand and track deal engagement for various sales scenarios and templates. Measure, analyze, and refine.

Like the iPod, iPad, and Apple Watch, the real value of digital sales rooms can best be understood by using them.

Step 1: Start Strong. Understand buyer and seller motions.

Adoption rates will be key. As content creation and engage-

Map your buyer-seller sales process. Understand what activi-

ment become more robust, and as AI continues to improve its

ties, content, and knowledge your buyers need to move deals

ability to provide impactful buyer and seller insights, DSRs

forward in the sales process, and then map your seller process

will become foundational for buyers and sellers alike, and our

accordingly. Once you have a clear understanding of the

understanding of the buyer journey will only increase. n

buyer-seller process, engage with your DSR vendor and work with your sales team to set up a DSR. Next, be sure that sales leaders are using DSRs and emulating the sales behaviors and processes that you want your sellers to replicate. Lead by example.

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Anne Slough is Principal Analyst of Sales Operations Strategies at Forrester. She can be contacted at aslough@forrester.com, or connect with her on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/aslough/.

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE AUGMENTED SAM The current and future application of AI for strategic account managers

By Robert Box Managing Partner and Global Account Director Mercuri International

To say that we are living in a time where

followed at a startling rate. As an example,

artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming

the first chatbot was developed in 1966 at

increasingly relevant is a masterpiece of

the MIT Artificial Intelligence laboratory

understatement. The pace of development has

and the term “generative AI” was coined in

been breathtaking, yet AI’s impact on jobs,

1997, but it is not until recently that we have

industries, and society as a whole is only just

seen mass interest in applications of AI large

beginning to be appreciated.

language models (LLMs) due, perhaps, to the

However, while it’s tempting to debate the

ease of interaction.

full breadth of philosophical and ethical issues that AI — particularly generative AI — raises,

AI use by purchasers and competition

it’s also useful to look at it at a more pragmatic

While AIs like ChatGPT or DALL-E 2 have

level and ask, “What exactly can it do for my job, and what changes do I need to make to the way I think, if I’m going to benefit?”

tive text models. There are many aspects of business where AI is and will be impact-

tial — and it could be what strategic account

ing strategic account managers. There are

managers have been waiting for…if used cor-

a multitude of companies that are pursuing

rectly.

AI — not only big tech, but also traditional companies and startups.

tory, technology, and recent developments in

Your competition and customers are most

artificial intelligence; however, the SAM’s

likely working on their own AI strategy. In

understanding of the term has become more

fact, we see purchasing departments at your

nuanced, particularly over the last few

strategic accounts using AI to make purchas-

months. At its core, AI basically consists of

ing decisions, score vendor performance, and

algorithms capable of (a) finding patterns in

build predictive pricing models to apply in

large datasets, and (b) training themselves

negotiations with you. When your purchas-

to get “smarter” (increasing their predictive

ers are leveraging the latest technology and

accuracy).¹

algorithms and you are not, you can see the

It is difficult to fully comprehend the impact

Issue 2 2023

to natural language processing and genera-

In the world of sales, AI offers huge poten-

There are numerous articles on the his-

Vol. 25

grabbed the headlines, AI is not just limited

importance of AI.

of the exponential improvements of which

There are hundreds of technologies that

AI is capable. What was just months ago a

are developing that will soon move past

marginal use case can become very quickly

what Gartner Hype Cycle research calls the

useful and adopted — and mass adoption has

“trough of disillusionment” and become a

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41

buy-in across the organization. AI tools to augment the SAM might include: • Embedded tools to predict strategic account growth areas.

• W hite spot analysis to identify gaps in the account approach.

• Natural language chatbot interface to gain instant access to customer information with which to build the account plan.

Manage relationships SAMs ensure consistent and meaningful engagement with those people who have the power to make decisions within the account. This can be both within your own organization part of the way we do business. As with any major leap forward of technological development, SAMs need to prepare themselves for this inevitability, becoming familiar and comfortable with AI and working out how it can enhance their role, rather than replace it. This can be summarized in the often repeated phrase: AI will not replace you, people using AI will.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of the current practical applications of AI in strategic account management.

Gain account insights SAMs gather information on the account to gain insights and analyze information about the customer’s market, competitive situation, objectives, and needs. The best SAMs often have more information about the customer than the customer has themselves. With AI, SAMs can move to the next level with insights that even the customer does not have. AI tools to augment the SAM might include: • Integration of AI in the sales process to streamline and

and on the customer side. Some AI tools to augment the SAM might be: • Legal AI to help review and check legal documents that codify the contractual relationship. This AI can check contracts and highlight implications for the SAM. • Social media content and interaction tools.

• Building trust through efficient execution.

• Virtual assistant with natural language processing to provide information, data, and insights to team members, when and where they need it.

• Optimizing pricing policy for consumables and transactional business.

Identify & generate opportunities A SAM should recognize and evaluate new opportunities at the strategic account and develop the best strategy to position the solution. AI tools to augment the SAM might be used for: • Mining data in the SAM’s own organization.

optimize. For example, working with digital twins as a sales

• P redictive analytics.

tool — a virtual model designed to accurately reflect a physi-

• P ipeline analysis.

cal object, relationship, or ecosystem.

• Account-based marketing.

• A I-powered coaching recommendations based on internal and external data.

• Using AI tools to crawl CRM systems and other customer data for predictive patterns.

• Social listening.

• P redicting customer behavior.

• Chatbot coaches to help in the sales process.

• A I-driven lead scoring.

• Visual inspection to identify opportunities.

Develop & deliver value SAMs build an impactful value proposition that resonates with the customer’s needs and deliver it as an engaging mes-

Set objectives & strategy A SAM should create a sensible and sustainable strategy for strategic accounts, help develop the account plan, and build

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sage. AI tools to augment the SAM: • C ollect value propositions from virtual sales meetings across the organization.

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• Review value propositions and provide feedback and deep learning on the success of various value propositions.

• Use AI-based simulations to deliver value propositions and iterate innovations or prototypes through virtual trial and error.

• Create digital twins.

Review, predict & adapt SAMs often struggle to update their account plans with useful information and best practices gathered, which could be used as inputs to guide account development and to forecast the notoriously difficult development of larger accounts.

McKinsey & Company state, “Too many companies still rely on manual forecasting because they think AI requires better-quality data than they have available. Nowadays, that’s a costly mistake.”² AI tools for the augmented account manager could be invaluable when it comes to:

reason for augmented account management to determine the right level of automation for the account.

• P redicting demand for a given solution by analyzing patterns.

Overconfidence

• Using generative AI to develop summaries of account activity.

Incorrectly, we often believe the answers given to us by a

• Account planning automation.

• Selection and deselection of strategic accounts.

• Fostering co-creation and innovation using AI.

Risks/caveats AI holds a lot of promise. But there are risks. As AI becomes more complex, it gets harder to know “how” it got the result.

Even the developers of AI are often not 100% sure of the mechanics of their creations. Since AI works by analyzing massive data and sets — iteratively drawing conclusions — it’s often hard to clearly lay out the A to Z of its reasoning. This is the problem of explainability.

For any SAM who will be working with AI, it is key to be aware of the following risks that using AI tools can have.

Ethics — anthropomorphic We give them human attributes, but what do they know?

What choices is AI making? Is it aligned with the values of your organization? Investment guru Warren Buffett once remarked that “it takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it.” Do you really trust an AI with your most valuable business asset?

That trust could be severely — and very quickly — damaged by wrong decisions and actions taken by an AI. It’s yet another

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computer are correct. Why? Because it is the computer. The problem is that AI is based on probability.

However, as AI strategist Elin Hauge said as speaker at the Mercuri International 2022 Sales Conference, “The thing is that these algorithms come with a probability. And a probability comes with a probability of being a wrong as well as right.

And we humans make a mess out of it.”

It can be difficult to distinguish the right answer sometimes, given the confidence that AI has when it produces wrong answers. Completely turning over the keys to your most valued customer to an AI algorithm can have disastrous effects. Look no further than the Zillow iBuying situation, where possible overreliance on algorithms can have negative effects. To recap, Zillow staked significant future growth in their digital home-flipping business, Zillow Offers, but it ultimately failed due to the algorithm’s inability to accurately predict swings in housing prices.³ Overly conservative approach Not making AI core to your SAM program and expecting the fad to fade could be catastrophic. AI is a strategic issue for most companies. As a SAM, it is important to know the basic skill set of AI — to leverage AI for personal productivity and to align the strategic direction of your organization and that of your customers.

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Level 2: Partial automation Level 3: Conditional automation Level 4: High automation Level 5: Full automation When you are on the highway driving 65 mph and you press a button on the adaptive cruise control with lane centering, you are still driving, holding the steering wheel (hopefully), yet the car is adapting the speed and searching for obstacles in case it needs to brake. In this case, you are using level 2 automation. Some actions are taken by the driver, some are taken by the machine.

This is the most useful way to think about AI in the context of the role of the SAM. For SAMs, using the right mix of AI to augment and support the strategic accounts makes perfect sense.

Practical way forward Often the first iteration may not appear to have the intended result, but the exponential learning capabilities and improvements mean we may dismiss valid AI solutions too early.

SAMs need to be strategic in how AI is applied. This is how the augmented account manager becomes the SAM of the future. But blindly following the next new and shiny thing and accepting AI without questions is just as risky as ignoring it.

The augmented account manager So how should we think about the practical applications for AI when it comes to strategic account management?

Well, when AI fails, it tends to fail spectacularly, and we have to ask the question: Do we want to entrust our most valuable clients to AI? To quote Sam Altman, founder of OpenAI: “We want to make our mistakes while the stakes are low.”

To truly understand the benefit of AI, it helps to think of it as an augmentation to existing roles — a labor-saving device that creates efficiencies and discovers insights. Consider it an AI-skilled augmented account manager, perhaps.

A good way to think of it is in terms of self-driving cars.

According to SAE International (formerly known as the Society of Automotive Engineers), when we describe autonomous driving, there are six levels of driving automation.

Level 0: No automation Level 1: Assisted driving automation

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So how do we put all this into practice? Here are just a few questions and action items for strategic account managers and program designers to ask and do: 1. What problem can AI solve for our customers, organization, or SAMs? 2. Is AI the appropriate solution for the situation?

3. What’s out there? a.

W hat AI innovations are your organization and the customer already using? b. W hat innovations should you be having strategic discussions about?

4. A lign the SAM strategy with your organization’s AI roadmap.

5. Get your SAMs ready for AI so they can have the strategic business discussions internally and with the customer.

6. Is senior leadership ready?

A SAM cannot spend their time updating themselves on every single new application, startup, or AI technology. What we can and should do is to understand the promise and reality of AI and know enough to work with customers and internal teams to deliver a unique competitive advantage with AI. Knowing enough includes systematically considering how to apply AI. Additionally, consider using an implementation barometer to assess the possibility, practicality, and risk/ reward.

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Conclusion So, what’s the future of AI? Well, that’s beyond the scope of this article, but when it applies to SAMs it’s all about pragmatism. It means that we need to develop a real, profound understanding of what AI can and can’t do — and exactly how AI, carefully used, can augment the role of the SAM. AI is not something to fear — but it should be treated with respect. We’re at a technological inflection point where the winners will be the ones who understand how to get real benefit out of these new tools.

1. Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2023, March 23). Should you share AI-driven customer insights with your customers? Harvard Business Review.

2. Amar, J., Rahimi, S., Surak, Z., & Von Bismarck, N. (2022, February 15). AI-driven operations forecasting in data-light environments. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/ai-driven-operations-forecasting-indata-light-environments 3. Parker, W., & Putzier, K. (2021, November 17). What went wrong with Zillow? A real-estate algorithm derailed its big bet. The Wall Street Journal.

All new revolutionary technologies offer the same choice — adopt or ignore — and AI is nothing new. In this case, the choice seems pretty simple. But what we get out of this new technology is really going to depend on how well we think through the balance of possibilities and practicalities, constantly reviewing progress and effectiveness of our AI adoption specifically for strategic account management. n

Robert Box is a Managing Partner and Global Account Director at Mercuri International. He has presented at the SAMA Annual Conference multiple times and as a CSAM lector. Since 2000 Robert has developed SAM programs globally and has been leading Mercuri’s Artificial Intelligence partnership since 2019. For more info on Mercuri International, visit www.mercuri.net/SAMA.

Save the Date!

2024 SAMA Annual Conference May 20-22, 2024 Fontainebleau© Miami Beach Miami, Florida For more information, visit https://strategicaccounts.org/en/events.

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Fuel your Account Planning with MoneyMap Inform your account planning strategy with sales play ideas from MoneyMap. Maximize the impact of your key account management efforts. With MoneyMap, see suggestions of winning sales plays to run at each key account to maximize your share of wallet at the account and product level.

Learn how MoneyMap data powers account planning success

THE STATE OF MENTAL HEALTH IN SALES As salespeople continue to struggle with their mental health, learn what support structures your organization can implement to foster a mental health-oriented culture

The sales department is the heart of any

and ability to achieve sales targets. It also

By Jeff Riseley

company. Without it, products don’t get sold,

illustrates the specific support structures that

Founder Sales Health Alliance

and business grinds to a halt. No amount of

leaders and organizations can implement to

marketing, HR, or personnel selection can

foster a mental health-oriented culture.

replace a robust and effective sales team.

Despite the importance of sales to a company, research shows that sales team members are among the most stressed and unsatisfied corporate workers.

The biggest takeaways from this report are: 1. The mental health of salespeople continues to get worse with more than 3 in 5 sellers (63%) now struggling with their mental health, an increase of 5% from last year.

In the second annual industry report, we’ll introduce the latest sales mental health research and illustrate how its implications affect your company’s bottom line. This report will also present findings from our survey of 703 respondents. Their responses provide first-hand insights into the most critical determinants of mental health in a successful sales workplace in 2022. And yes, they’ve changed.

We collected this data over four weeks between May and June 2022.

2. We identified 13 factors sales leaders can use to improve in this area. Factors such as clear career pathing, boundary setting, and embracing more vulnerability within sales are strongly correlated with better mental health and sales performance.

3.

A ll leaders and sellers need significant upskilling in the areas of prioritizing mental health, resilience, stress management, and mindset training to achieve optimal performance.

The data shows a correlation (not neces-

4.

S ales leaders require consistent well-

sarily causation) between one’s mental health

being data on their sales team to manage

FIGURE 1. MENTAL HEALTH SPECTRUM

THRIVING

HIGH PERFORMANCE

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COPING

STRUGGLING

MEDIUM PERFORMANCE

UNWELL

LOW PERFORMANCE

Ve l o c i t y ®

47

performance effectively. Traditional sales KPIs catch symptoms of burnout and declining mental health too late.

We are thrilled to share this message for the second consecutive year and look forward to continually updating the data regularly.

Mental health = mental performance = sales performance

What’s changed

It is crucial to recognize the difference between mental

In May 2021, the global pandemic was still ravaging the

health and mental illness. Just like physical health and physical

mental health of sales teams everywhere. Most sellers and

illness, they are related, but not the same thing. An organiza-

leaders agreed that this was the most difficult experience in

tion that focuses on mental health isn’t only aware of mental

their lifetime. That’s why it wasn’t surprising to find that 58%

illness. Instead, it implements a strong company culture and

of salespeople were struggling with their mental health in our

system that supports healthy living and provides resources to

report last year.

help people who encounter mental illness.

What’s surprising, however, is that a year later and after

Our ongoing goal in publishing this annual report is to

returning to a semi-normal state, mental health in sales has

share insights, break down stigma, and drive positive change

continued to get worse. Our survey data from May 2022 now

surrounding mental health. We want to help people acknowl-

finds 63% of salespeople are struggling with their mental

edge that their mental health matters and provide guidance

health, which is a 5% increase from the report in 2021.

to organizational leaders who can help their company remove the mental health stigma by creating an inclusive, supportive workplace.

Which sales roles struggle the most?

As we dove deeper into the data, we found that those working

Our data shows that leaders who prioritize vulnerability and

as sales development representatives (SDRs), business devel-

open conversation form effective connections and create higher

opment representatives (BDRs), account executives, account

engagement. As a result, their teams can experience better

managers, and sales leaders were struggling the most. In fact,

mental health and increased productivity, which drives sales

there was a significant increase in those struggling with their

goal attainment.

mental health in sales leadership/executive roles from 42% in

FIGURE 2. 2021 VS. 2022 COMPARISON OF MENTAL HEALTH In 2021, almost 3 in 5 (58%) struggled with their mental health

In 2022, over 3 in 5 (63%) struggled with their mental health

2% 11%

9%

22%

25%

29%

26%

36%

Poor

48

Ve l o c i t y ®

2%

Fair

38%

Good

Very Good

Excellent

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Issue 2 2023

2021 to 60% in 2022. This could be from several factors like pressure to hit inflated growth targets, difficult decisions to out from the pandemic.

How much does mental health affect sales performance?

80%

Similar to 2021, we continued to see an extremely strong correlation between mental health and sales performance.

38%

60%

39%

77% rated their sales performance as very good or excel-

40%

33%

Among salespeople who rated their mental health the best,

30%

40%

lent. Among sellers with the worst mental health, only 29% described their performance as very good or excellent.

Therefore, sellers who rated their mental health the best were

30%

20%

27%

26%

over 2.5 times more likely to rate their sales performance the best it possibly could be.

20%

16% 0% SDRs/ BDRs

Why have things gotten worse?

Account Executive

Societally, if things have improved with the pandemic, then

Account Manager Poor

why has the mental health of sellers worsened? In countless

Sales Manager

Sales Leader/ Executive

Fair

conversations with sales leaders during the pandemic, one sentiment was shared by sales leaders over and over again: “If I’m feeling it, then I know my team is feeling it.”

As a result, leaders challenged traditional management

FIGURE HOW MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES styles, leaned into 3. what their teams needed, and invested into

FIGURE 4. HOW MENTAL HEALTH IMPACTS SALES PERFORMANCE

CHANGE BETWEEN ROLES

strategies that put their people first. As we return to normal, the80% pandemic are now being neglected by leaders who are experiencing burnout and reverting back to old habits.

The pandemic opened the eyes of many to “what’s impor60% 38% 39%are holding the line and expecting tant in life.” Now sellers 40%

33%

better integration between work and their life outside of it.

The leaders and sales organizations that acknowledge this 30% 40% change, became curious, and lean into aligning with their employees will be most successful going forward.

20%

30%

27%

What can sales leaders do?

26% 16%

20%

On 0% the next page are 13 core needs which thousands of research papers have proven humans need to feel their best SDRs/ Account Account Sales Sales Leader/ and thrive in stressful environments.

Across all of these needs, BDRs Executive Manager Manager Executive a greater proportion of salespeople in 2022 now disagree that Poor Fair these needs are being met compared with 2021.

This is likely

Rated Sales Performance as Very Good or Excellent

our belief is core needs of sellers that were prioritized during 80%

33% 60%

16%

40%

11% 20%

10%

44% 36%

29%

19% 0% Poor

Fair

Very Good

Good

Very Good/ Excellent

Excellent

contributing to why more salespeople are struggling with their mental health this year.

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Ve l o c i t y ®

49

Rated Sales Performance as Very Good or Excellent

FIGURE 3. HOW MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES CHANGE BETWEEN ROLES

lay off team members during a recession, and lingering burn-

It could also be a sign that leaders are experiencing burnout, have less compassion to support their team with investment into mental health initiatives, and are reverting back to prepandemic management habits that put profits over people.

If your organization values sustainable high performance, these basic human needs should be prioritized. Failure to do so is strongly correlated with worse mental health and lower sales performance.

How important are these 13 factors?

The more sellers feel like a core need (e.g., vulnerability, boundaries, career pathing, etc.) is being met, the better they rate their mental health and sales performance.

The top five core needs not currently being met in 2022 are: 1. Vulnerability

sales, but what if the opposite is actually true? A growing body of research continues to prove that psychological safety is one of the greatest predictors of high performance within teams.

When salespeople can express themselves without experiencing fear or shame, they are better equipped to deal with failure and feel more confident approaching challenging goals.

For example, among salespeople who strongly agreed that they could be open and vulnerable with how they were feeling at work, 75% rated their mental health as good or better.

Among sellers who strongly disagreed that they could be open and vulnerable while at work, only 16% rated their mental health as good or better.

What this means is sellers who feel like they can be open and vulnerable with how they’re feeling at work are almost five times more likely to rate their mental health as good or better compared with those who feel stigma about opening up.

More vulnerability was also correlated with better sales performance. This was seen with improvements in the quality of sales performance and a greater proportion of sellers rating their sales performance as excellent or very good (73%) when they could be open and vulnerable with how they were feeling at work.

2. Boundaries 3. Career Pathing 4. Achieving Targets 5. Meaningful Work Here, we look at these five core needs, plus the crucial role of time off from work in ensuring sellers’ mental health, and offer recommendations to address each of them.

1. Vulnerability is a sign of strength, not weakness Vulnerability is often portrayed as a sign of weakness within

The main takeaway here is vulnerability within sales is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. Fostering an environment in which sellers can authentically express themselves is critical to being able to navigate difficult emotions that arise within sales and mitigate the impact these emotions can have on daily performance.

13 CORE NEEDS OF SELLERS THAT SALES LEADERS NEED TO FOCUS ON Percentage of salespeople who disagreed this need is being met

50

Percentage increased or decreased from 2021

Felt like you could be open and vulnerable with how you were feeling at work

44%

+5%

Felt like you had strong boundaries with work

42%

+6%

Felt like you had clarity and direction in your career path

42%

+3%

Felt like your sales targets and metrics were achievable

41%

+5%

Felt like you were making a difference in the world

38%

+5%

Felt confident in the direction and vision of your company

35%

+6%

Felt like you had job security and your role was safe

32%

+3%

Felt recognized and valued by your company

31%

+1%

Felt supported by your leader and managers

27%

0%

Felt financially secure in your job

26%

0%

Felt connected to peers and teammates

24%

-6%

Felt like you had autonomy and free will in your role

20%

-1%

Felt like you had the skills and strengths to do your job well

10%

-1%

Ve l o c i t y ®

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Recommendations & examples 1. LEAD WITH VULNERABILITY Leaders must lead with vulnerability and be vulnerable first. No one wants to have a vulnerable conversation with a judgmental perfectionist. Share your story(ies) of hardship.

2. V ULNERABLE CONVERSATIONS Learn how to have vulnerable conversations with sales reps.

3. EVERYONE HAS BAD DAYS

achieved when sellers can add stress and offload stress in equal parts each day. Enforcing strong boundaries makes this possible.

Recommendations & examples 1. SIGNS OF BURNOUT Educate your team on the signs of burnout.

2. C REATE BOUNDARIES

We’re all human and have bad days. If you’re feeling over-

Share how you create boundaries with work and activities

whelmed, then tell your team. For example, if you’re a new

that help you recharge.

parent and your newborn kept you up last night, let your

3. CREATE ROUTINES

team know you aren’t at your best today. The more vulnerable you are, the more you show your team you believe in creating a safe place for everyone.

4. C ONSISTENCY BUILDS TRUST Trust and safety are built when consistent actions are taken over time, not by simply telling your team to be more vulnerable.

5. I DENTIFY YOUR BLIND SPOTS All leaders have blind spots that can impact trust and vulnerability within their teams. Regularly ask your team how supported they feel from a mental health standpoint. Asking them to submit feedback anonymously through a Google Form can help reps feel safe providing honest feedback.

Teach your team how to bookend their day with a self-care startup routine and shutdown routine.

4. S HORTEN MEETING DURATIONS Change 30-minute meetings to 20 or 25 minutes and change one-hour meetings to 45 or 50 minutes so your team has a chance to reset before their next call.

5. C LEAR EXPECTATIONS Set clear expectations of when team members need to be available, and promote email/chat blackout periods after hours and on weekends.

6. CALENDAR BLOCKING Teach your team how to block their calendar for some breaks during the day.

2. It’s about boundaries, not work-life balance

7. N O AFTER-HOURS COMMUNICATION

We all know boundaries are important, but many leaders

Do not send emails or chat notifications after hours, EVER.

and sellers neglect them on a daily basis. Doing so has a direct

If you must send a message after hours, schedule it. This can

impact on mental health and sales performance.

be done in email and chat software.

Among salespeople who strongly agreed that they had strong boundaries with work, 75% rated their mental health as good or better. Among those who strongly disagreed this need was

3. Clear career pathing provides direction & focus When building a culture of accountability, discussing career

being met, only 16% rated their mental health as good or better.

paths is a no-brainer, as it sets clear expectations for leaders

Therefore, those who feel like they have strong boundar-

and sellers. If people know where they want to go, it can

ies with work are almost five times more likely to rate their

make it easier for them to feel good about themselves and self-

mental health as good or better compared with those who have

motivate on days when they’re struggling.

trouble creating space.

Among salespeople who strongly agreed that they had direc-

Better boundaries also correlated with better sales perfor-

tion and clarity in their career path, 81% rated their mental

mance. This was once again seen with improvements in the

health as good or better. This was seven times higher than

quality of sales performance, with a greater proportion of

those who felt like they had very little direction in their career.

sellers rating their sales performance as excellent or very good

Clear visibility into a path forward was also correlated with

(62%) when they had strong boundaries with work.

Ultimately, better mental health and performance are

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better sales performance. When sellers strongly agreed they had direction in their career, 75% rated sales performance as

Ve l o c i t y ®

51

5. DELEGATE Delegate small projects appropriately. If a seller wants to be in management, give them a new hire to mentor and/or the opportunity to lead aspects of team training.

6. PRAISE Praise your team members to other executives and leadership.

4. The importance of setting achievable sales targets The main purpose of a sales target is to provide a seller with a challenging, yet achievable goal to work toward each month or quarter. Like any goal in life, when these targets feel unachievable, we’re more likely to lose hope and feel defeated.

This was captured in the data, which showed that among salespeople who strongly agreed their sales targets were very good or excellent. This was 38% higher than those who felt unclear about how to move forward in their career.

In the famous words of football coach Lou Holtz, “In this world you’re either growing or you’re dying, so get in motion and grow.” Sellers need that next career milestone clear and visible, so they have something to grow toward.

Recommendations & examples 1. CAREER GROWTH DURING INTERVIEWS Include career growth as part of the interview process and ask candidates about their career goals.

2. C AREER GROWTH IN 1:1s Include career growth conversations in your 1:1s. Have this

achievable, 69% rated their mental health as good, very good, or excellent. When sales targets felt out of reach, this number was much lower and only 19% rated their mental health as good or better.

Achievable targets also correlated strongly with better sales performance. When sales targets felt achievable, the quality of sales performance improved and 90% of sellers rated their sales performance as very good or excellent. This is significantly higher than among the group of sellers who strongly disagreed their sales targets were achievable, in which only 31% rated their sales performance as very good or better.

Sales is a marathon and not a sprint. High performance is only achieved when leaders set targets that reps feel are within reach and therefore are motivated to work toward.

discussion monthly. Assign sellers “homework” of reading a book or taking an online course that addresses one of their

Recommendations & examples

weaknesses. Have them present this information to the team.

1. REGULARLY CHECK IN

3. CLEAR GUIDELINES Provide clear guidelines on what sellers need to do to advance to the next level and stick to them. Meritocracies keep career paths clear, while company politics make everything less clear and everyone unhappy.

4. DROP OLD-SCHOOL ATTITUDE Drop your old-school attitude. Career advancements happen at an accelerated rate today, so swap your perspective of “entitlement” with “career-driven” individuals. If they don’t see a clear path forward with you, they’ll find it elsewhere — and fast.

52

Ve l o c i t y ®

Regularly check in on how reps are perceiving the “achievability” of their targets.

2. START WITH A MENTAL HEALTH CHECK-IN Any goal feels less achievable when we’re tired, stressed, or experiencing burnout. If a seller feels like their sales target is unattainable, start with a mental health check-in first.

3. REASONABLE ACTIVITY LEVEL Determine if it is humanly possible for sellers to hit their target. Calculate this by using conversion rates and average deal size metrics to determine the top-of-funnel activity required to achieve the target. Is this level of activity reasonable?

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Issue 2 2023

4. DAILY & WEEKLY METRICS Create meaningful daily and weekly metrics using the math from step three that provide a clear plan for sellers to follow each day.

5. HELP INCREASE ACTIVITY Coach reps on how to increase deal size, improve conversion rates, or invest in technology that helps increase activity throughout the sales process.

6. QUOTA RELIEF Provide quota relief for reps on vacation so they don’t feel punished for taking time off to decompress.

5. Meaningful work matters in sales When was the last time you pushed through adversity to reach a goal you didn’t care about? If you did, we bet it was not much fun. When sellers are emotionally connected to their work and feel like they’re making a meaningful difference in the lives of others, their mental performance improves.

From a mental health aspect, among salespeople who strongly agreed they felt like they were making a difference in the world, 67% rated their mental health as good, very good, or excellent. When salespeople felt their work was having little impact on the world, only 8% rated their mental health as good or better.

3. REGULARLY REVISIT CASE STUDIES Regularly revisit customer case studies that highlight the impact of products being sold.

4. CONNECT SALES METRICS & CLOSED DEALS Regularly connect sales metrics and closed deals to the impact these actions are having on the growth of individual sellers and the company.

5. FOCUS ON HOW TO IMPROVE, NOT OUTCOMES

Meaningful work also correlated with an improvement

Put less emphasis on the outcomes and more focus on how

in the quality of sales performance. When salespeople felt

salespeople are improving through learning new skills and

strongly that they were making a difference in the world, 74%

developing their craft.

rated their sales performance as very good or excellent. This

6. SERVANT MINDSET

was roughly 2.5 times (+40%) higher than those who felt most disconnected from their work.

Far too often sales leaders and organizations over rely on sales performance incentive funds (SPIFs) and incentives that lead to inconsistent performance, when in fact a simple conversation that helps deepen a seller’s connection with work is what’s required for sustainable growth.

Recommendations & examples

Help sellers adopt a servant mindset in which they put their clients’ needs and challenges ahead of their desire to make commission.

7. OFFERING SALES SABBATICALS Consider building optional paid sabbaticals — offered to sellers every 3-5 years — into your employee experience.

Extended periods of time off help individuals refocus on their purpose and hold leaders accountable for creating environments that sellers want to return to.

1. CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE WHY Ensure all sellers have a clear understanding of WHY the products they sell are changing the lives of buyers and making a difference in the world.

2. ALLOW PAID TIME OFF

Stigma around requesting time off and vacations In a world with companies touting perks like unlimited paid time off (PTO), it can still feel impossible for sellers to use this time and take vacation. There is stigma surrounding taking

Allow your team to take paid time off to volunteer for causes

time off to manage burnout because sellers and leaders feel sales

that are important to them.

performance will suffer. But what if the opposite were true?

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Ve l o c i t y ®

53

Among salespeople who strongly disagreed that they would be viewed negatively for taking time off to manage burnout, 71% rated their mental health as good or better. When salespeople

strongly

take two weeks of vacation per year.

2. ENCOURAGE MENTAL HEALTH DAYS Encourage sellers to take mental health days when needed.

3. BOOK VACATION IN ADVANCE Ask sellers to book their next vacation before leaving on their current vacation so they have recovery periods booked in advance, so you as their leader can plan accordingly.

4. ACKNOWLEDGE EBBS AND FLOWS

agreed they would be

Acknowledge the ebbs and flows of your business. If the

viewed negatively for

Christmas season is typically slow, provide additional time

taking time off (strong

off or consider company-wide “summer vacations” that

stigma), only 16% rated

align with slow periods, so employees are well rested for

their mental health as good or better. If stigma exists and people feel guilty or ashamed for taking time off, then it’s not surprising to see that burnout will be exacerbated.

The presence of stigma doesn’t only chip away at a seller’s mental health, but their performance suffers as well.

Within teams with the least amount of stigma, 21% more salespeople rated their sales performance as very good or excellent. This is a major finding for any sales leader who desires peak performance from their sales team. Unless reps feel com-

busier seasons.

5. PROVIDE QUOTA RELIEF Provide quota relief (mentioned earlier) and set the expectation that sellers do not need to respond to email and chat messages while on vacation.

6. SHARE VACATION HIGHLIGHTS Have leaders and team members share one favorite vacation story from their return. This shows everyone that vacations are important.

fortable taking time off to manage burnout, it will be extremely difficult for salespeople to perform consistently over time.

Enter the importance of vacations.

Vacation time continues to play an important role in helping salespeople manage their burnout and mental health. The data showed that the more vacation a salesperson had taken, the better their overall mental health.

Among salespeople who had taken zero vacation over a sixmonth period, only 22% rated their mental health as good or better. When salespeople take one or more weeks of vacation during a six-month period, the rate of those describing their mental health as good or better doubles to 45% and above.

How does remote working affect mental health?

The pandemic changed the way in which sales teams operate. As leaders grappled with what environment works best for optimal sales performance, tough questions arose: Does fully remote working work? And if not, should sales teams move toward a hybrid model or return to the office full-time? Keep in mind the data below is self-reported data and shows correlations, not causations.

The survey data showed that salespeople who were working in hybrid environments were the ones who rated their mental health the highest. Among salespeople who were working from

It’s important to note for sales leaders that more vacation

home most of the time, with some days in office, 45% described

time had very little effect on how salespeople rated their sales

their mental health as good or better. Fully remote employees

performance. In fact, it was the salespeople who had taken

were not far behind with 37% of salespeople rating their mental

the most time off (more than two weeks) who rated their sales

health as good or better. The biggest discrepancy was in the

performance the best overall (52% described their sales perfor-

group of sellers who were back in the office full-time. Only

mance as very good or excellent).

22% of these salespeople rated their mental health as good or better, with none describing their mental health as excellent.

Recommendations & examples 1. MANDATORY TIME OFF POLICIES Add a mandatory vacation/time off component to unlimited PTO policies. For example, make it mandatory for sellers to

54

Ve l o c i t y ®

What was interesting, however, was that the salespeople who were back in the office full-time were the ones who rated their sales performance the highest. Among this group, 59% of sellers rated their sales performance as very good or excellent,

Vol. 25

Issue 2 2023

which was roughly 15% higher than for salespeople working in remote or hybrid environments.

It’s important to note that leaders should not use this data point to rush salespeople back into the office.

Society has spent the last century or more learning how to optimize performance within an office environment. It’s only natural that salespeople and leaders would know how to perform well in a familiar setting.

Many of us are only three years into this global experiment of learning how to work partially or entirely from home. Change and adaptation takes time. As employees learn to adapt to this new envi-

ELEVATE YOUR STRATEGIC MANAGERS FROM GOOD TO GREAT.

ronment and new technology is created to resolve remote working challenges, we expect performance to steadily improve given the mental health benefits working from home provides.

Imagine where we’ll be 100 years from now after learning how to integrate our work and home environments more effectively.

Conclusion Mentally well and engaged sales teams can make or break a company. No other department has a more direct influence on your business’s bottom line.

Simultaneously, no other team feels the same level of pressure to perform. This has a high emotional toll on the individual. Protecting and supporting your company’s best assets is critical to growing your business

Use SAMA’s Individual Competency Assessment to: •U nderstand your SAMs’ current strengths and weaknesses •D iscover how your account managers compare to each other and/or to competitors •F ind SAMA resources and training tied to specific SAMA’s Best-in-Class SAM Competency Model® skills in need of improvement •F acilitate meaningful coaching • Strategic Thinking • Financial/Business Acumen • Value Analysis & Opportunity Insight

and outperforming the competition.

The good news is that more and more organizations are investing in mental health initiatives. The bad

2

exists. As a result, research shows that employees We’ve conducted this research to demonstrate the value of supporting mental health in sales. It is not just at the financial level, but also at the human level.

You can have it both ways — but you must be willing to face your discomfort. So, what are you going to do about the mental health of your sales team? n Adapted from the 2022 Mental Health in Sales report, published by Sales Health Alliance, The Harris Consulting Group, and UNCrushed. Jeff Riseley is the Founder of the Sales Health Alliance, author of the book “Stress Less, Sell More,” and a mental health advocate. Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/jeffriseley.

Vol. 25

Issue 2 2023

• Communication & Influence Skills • Value Co-Creation • Negotiation Skills

Strategic Account & Opportunity Planning

news is that the stigma around mental health in sales don’t use these initiatives or see the value in them.

3

Joint Solution Development, Co-Creation & Reaching Agreement

• Customer Orientation • Company Knowledge • Industry Knowledge • Customer Knowledge

Strategic Account Manager Competencies & Skills

4 Multifunctional Account Team Leadership

1 Understanding Organizational Priorities

5

• Interpersonal Relationship Skills • Team Leadership • Cultural Knowledge & Sensitivity

• Responsible for the Overall Relationship Corporate Customer and Outcome Relationship Management • Process Discipline • Accountability for Business Outcomes

SAMA’s SAM Competency Model

Want more information?

Ve l o c i t y ® Contact assessments@strategicaccounts.org.

55

The High-Performing SAM Series

THE STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGER AS VALUE CREATOR Developing approaches to create and deliver customer value

By Javier Marcos, PhD Professor of Strategic Sales Management and Negotiation Cranfield School of Management (UK) Director Key Account Management Forum

Strategic accounts always ask for more from

idiosyncratic needs and specifications, and the

their suppliers, often in the form of added and

extent to which you tailor your products and

distinctive value. Strategic account manag-

services to your customer’s unique require-

ers (SAMs) are crucial in building long-term

ments creates value that is more relevant and

relationships with key customers and in cre-

impactful. If you are in a commodity business,

ating value for them.

characterized by a single delivery channel,

In previous articles on high-performing SAMs, I outlined how SAMs develop account

The third premise is that your organization

SAMs can adopt to create and deliver custom-

values both what and how you sell. If your sole

er value in ways that foster loyalty, advocacy,

KPI is sales revenue, and it is focused on the

and profitability.

short term (e.g., quarterly sales quota), then

article are based on several premises I want to share with you up front. First, a key assumption is that multilevel relationships are established. Strategic account managers are the

establishing trust, enhancing your customers’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, and helping the customer “get their job done” will likely become secondary priorities in your agenda.

architects of building strong relationships

So, assuming that you interact with multiple

with various functions of their customers

stakeholders in your customer organization,

in ways that enable regular communication,

that your product/service solution and cus-

understanding their business challenges and needs and often their personal interests and constraints. So, if your customers are willing to do business with you exclusively via requests for proposals (RFPs) or online auctions, these value creation principles do not apply.

The second premise is that you, as the SAM, have some leeway in personalizing the

Issue 2 2023

the product or service.

strategy. In this feature, I describe approaches

The approaches that I will outline in this

Vol. 25

then little can be done to create value beyond

tomer engagement processes can be tailored to address meaningful customer interests, and that you and your business care about multiple dimensions of customer success, the remainder of this article aims to address the crucial question: How can strategic account managers co-create value for their key customers?

Surfacing hidden needs

solutions you sell to your strategic customers

Customers place significant value in your

and how you sell them. Each customer has

ability to help identify unrecognized needs.

Ve l o c i t y ®

57

For quite some time, the innovation management field has analyzed hidden needs that are hard to identify or that customers cannot easily articulate. Keith Goffin, an emeritus professor of innovation management at Cranfield School of Management in the UK, argues that traditional market research methods such as focus groups and surveys cannot identify hidden needs. Thus, businesses have to adopt newer, non-traditional research techniques.

Neil Rackham’s influential book “SPIN Selling” demonstrated

Goffin and his colleagues advocate for methods such as

how real benefits are perceived by customers when sellers help

observation, contextual interviewing, and ethnographic mar-

them convert latent needs into explicit ones through structured

ket research.² They have also pioneered the repertory grid, a

questioning of their customers’ situation, problems, implica-

technique to identify customer attributes based on the personal

tions, and need-payoffs.

construct theory, a well-established method in psychology to

Strategic accounts often take for granted that their SAMs

understand people’s preferences. All these methods have the

will identify their needs through the analysis of their business

potential to provide novel perspectives. Although they may be

and that they will identify their needs and pain points. By

time-consuming and the data needs systematic coding, these

understanding the customer’s challenges, suppliers can better

techniques address the fundamental issue that respondents

tailor their products and services to meet customers’ specific

are often unable to identify their needs, may not be able to

requirements. The problem is that just meeting requirements

articulate their thoughts and views, or may be unaware of their

is not enough in today’s competitive business environment.

problems and interests.

To deliver the solutions that customers document and specify is necessary but not sufficient. Thus, SAMs need to find new ways to surface hidden customer needs.

One approach to address hidden needs is the perspective of the customer’s “jobs to be done,” a theory developed by the late Clayton Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School.

This concept asserts that customers “hire” products and services to get “jobs” done rather than purchasing them based on their attributes and buying behaviors. A “job to be done” is a problem or opportunity somebody is trying to solve.

In order to identify these jobs, account managers need to spend time with their customers, and live and breathe their contexts and situations, as Christensen eloquently describes in the example of Milkshakes – Understanding the Job.¹ In that instance, he explains how his research team spent 18 hours in

Key customers demand a superior experience from their suppliers. SAMs orchestrate multiple relationships to enable a positive total experience. So with multiple interactions and experiences (e.g., specifying, procuring, using, and disposing of the product), how can you trace and measure the experience?

Traditional methods do not address this multiplicity of touch points, so you and your organization need to consider other more nuanced approaches.

For instance, some leading companies like Ford and Kimberly-Clark use empathic design to tease out the most wanted features of items such as cars and disposable diapers. Unilever and Whirlpool embed ethnographic research to develop soaps and baths & showers, respectively, that better respond to their users’ unstated interests. Other firms, such

a fast-food restaurant to gain insights about when, how, and

as 3M and Hilti, regularly employ lead-user research methods

with whom consumers “hired” milkshakes. This ethnographic

to develop innovative medical devices and industrial tools.

approach, that is, the systematic study of individuals in their

Finally, Bosch and Hewlett-Packard have adopted novel ways

culture and context, provides nontrivial insights about needs

of using the repertory grid technique to inform the design of

and motives of which even consumers may not be aware.

production lines and medical equipment.

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Identifying sources of value for the account

Designing the end-to-end co-creation process

In the same way that strategic customers establish multiple

I see co-creation as an encompassing process that includes

contacts with their suppliers, there are multiple ways in which

nuanced practices with one thing in common: the account

value can be created.

puts into the process a similar amount of effort and resources

Eric Almquist and his colleagues revealed in a thoughtprovoking study³ that there is a full range of rational and emotional factors that business customers consider when buying from suppliers. SAMs can use these factors to tailor their value propositions and differentiate themselves and their companies. These sources of value can be clustered into five dimensions:

ranties, and service levels that the customer expects.

• Functional: Elements of your offering that address the client’s need to optimize cost reduction and achieve higher levels of scalability. of

A study I conducted with some colleagues⁴ revealed that co-creation often starts from co-diagnosis, the collection and organization of information for collaborative use. This can be articulated in a customer forum, where the strategic account manager engages key customers in problem formulation. For instance, Interfood, a leading manufacturer of high-quality dairy ingredients for industrial applications, would involve

• Table stakes: Typically objective criteria such as price, war-

• E ase

than the supplier (if not more).

doing

business:

These are traditional customer productivity concerns, often materialized as demands for time savings, reduced effort, or improvements in operational performance.

Danone in high-level discussions to find ways to better address the nutritional concerns of their consumers. This would then lead, often using design thinking methods, to the co-ideation or generation of ideas, and a more granular definition of the nature of the problem to address.

Typically,

a

well-defined

purpose leads to a phase of codesign, in other words, developing concepts and knowledge that help the customer succeed. For instance, another leading food manufacturer, Unilever Food Solutions — known by the slo-

• I ndividual value: Elements

gan “Created by Chefs for Chefs”

in this dimension typically

— co-designs with customers a

address the individual priori-

comprehensive set of menus that

ties your customers have, whether they are personal (peace of mind, design, and aesthetics) or career-related (knowledge, innovation, and social capital).

• Inspirational value: The final source of value refers to elements that address the customer’s hopes, deep motivations, and vision of the future. These factors help companies anticipate changes in their markets or enable them to enhance their ESG aspirations.

Is it enough for the strategic account manager to be able to identify the sources of value for customers? Not quite.

are nutritious and healthy, but also profitable.

Other approaches that help co-create customer value relate to co-testing, that is, prototyping and improving the offering, and co-evaluation, commenting and generating insights for further improvement of value propositions. For example, software company SAP co-creates knowledge and new solutions not only by involving customers, but also by deliberately bringing together several different partners from their ecosystems such as universities or governmental groups. This results in a co-creative process with a pronounced emphasis on connecting stakeholders with complementary capabilities.

Customers need to perceive those elements of value themselves, which often happens as a result of engaging in a structured process of co-creation. The SAM becomes instrumental in facilitating the space and the process to help key people in the strategic account become aware and address value drivers across the five dimensions outlined above.

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Articulating and measuring the value created Most companies know the features of their offerings and develop a detailed understanding of their customers’ challenges. However, fewer than 5% make it truly meaningful for their customers, according to the analysis of 55 sales

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Once value is created, the ensuing processes involve performance evaluation, specifying the value impact for the customer’s performance, followed by long-term value realization. This requires verifying and documenting the realized customer value.

What I have described demonstrates approaches SAMs can adopt to create and deliver customer value in ways that foster customer loyalty and profitability. In concluding this article, I would like to share an insight that a colleague, Jesus Gomez, a former sales director for Mondelez pitches from 29 different companies in Europe by Business

International, offered when I asked him⁶ how he identifies

Acceleration, a Dutch consulting practice.

ways of adding value to his key customers. He replied, “Before

The SAM needs to translate value co-creation practices into concrete evidence of value using examples such as: • Top-line growth value indicators (sales/quarter, market penetration, budget growth, consumer satisfaction).

• Bottom-line value indexes (reduced break rates, reduced employment costs, reduced energy costs).

• Business reputation and continuity measures, such as those intended to eliminate accidents and reduce rejects due to quality issues.

• Strategy value to achieve new market entry and diversify into a new product range.

Moreover, a convincing articulation of value and value propositions captures an improved future scenario for the strategic customer in compelling ways. It describes how unique combinations of products, services, and a particular relationship ethos will help the customer “get the job done.”

Thus, I argue that developing approaches to co-create value is a necessary but not sufficient skill for the SAM. It’s important to measure the results of your efforts to co-create value with your strategic customers. Joona Keränen, an associate professor at RMIT who specializes in shared value creation, developed a framework for assessing customer value in B2B markets that includes five processes.⁵ The first — value potential identification — comprises

talking about adding value, you have to cover something as basic as the agreed level of service. To keep and maintain key indicators for delivery and demand fulfilment is crucial.”

If strategic accounts always ask for more from their suppliers, particularly in the form of added and distinctive value, then SAMs need to incorporate into their work systematic approaches to identify and deliver value. The approaches described above can help make a difference. n

¹ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfGtw2C95Ms ² Szwejczewski, M., Goffin, K., & Baxter, D. (2011). Identifying customers’ hidden needs: An exploratory study. Cranfield School of Management. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://rb.gy/ n366k. ³ A lmquist, E., Cleghorn, J., & Sherer, L. (2018). The B2B elements of value. Harvard Business Review, 96(3), 18. ⁴ Marcos-Cuevas, J., Nätti, S., Palo, T., & Baumann, J. (2016). Value co-creation practices and capabilities: Sustained purposeful engagement across B2B systems. Industrial Marketing Management, 56, 97–107. ⁵ Keränen, J., & Jalkala, A. (2013). Towards a framework of custom­er value assessment in B2B markets: An exploratory study. Industrial Marketing Management, 42(8), 1307–1317. ⁶ Marcos, J., Davies, M., Guesalaga, R., & Holt, S. (2018). Implementing Key Account Management: Designing customer-centric processes for mutual growth. Kogan Page Publishers.

identifying the customer’s explicit needs, understanding the customer’s processes, and understanding the financial implications for the customer’s business. The second process includes conducting a baseline assessment, determining customers’ current performance, specifying mutual outcomes, and conducting trial runs.

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Javier Marcos, PhD, is Professor of Strategic Sales Management and Negotiation at Cranfield School of Management (UK) and the Director of the Key Account Management Forum. Javier can be contacted at www.linkedin.com/in/javier-marcos-phd-438395/.

Vol. 25

Issue 2 2023

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- Denise Juliano, Group VP of Life Sciences, Premier Inc.

THE EXTRAORDINARY SAM: BUILDING STRONGER CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH THE LENS OF DEI&B In conversation with Joe Machicote, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Premier, Inc. SAMA President & CEO Denise Freier spoke with Joe Machicote, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Premier, Inc., for SAMA’s podcast. As Machicote revealed his formula for being extraordinary, he shared key insights and advice that helped him find clarity in the face of tragedy — to harness his resiliency, motivate himself and others, and apply the lessons learned to all aspects of life, including diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B) initiatives. The following conversation took place in February 2023 and has been edited for length and clarity.

Premier Inc. is a healthcare improvement company that unites all alliances of US hospitals, health systems, providers, and other organizations. As Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Machicote partners with senior leaders and other stakeholders across Premier, enhancing and formalizing a culture of DEI&B within the company, as well as creating an expansive vision and strategic plan. He serves as the organizational leader in the company to drive the development, implementation, and integration of best practices, resources, and trends around DEI&B and cultural proficiency. He is also a personal leadership coach, an accomplished speaker, and an author.

Denise Freier: Let’s get right into it. Tell us

my personal life. I met my late wife in high

a little bit about your story. You’ve shared

school. We had an amazing relationship for

with me that you strive to be extraordinary.

years. We had two boys together. In 2007,

What does that mean?

she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syn-

Joe Machicote: I’ll start by saying that extraordinary is a journey. It’s not a destination. As we wake up each morning, there’s a reminder that we have to activate: How am I going to be experienced today?

Once we adopt this particular mindset, all of our behaviors action themselves through.

That became important to me because there was a time

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drome, which changed our lives.

She wound up losing about 60% of her mobility because it attacks the nervous system. She was in the hospital for about a year. I had a realization that life was going to change for all of us. I needed to be the best person I could possibly be for her. Both of us were in our 40s at the time. All of a sudden, I had a wife for whom I’d become a caregiver.

It was an instant wake-up call for the way I was “being experienced,” because I didn’t

in my life and my career when

handle the change well. I blamed her illness

I was truly unaware of my

on her, on our children, on the doctors, and

impact on others, not only

everyone. I was not performing as my best

in my professional life but in

self.

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That was the beginning of my journey. I got myself an executive coach. I started asking others, “How do you experience me on a regular basis?” Life started to get good. While we were in a new place, it was different. We had to experience each other very differently. Our whole relationship changed and became better. In 2010, things were getting into our new flow. We were accepting the change in our life, and she got diagnosed with cancer.

At that moment, I realized that my behavior started to go backward again. This time, I had a new tool, and I was able

does that means to you and how does it help you become passionate about the work you do?

JM: There’s no company in the world that writes their mission statement, vision, and values, that says, “We’re going to strive to be awful people.” Instead, we write these amazing things and we put them on the wall. In a lot of cases, there’s no way to hold people accountable for what that is. To me, cultural engineering is about making the organizational culture a critical and strategic piece of the business as accounting, marketing, or any of the other pieces.

to catch myself and say, “This is not acceptable.” Once the

There’s truth to that saying that “culture eats strategy for

doctors caught the cancer, they gave her about four months to

breakfast.” It doesn’t matter what your strategy is. If people

live. Our positivity and relationship expanded that to eighteen

don’t know how to wake up in the morning, interact, and play

months. She was with us for an additional eighteen months. It

well with each other, your strategy is all chewed up. It’s not

was some of the best times in our marriage.

driving what you want it to drive. We all know that when people

I wrote down, “How do I want to be experienced by my wife, my children, and others? How do I want to be experi-

have a positive mindset, positive things happen. When people have a negative mindset, that’s when things begin to explode.

enced at work?” That became my life plan, and that’s what I

Ninety percent of the time, it has something to do with the

called “being extraordinary.” It all goes back to something my

culture in which you are engaged. If the culture is such that

mother taught me when we were growing up. She said, “Leave

you don’t enjoy working there, there’s no way you can deliver

everything a little bit better than you found it.” I’m sure she

it. As a SAM, it’s important to not only love your product but

meant pushing the chair in when you leave the table and put-

love where your product is coming from. Love the mission and

ting the toilet seat down when you’re done. For me, I took it to

values behind why that product exists.

the next level, which is to wake up in the morning and change your mindset to leave everything and everyone a little bit better than you found it.

When we love and know our product, it’s so much easier to sell, instead of selling something that we don’t connect to.

Cultural engineering is about that. Raising the level of inten-

Even in a difficult conversation, my goal is to leave people

tionality around culture is a business driver. Let’s focus on it.

better than I found them. That became the beginning of what

Let’s be intentional about it, and let’s make a plan for it. That

I now teach about being extraordinary. For a quick way to

plan begins with each of us as an individual showing up because

think about it, imagine that there’s someone at work, where

we can’t control anything on this planet except ourselves.

you drive up into the parking lot and you see that person’s car.

You think to yourself, “They’re here today.” Or in the remote world, you’re looking at who’s going to be a participant in the meeting, and you see that name. We’ve all had that experience,

What if we had a population of people that understand that the mission, vision, and value start with each one of them?

It’s not for the company to own. The company did a great job of writing it on the wall. It’s up to each of us to own it and be

and we know that the experience is going to be less than stellar

intentional about the way we execute that mission, vision, and

with this individual.

strategy.

The challenge that I want you to think about is, what if

DF: I love the phrase “culture eats strategy for breakfast”

when I asked that question, that person was thinking of you?

because it’s true. I bet we’ve all had that experience. Do you

What if you are that person? Do you want to be the person

have a cultural model?

who, when I see your car or your name at a meeting, I think negative thoughts?

JM: I gave a little bit of it away in my last answer, but there are three realms of leadership and culture. It’s self, team, and

DF: Amazing and heartbreaking stories — my heart goes

culture. Start by leading yourself. Leading yourself leads to

out to you. And how brave it was for you to ask people how

leading the team. Leading the team leads to leading the culture.

they are experiencing you. I recall from previous conversa-

Not only does it start with yourself, but as you think about the

tions, you mentioned the term “cultural engineer.” What

second part of that — leading the team — how are you holding

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63

one another accountable for the way you’re showing up and

straight talk in such a way that you can deliver information,

the way that you’re being experienced?

but you can hear information, too. It’s two-way communica-

Human interaction is critical to the success of any organiza-

tion, a critical competency.

tion. The Super Bowl is one game. For us, it’s a couple of hours.

Another competency is believing in the mission of your

These teams have spent hours together. What’s the quality of

company and your product. Competency number four would

those relationships? What’s the quality of the communication

be integrity — doing what you say you’re going to do because

that they have to share or real-talk communication about what’s

that helps to build trust. If you have a pen and paper, you’ll

going right or wrong, not holding back, and being able to say,

want to jot this down because this is the formula that will save

“How do we show up as our best selves every single time?”

who you are and make you an incredible, extraordinary SAM.

These conversations are in practice. They’re in the locker room. What we get to see at the Super Bowl is the final output.

These two teams were so good that, every time one team had the ball, they were pretty much scoring. What won the game was finally who kicked the field goal first with the least

It’s to understand that respect plus trust equals influence, R + T = I. When people respect and trust you, you’ve earned the right to influence them. If any of those two pieces — respect or trust — are missing, good luck trying to influence them.

Having that competency is critical.

amount of time left on the clock because it was a tie. The tie-

Finally, the last competency is change capability — your

breaker was the field goal kick. That’s the way extraordinary

ability to change. Change is hard. Think about the last time you

high-performing teams work. It’s when you have a bunch

moved from one home to another. That wasn’t easy. It seemed

of individuals that are all committed to the same goal. They

like a good idea at the time, but it was painful in the middle

have those same conversations and communications, and they

of it. The great thing about change is you get to a better place

all drive towards the same outcome. It was a master class in

ultimately. We tend to forget that when we’re going through the

exactly what I’m talking about — extraordinary individual,

hard part of the change. As a SAM, you’re going to deal with

team, and culture work every single time.

change all the time. Having conversations with your customers

DF: There is nothing more true than strategic account management being a team sport. How can we help each other stay in that mindset? Are there competencies that make a SAM more apt to be extraordinary?

and teams is an exercise in change. Bringing your best self and team helps make that change go smoother.

DF: What role does DEI&B play in becoming an extraordinary SAM?

JM: Yes. It has to start with self-awareness. It’s having the

JM: There are many different mindsets and experiences that

courage to accept feedback. Another high-performing team

lead us to think differently about the definitions of diversity,

is the Blue Angels. In my research with that flight team, as

equity, inclusion, and belonging. Our society has so much

well as the Thunderbirds from the Air Force — they have a

focus on what those definitions are. We get into conversations

pre-flight mission brief, and they have a debrief when they get

about race and all of the isms — racism, sexism, and all of

back on the ground.

those things, on which we have such a negative spin and con-

In that debrief, they go into a room and all of their titles sit outside the door. They talk about what went right and wrong.

They give full information. Communication is key. When we communicate with people, we give them 90% of all the stuff they want to hear. Sometimes we hold back that last 10%, which is the hard stuff because we’re afraid we might offend somebody, or they may feel bad, or they may see you in a different light.

What if we create an environment where we’re able to say these things with safety and trust, where we all have a mindset that says, “The reason we’re getting this feedback is because we’re trying to make each other better.” The first competency is self-awareness. The second one is how we communicate.

How do you have real or straight-talk communications? It’s

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notation. No matter where you sit, you’ve got a very strong opinion of it. For me, that’s the content. When we look at the context of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, what it says is “How are we creating the most high-performing team we can possibly have that is equitable in an environment of inclusion that also makes you feel like you belong?”

That happens — not by having those conversations about racism, sexism, and everything else — but by having conversations about dignity and respect. Do you wake up every morning thinking, “How am I going to leave individuals better than I found them?” It shouldn’t matter what that individual’s background and everything else is.

We have to start with the contextual conversation of “Where

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I work, do we start with plain old dignity and respect? Do we

better. Sit down and be intentional. It is very similar to what I

speak to each other like we’re human beings?” I’m not saying

did when I realized my life had to change with my relationship

we shouldn’t have conversations about those other things,

with my wife and my family. Sit down and create a leadership

but those are secondary conversations. If you don’t have dig-

journal. We all have different sayings, quotes, and things that

nity and respect, those conversations are going to be hard and

we try to live by.

DEI&B programs will all fail.

What if you created a leadership journal where you write not

DF: How does somebody like a SAM or a SAM leader get

how you’ve lived your life, but how you want to live your life?

their organization involved? How do we move this forward to

Capture those pieces and write them down as your plan. I have

create that culture?

a journal. It has at least twenty different pieces in it for the way

JM: We have a tendency in our organizations to feel like,

that I live my life. When I share it with my mentees and the

somehow, it should start at the top because, as the leaders go,

people that I coach, they laugh a little bit. They’re like, “What

so goes the organization. We have to develop the courage to

does it mean?” The one that I love that seems to raise the most

have conversations around “Here’s the stuff that’s written on

eyebrows is “No one can take your birthday away.”

the wall. How are we living that? Is there truth in all of these values?” If there is, how have we intentionally worked to hold people accountable for living those values? High-performing teams start with a bunch of high-performing individuals that have each made the choice to be high performing.

No matter how bad things go on a particular day or what you’re doing, allow yourself the ability to be gentle with yourself, make mistakes, and learn from the mistakes. At the end of the day, nobody is going to take your birthday away because you made a mistake. Live to your highest potential and realize

Before looking at how everybody else is living the values, you

that sometimes you’re going to trip. It’s one of my favorites. I

have to question yourself first. As we bring that conversation

may mess up today, but I’m going to go home tonight. I’m going

forward, speak to your leaders and teammates. Try to fix your

to speak with my children, watch some Netflix, hold my wife’s

little area of the world. I’ll tell you a funny quote from the

hand, and move on because no one was able to take my birth-

greatest philosopher in my life and the world — my mom. She

day away. Take the time to write down what you’re committed

said to me, “If you want to get the whole neighborhood clean, you got to start by sweeping the front of your own house.” You have to set an example. Once you set the example, you can bring that to your first circle of influence, and then your second circle of influence — that’s the way these things begin to grow.

DF: The word that you used that is so important is “intentional.” Let’s all make appointments with our leaders and CEOs and discuss whether we are intentionally putting forth our values and executing individually. It’s great advice for all of us. Any last words of wisdom?

JM: You couldn’t have planned your last statement any

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to in order to be an extraordinary human being.

This is going to play into not only your work life with your team. This is also going to be reflected in your customer because you’re going to have some tough customers and conversations. It’s important after a tough customer conversation that you realize nobody can take your birthday away. What you did was give the best of yourself. You gave your best effort and best energy. Make sure that you’re committing to that on a regular basis. That is going to make you an extraordinary SAM in not only your personal relationships but your professional relationships as well. n

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CALL FOR VE LOCI TY SUBMISSIONS FOR 2023 AND BEYOND Why Submit an Article?

Velocity is the official publication of SAMA. It provides a forum for the exchange of information relating to the practice of strategic account management and is the vehicle that enables SAMA members to be the best community of practice.

Thousands of account professionals, SAM managers, and C-level executives at the world’s largest and most forward-thinking companies read Velocity to learn about best practices and next practices from professionals who are facing the same challenges they are.

By having an article published in Velocity, you’ll be recognized as having expertise on the topic, and you’ll elevate your visibility within the community and your own organization. Your organization will benefit by having its name brought to the attention of the wider community as a thought leader.

But you’re not a writer, you say? Not a problem. Your professional knowledge is more important than your writing skills.

The SAMA editorial staff can help with grammar, organization, and style. If you can write a business letter, you can author an article.

If your firm has a public relations, marketing, or communications department, they may be able to help you document your knowledge and experience. Do make sure, though, that you provide them with in-depth information and that you review their documentation of your knowledge and experience for accuracy and to ensure it meets the article requirements below.

Case Studies Case studies are particularly welcomed, answering the questions and following the format of: • what was the issue; • w hat were the steps taken to address the issue; • what resulted for the SAM, the SAM’s

organization, and that of the SAM’s clients?

Article Requirements Articles must be directly applicable to strategic account management (not just sales). It helps to keep in mind that SAMA’s audience consists of those who work in complex, highly matrixed organizations and focus on building strong and mutually beneficial relationships with a company’s most important customers and partners.

Articles must avoid directly promoting a product or service.

Velocity articles range between 2500 and 3500 words, covering three to five pages.

These ranges are approximate; somewhat over or under these word counts is fine if justified by the content.

Articles from consultants and academics are welcome, but bringing aboard a practitioner co-author will get you to the top of the pile. If that’s not possible, please consider adding concrete, real-life examples from your work with clients.

Graphics that aid in understanding an article are also welcomed. In addition, please consider contributing original research in graphic form to Velocity’s Data Watch column.

If you’ll be working with graphic designers or printers, have them contact halverson@ strategicaccounts.org for the more technical requirements for graphics.

Who We Want To Hear From ✓ SAMs and sales executives, managers, and account managers at all levels ✓ Procurement, strategic sourcing, and supplier relationship management executives ✓ Independent consultants and academics working with strategic account organizations. Articles co-authored by a consultant and a practitioner, or an academic and a practitioner, lend credibility to theory.

Key Subject Areas While authors may choose a topic most relevant to their own experience, some of the topics most relevant at this time are: • O rganizing and running the SAM program central office • G oing deep: uncovering strategic information from and about the customer • L everaging technology, data, and/or analytics to change the way you drive significant revenue with your customer, working internally and/or collaborating externally • Implementing innovation • Deploying disruption • Q uantifying and validating customer value in a case that resulted in a valuebased price solution or that prevented losing a deal and/or the customer

Elements of a Successful Submission An article doesn’t need to contain ALL of the following, but the more boxes it checks off, the higher priority it will be given. ✓ Practitioner author or co-author ✓ If written by a consultant or academic, must incorporate practitioner point of view ✓ Real, concrete business examples that exemplify the concepts discussed in the article ✓ Hard data ✓ Innovative concepts/“Next practices” ✓ Human element

How To Submit If you already have a white paper, case study, or article ready to go, send it to Velocity associate editor Nic Halverson at halverson@strategicaccounts.org. You will be notified that your article has been received and is under review. If you just have an idea for an article, send a brief description and any supporting materials to halverson@strategicaccounts.org.

C ongratulations

2023 Award Winners Systematic Enablement of the SAM Program

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Outstanding Young Program of the Year (<5 years)

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Visit https://bit.ly/2023Excellence for more information.