Velocity Winter 2024

VOLUME 26

Issue 1 2024

CUSTOMER CENTRICITY

Turning hazards into opportunities for growth S T R AT E G I C

ACCOUN T

M A NAGEM EN T

A S S O C I AT I O N

Vol. 26 • Issue 1

2024

Features 15 SAM Success Stories: Turning Red Flags into

Green Lights for Account Retention

36 The Case for Strategic Account Management

20 Empowering Strategic Account Management

with Artificial Intelligence

41 The Power of Account-Based Marketing: A

Thales Case Study

28 Building a Protective Moat Around Your

46 A Customer-Centric Organization

Business

32 The Strategic Account Manager as a Value-

Based Negotiator

V ELOCIT Y®

A PUBLICATION OF THE STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

Departments Quick Takes .………………..……… 9 Data Watch ………………………… 12

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 © 2024 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. 26

Issue 1 2024

Ve l o c i t y ®

3

SAMA Corporate Members Abbott

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.

ABM Industries Inc.

John Deere

Advanced Industrial Devices

Johnson & Johnson

Agilent

Lilly USA, LLC

Ainsworth, Inc.

LP Building Solutions

Airbus Defence and Space

Lubrizol

Air Liquide

Medtronic

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

Merck

Amgen Canada

Michelin

Arcadis

Mölnlycke Health Care AB

Astellas Avient Corporation

New York Power Authority Inc.

AVI-SPL

Nilfisk

Axis Communications Inc.

Novo Nordisk Inc.

Bailey International

O-I

Bayer AG

Optum Inc.

Bellevue University

Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.

bioMérieux Boehringer Ingelheim

Owens Corning

Brenntag Specialties Inc.

Pfizer, Inc.

Buckman North America

Premier Inc.

Bunge

Saint-Gobain

CAS

Sanofi Vaccines

Ceva Santé Animale

Schneider Electric

CH Robinson

Sensata Technologies

Cisco Systems, Inc.

Sidel

Clarios

Siemens

Cox Automotive

Solecta, Inc.

Danaher Companies

Solenis

DHL

Sonoco

Donaldson Company, Inc.

supplyFORCE

Ecolab

Terumo Europe N.V.

Eisai, Inc.

The AAK Group

Elanco Animal Health

The Sherwin-Williams Company

Emerson Automation Solutions

TÜV SÜD

Expeditors

UL Solutions

Formerra

United Airlines

Freeman

Veolia WTS USA Inc.

GE Healthcare

Viatris

Genmab US, Inc.

VSP Global

Greene, Tweed & Co.

Wajax Corporation

Hays

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.

Hilton Worldwide

Wheels, Inc.

Honeywell

W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

Hovione

Xylem Inc.

V Hyatt

Zurich Insurance Group

4

elocity®

Dr. Michael Ahearne Professor of Marketing and C.T. Bauer Chair, Bauer College of Business, EMEA University of Houston Steve Andersen President and Founder PMI Stephen Anderson SVP & General Manager, F&B Ecolab

Jim Ford Chief Executive Officer Solecta, Inc. Chairman of the SAMA Board

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

Denise Freier President and CEO SAMA

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

Eric Gantier President, Global Engineering, Manufacturing & Energy DHL Customer Solutions and Innovation (CSI)

Dino Bertani Executive Director, International Strategic Account Management AbbVie

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

Anju Birdy Vice President, Strategic Account Management Excellence Schneider Electric

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

Noel Capon R.C. Kopf Professor of International Marketing Columbia Business School Dominique Côté Owner and Founder COSAWI in/Sprl Ron Davis Executive Vice President, Head of Customer Management Zurich Insurance Group Tom Derry CEO Institute for Supply Management

Denise Juliano Group Vice President, Life Sciences Premier Inc. Renae Leary Chief Commercial Officer – Americas Ansell Mike Moorman Managing Principal, Sales Solutions ZS

Jennifer Stanley Partner McKinsey & Company *Dr. Kaj Storbacka Retired - Hanken Foundation Professor Hanken School of Economics Sara Theis Program Manager, Regional Growth Americas Owens Corning Max Walker Director, Strategic Account Management EMEA Medtronic Geoff Williams Vice President, Global Accounts Danfoss *Distinguished Board Advisors (lifetime contributors; non-voting members)

Shawn Parker Executive Director, Strategic Account Management & Corporate Group Sales Hilton

TreviPay

Endress + Hauser

Henkel

SAMA Board of Directors

Special thanks to SAMA’s providers

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

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.

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

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

SAMA 2024 EVENTS SAMA Academy Online: First Quarter 2024 January-March

Advertising: Ashley Davis

European Regional Executive Symposium SAMA Staff Executive

March 12 DHL Innovation Center - Troisdorf, Germany

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

SAMA Academy Online: Second Quarter April-June SAMA Academy Miami May 20 Fontainebleau© Miami Beach | Miami, FL

Corporate Account Manager: Dina-Marie Farrell Corporate Account Manager: Mark Cohron Sr. Corporate Solutions Manager: Ed Zupanc Salesforce Analyst/Administrator: Erin Pallesen Sr. Account Manager, Business Leader - AMS: Stephanie Fahey

SAMA 2024 Annual Conference May 21-23 Fontainebleau© Miami Beach | Miami, FL

Knowledge, Certification & Training Director, Knowledge, Certification & Training: Libby Souder Assistant Director, Knowledge & Training: David Schweizer Knowledge and Training Manager: Brad Maloney

SAMA Academy Chicago July 16-18

Research General Manager, Research & Customer Experience: Joel Schaafsma Strategy, Marketing, & Communications

SAMA Academy Online: Third Quarter 2024 July-September

Managing Director, Strategy and Marketing: Harvey Dunham Creative Director: Aimee Waddell Editor: Nic Halverson Marketing Manager & Sponsorship: Ashley Davis

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

SAMA Academy Online: Fourth Quarter 2024 October-December

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

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

6

Ve l o c i t y ®

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

EDITOR’S CORNER point, you gotta take it for a drive. Same goes for artificial intelligence (AI). If you’ve yet to take it for a spin, our Quick

Nic Halverson

Takes column and Shakeel Bharmal’s article “Empowering

Editor Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA)

Strategic Account Management with Artificial Intelligence” will guide your key into the ignition.

Bharmal, Senior Vice President at The Summit Group, writes, “I will forgo technical jargon and theories about AI

On our journey of strategic account management, it’s tempting to set our sights on the promised land, where buyers and sellers — nay, trusted advisors — revolve in a yin and yang of value co-creation. But there are many miles before we can reach that destination, and if we don’t keep our eyes on the road, we’re bound to hit a few potholes.

However, to ensure your SAM vehicle achieves peak performance in 2024, we’re topping off this issue of Velocity with the best kind of fuel: customer centricity.

[and instead] share concrete examples of how AI has proven invaluable for me in my client management and business development efforts.” Amen to more showing and less telling!

Jim Dickie and Barry Trailer, Cofounders of Sales Mastery, also have a lot to show with the release of their most recent Sales Performance Scorecard study, which offers key trends to look for in the year ahead. In their executive summary, they provide an updated model of their SPS Matrix to reflect the power shift between buyers and sellers in the B2B marketplace, and account for the impact of AI and machine learning.

“Engaging your customers in a strategic manner, on a

Spoiler alert: many of the needles are pointing in the wrong

consistent basis, and with the intention of listening 80% of the

direction. The current economic, political, geopolitical, and

time and asking clarifying questions for the remaining 20%

environmental uncertainty only suggests the need for a clear-

of the time is the most impactful way you can have visibility

eyed strategy to wrap up this year and kick off next year.

of the potential hazards on the road ahead,” Betsy Westhafer, CEO of The Congruity Group, writes in her feature “Building a Protective Moat Around Your Business.”

In “The Power of Account-Based Marketing: A Thales Case Study,” Dominique Côté — CEO & Founder of Cosawi — and co-authors delve into customer centricity via Account-Based

But don’t just avoid the hazards — embrace them as

Marketing (ABM) and the success story of Thales, a French

moments for opportunity, as Pete Morelli, Vice President of

multinational company that “harnessed the potential of ABM

Holden Advisors, suggests in his excellent piece, “Turning

to enhance customer intimacy and relevance during challeng-

Red Flags into Green Lights for Account Retention.” After

ing times.”

all, he writes that, “there are signs and symptoms that can be flagged in advance to help get things back on track […] to identify and save at-risk accounts before it’s too late!”

To round out this issue, in his piece “A Customer-Centric Organization,” Gordon Galzerano, Cofounder and Managing Partner at Timberwilde Consulting Group, outlines even more

Javier Marcos, Professor of Strategic Sales Management

strategies for developing and maintaining a customer-centric

and Negotiation at Cranfield School of Management, echoes

approach with the road-worthy reminder that “customers are

this proactive approach in his article, “The Strategic Account

the driving force behind any successful company.”

Manager as a Value-Based Negotiator.” Detailing how SAMs can better design the end-to-end negotiation process, he writes that “the most effective negotiation approaches focus on activities conducted before and after negotiation rounds.”

Wherever the road the takes you in 2024, know that you can always count on SAMA to be your trusted and knowledgeable co-pilot. In fact, this year marks SAMA’s 60th anniversary — a feat we’re excited to celebrate with you at our

What’s the use of owning a Ferrari if it never leaves the

annual conference this spring. With six decades of experience

garage? Fawning over an elite super machine and waxing

under our belt, we’re expert navigators who are happy to show

eloquent about its potential power is lovely and all, but at some

you the way. n

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Ve l o c i t y ®

7

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

CHANGE, by understanding both the

OBSERVABLE and

NON-OBSERVABLE BEHAVIORS of your accounts.

TRANSFORM your

relationships through

DIRECT

customer feedback.

KANECT™ by The Chapman Group is a Voice of the Customer service offering to foster transparent, collaborative, and mutually beneficial relationships. www.ChapmanHQ.com

TM

QUICK TAKES

HOW AI CAN HELP REVEAL INSIGHTS INTO YOUR COMPETITORS At this point in the rollout of artificial intelligence (AI), we’re

informed decision about how to react to the Northern European

well past the days of glowing hype and buzzy platitudes about

manufacturer’s expansion, with options ranging from decreas-

how AI is going to “revolutionize” the world of strategic account

ing prices on that product line with the aim of increasing the

management. It already has. That ship has sailed. And if you’re

market shares, to directly de-investing and stopping produc-

not on board, well, beware that your competition probably is.

tion on that (low-margin) product line,” the authors write.

Case in point: Harvard Business Review’s fascinating article “Use GenAI to Uncover New Insights into Your Competitors.”

It’s a must-read piece that demonstrates clear-cut, AI-enabled actions you can deploy to get a leg up on your competition and safeguard your organization from prying eyes.

The article recounts a Northern European manufacturer whose 200-page annual report included 33,660 lines of text, 14 of which were devoted to announcing that the company had purchased a plot of land in India.

When the report was released, the manufacturer’s main competitor enlisted internal experts who were responsible for analyzing competitive information to pore over the report in an effort to glean details that could help adjust their strategy and assist in decision-making. Despite their close read, the experts overlooked the information detailing the land purchase in India.

“And what’s more, this decision could be made months before the competitor was ready to make the mentioned expansion a reality.”

As the authors point out, this example sheds light on the growing problem of information overload in the digital age, which hamstrings the C-suite by preventing them from making knowledgeable decisions about markets and competitors.

While AI can help solve this, it’s important to remember that it’s more than just a one-way street.

“Although generative AI is often pitched as a way to create new content (information in, message out), it can work just as well — or depending on the application, even better — in reverse (message in, information out),” the authors write.

“This counterintuitive application of generative AI is starting to enable leaders in marketing, strategy, and competitive intelligence to unearth strategically relevant insights about their

Guess who — or what — didn’t overlook that detail? That’s right, you guessed it.

When the competitor “used generative AI to conduct analysis based on relatively simple prompts […] the AI reported that the acquisition of a plot of land with those characteristics could be related to a strategic decision, serving as a red flag that led the company’s analysts to review that information again,” the authors write.

So, what’s the big deal about this small piece of information about land acquisition?

“With this knowledge, the competitor could make an

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Ve l o c i t y ®

9

QUICK TAKES competitors from documents made publicly available by those

requiring minimal effort and external expenses, enables nearly

competitors. In other words, generative AI can become the

real-time inference. When merged with human expertise on the

watchful eye that spots useful insights in the field of competi-

market and competition, it can unveil strategic relationships.

tive intelligence.”

While the implications are obvious for how generative AI

Best of all, the authors even reveal the prompts that the

can augment strategic decision-making and help companies gain a competitive edge, the authors wisely remind organiza-

competitor used to achieve the desired result.

“The prompt included sections of the competitor’s annual report,” they write. “In addition to that text, the prompt

tions to be mindful of what they’re putting out there for public consumption.

included the question, ‘Is there any statement of strategic

“In alignment with and guided by the C-suite,” they write,

relevance for the company XYZ in the following paragraph?

“company communication experts need to strategically adapt

For context, this is an excerpt from the annual report of the

the information they publicly disclose if they are to avoid

company ABC, which is the main competitor of XYZ. I am

competitors learning more useful, private information about

interested in statements that indirectly may refer to a strategic

their company.” n

decision made by ABC.’” This indicates that generative AI can facilitate the swift extraction of concealed insights about a company from pub-

Adapted from “Use GenAI to Uncover New Insights into Your Competitors,” by Thomas H. Davenport, José Parra-Moyano,

licly available documents, including annual reports, financials,

Karl Schmedders, and Stephan Schulte, Harvard Business Review, November 17, 2023. https://hbr.org/2023/11/use-genai-

press releases, statements, and social media posts. This process,

to-uncover-new-insights-into-your-competitors.

Join us!

2024 SAMA Annual Conference May 21-23, 2024

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

Increase your brand visibility and gain exposure to new audiences by becoming a SAMA 2024 sponsor!

Check out our 2024 Sponsorship Brochure and contact our team to find out more about sponsoring the SAMA Annual Conference and year-round opportunities!

10

Ve l o c i t y ®

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Pick Your Winning Strategy We work with you to develop the crucial skills, knowledge, and processes for successful long-term client relationships.

MERCURI.NET

DATA WATCH

SAMA’S

PROGRAM ASSESSMENT SAMA’s Program Assessment offers data-based insights to guide your decisions on where to target investment and/or energy to protect your company’s investment in your most important customers. The Program Assessment quantitatively rates the maturity and strength of SAM programs across nine critical elements of a SAM program, which were established through years of SAMA research. SAMA often indicates that four of the elements have proven to be the foundational starting point to any SAM program: • C-level Support and Executive Engagement • Account Selection/Deselection and Segmentation • SAM Program Roles and Talent Management • Value Co-creation, Capture, and Realization Since the assessment’s redesign in late 2021, nearly 1,700 SAM professionals have offered their perceptions on assessing the maturity of their SAM programs. Through interactions with thousands of SAM practitioners we’ve seen programs go through maturity growth stages, and the best programs realize that there is always an opportunity to evolve and become better.

We looked at the top four elements within the assessment tool and broke the data out by the age of the program. The data consistently shows a familiar story where programs seem to adjust their understanding of maturity after developing the program for 6-10 years.

These graphs show the “Age of Program” breakout of average scores on a 7-point scale:

12

Ve l o c i t y ®

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

DATA WATCH

Based on the description of C-level Support and Executive Sponsorship, how would you rate the overall development maturity of this within your organization?

1-2 years

4.35

3-5 years

4.58

6-10 years

5.11

10-15 years

4.27

More than 15 years

4.60

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Based on the description of Account Selection/Deselection and Segmentation, how would you rate the overall development maturity of this within your organization?

1-2 years

4.40

3-5 years

4.85

6-10 years

5.37

10-15 years

4.43

More than 15 years

4.81

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Based on the description of SAM Program Roles and Talent Management, how would you rate the overall development maturity of this within your organization?

1-2 years

4.19

3-5 years

4.65

6-10 years

5.16

10-15 years

4.17

More than 15 years

4.42

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Based on the description of Value Co-creation, Capture, and Realization, how would you rate the overall development maturity of this within your organization?

1-2 years

3.97

3-5 years

4.31

6-10 years

5.08

10-15 years

3.94

More than 15 years

4.22

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Source: SAMA’s Program Assessment participant data

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Ve l o c i t y ®

13

y

y y

y y y y y

y y y

AM SUCCESS STORIES: TURNING RED S FLAGS INTO GREEN LIGHTS FOR ACCOUNT RETENTION

By Pete Morelli Vice President Holden Advisors As a strategic account manager (SAM), and especially as

expectations on retention alone, but strong retention sets the

a SAM leader, losing business is unfortunately part of the

stage for two major growth levers: returning to expansion

gig. We hate to see it. When portfolios and teams expand,

opportunities when conditions change, and opening the pos-

managing details and a growing cast of stakeholders quickly

sibility for net revenue retention that exceeds 100%.

becomes unwieldy, and we’re thankful that some accounts or specific services seem to stick with us like clockwork, often auto-renewing from one agreement into the next. But what happens if the music stops unexpectedly, either midterm or at renewal? Worst case scenario, you’re caught off guard and left without enough time to course correct before your customer makes a drastic decision.

When up to 80% of annual goals are met from renewals,¹ and

The root cause of a lost account is not always an egregious mistake — often, there are signs and symptoms that can be flagged in advance to help get things back on track well before a renewal. It’s possible to identify and save at-risk accounts before it’s too late!

A relatable situation

perhaps more during periods of low growth, this focal point

One of our clients is a global provider of services. As a

deserves some attention to ensure we’re keeping our company’s

business, they were growing at a healthy clip, both organically

foundation in good shape. Of course, companies can’t meet

and inorganically, while continually reinvesting to improve

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Ve l o c i t y ®

15

product and service quality. However, they recently expe-

that ship alone was simply not manageable for a few. In this

rienced a handful of painful key account losses, with little

environment, the team was able to partner with others across

perceived warning ahead of the events.

the sales team or other functions like support, project man-

Immediately, questions began circulating that sought to determine how big of a problem they were dealing with.

• Did these events reflect expected churn behavior, or did they represent proverbial canaries in the key account coal mine?

• How can we identify where we’ve got the biggest issues?

• W hat corrective actions can we implement?

• Finally, how will we measure our progress?

At a minimum, company leaders wanted to understand where risks existed to avoid bad-news surprises, and ideally that warning shot could be heard long enough in advance of a renewal to do something about it.

Turning red flags into green lights

You need to be upfront and clear about the ground rules so everyone can collaborate on solutions and be brutally honest when it’s needed the most. The message is that there are visible cracks in the armor, so let’s just identify other soft spots and we’ll fix this together.

2. Identify the key issues. We had the opportunity to conduct postmortem interviews directly with a handful of these lost accounts, which is the absolute gold standard if you’re attempting to identify root causes (or red flags) that might serve as early warnings for other accounts. These will vary depending on company, industry, and the types of clients you serve, but many themes will be consistent across books.

In our postmortem conversations, a few things became

Working with strategic and enterprise account teams across

clear. Firstly, not only were most lost accounts willing to

B2B industries, we’ve developed a structured approach to

speak with us, but they were happy to be candid in their

assessing, triaging, and monitoring account health across

feedback, often asking to extend our 20-minute conversations

portfolios. In this recent situation, our team stepped in to help conduct a health assessment and maximize retention across our client organization’s 100 largest accounts. This effort successfully retained $80M+ of at-risk revenue across their portfolio involving six managers and 40 SAMs. Given the economic and competitive environment, retention was the big win for them.

We’ll step through the process followed in this case study in the event you’re able to supplement your playbook with any components that add incremental value.

because they found the conversation therapeutic. Secondly, simply by conducting the conversation, there was an element of relationship repair that was initiated, opening the door to future conversations. Finally, the issues they referenced were often things that if they’d been addressed earlier might have prevented lost business in the first place.

One example of a customer complaint was an unresolved support issue that played a significant role in the demise of the relationship. Over time, it became clear to the customer that a competitor could reliably streamline their HR processes,

1. Establish a trusting environment. We created a context

and it turned out changing vendors was (unfortunately for

and process where it was all hands on deck with individuals

our client) a simpler process than anticipated in this case. In

from every customer-facing team: SAMs, sales leaders, opera-

hindsight, this seemed like a straightforward series of events

tions, product development, etc. It was important that we

that could be solved for in the future. Therefore, operational

adopted an exploratory mindset where we would investigate

issues present in the account became one of our key health

what happened, with the goal of applying those lessons to

assessment categories.

other accounts. We wanted to reward identification of shortfalls vs. assigning blame, because typically lost accounts occur due to a confluence of factors, not one person’s actions. For any kind of sales intervention, this is essential so team members can think, be honest, and not worry about covering their tails.

Internally, some of the sales reps simply had bad luck of drawing a short straw with the number of red accounts in their portfolio. We had to make it clear that having four red accounts was not a reflection of their ability — and righting

16

agement, and customer success to better address the situation.

Ve l o c i t y ®

After conducting multiple postmortems, we developed a set of criteria that increased churn risk in an account. The criteria included: • Quickly approaching contract expiration date and/or lenient severance clauses.

• Lack of quality relationships established within the buying center.

• Operational issues present in the account.

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

FIGURE 1. SUMMARIZED HEALTH ASSESSMENT

• K nown competitors operating in the account.

or yellow accounts, but repeating the exercise months later

• Low adoption of multiproduct solutions.

demonstrated that internal health assessment capabilities had

This framework enabled us to apply these criteria to other accounts to evaluate their churn risk.

3. Assess the remaining portfolio. Having gone through postmortem reviews, we needed to determine if these issues were isolated to these accounts or systemic across the portfolio. From these categories, we created a repeatable accountlevel survey for SAMs that would automatically populate a one-slide summary we could review. SAMs assessed each of

evolved to the point where additional oversight was no longer required.

4. Take action. An account saved is an account earned.

The health assessment identified many more at-risk accounts than our client realized; almost 40% of their top accounts were rated red. Success would be measured by how many deescalations to yellow or green we could achieve for this cohort within a few months. We had some work to do!

the five categories on a scale from 1 (low performance) to 5

With SAMs acting as quarterback, the account teams

(high performance). While simple (5-10 minutes to fill out

sought to improve one or two health scores to de-escalate

for each account), it gave us enough of a pulse to assign an

at-risk accounts. Here are a handful of example tactics that

initial red-yellow-green risk status to 100 accounts using the

were deployed:

weighted score across the ranking criteria. In our example, if a

• For identified operational issues, there were often internal

multiyear deal was expiring in four months or less, this would

stakeholders (technology or service teams) that could be

automatically raise the risk status by one level.

brought in to resolve problems. Sometimes this meant re-

Because this was such a new cultural exercise, it was occa-

allocating internal resources, but other times it was just mak-

sionally challenging for SAMs to score accounts accurately or

ing customers aware of existing services at their disposal.

consistently with other SAMs, particularly given subjective

• W hen account teams generally interacted with only one

nuances of these complex relationships. To set a baseline for

customer stakeholder, we worked to identify other roles

the team, we conducted one review alongside each SAM and

within the buying center and brainstormed ways to demon-

manager to establish expectations and validate the calculated

strate some value for them or leverage other internal client

risk score. At first, we jointly decided to escalate some green

relationships to make introductions.

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Ve l o c i t y ®

17

• For single-service accounts, white spaces were identified to bundle products, which could open up preferred pricing opportunities and improve account stickiness.

impact if the internal team was able to replicate the process on their own.

The health assessment process became an annual event

• Managers were given freedom to bring innovative ideas

that occurred ahead of sales kickoff to inform both territory

forward in new ways that would customize the approach to

planning and individual account planning. In this way, it was

supporting each account.

leveraged as a strategic planning tool but also a tactical churn

• For accounts that were approaching a renewal, teams proactively took the temperature of different stakeholders and solved for any identified pain points ahead of key dates.

In most cases, account issues were not related to pricing.

prediction resource to enable early intervention to save and improve key relationships.

This helped feed the environment with more positive reinforcement and open and honest collaboration. In summary,

Customers had already agreed to commercial terms, so the

the process involved three key steps.

solution was ensuring that product and service commitments

1. Reward team members for raising their hand when there’s

were upheld. When improvements were made, customers were told about it. QBR materials were updated to include value scorecards and realized wins (cost savings, customer revenue opportunities, or mitigated risks) that customers experienced because of the relationship with our client.

5. Measure what you manage. The beauty of this exer-

a problem.

2. Design a process to uncover risks simply and objectively so you can proactively act.

3. Use that process to monitor your accounts — no surprises! n 1Holden Advisors project database

cise was its simplicity. Take an action that de-escalates the account? It simply changes color; red to yellow or green.

Accordingly, a straightforward dashboard was presented to leadership each week to report status, and that tool endured long after the short-term project concluded. Sales leaders leveraged it for internal 1:1’s and to measure portfolio health continually.

Pete Morelli is a Vice President at Holden Advisors and leads the company’s sales consulting practice. With 20+ years of experience in procurement, sales, pricing transformation, and deal coaching, Pete has helped clients grow and retain $100M+ of annual business. He can be contacted at pmorelli@holdenadvisors.com, or connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermorelli/.

As accounts were de-escalated, wins were shared across the organization, building momentum and a sense of collaboration for the broad

FIGURE 2. WEEKLY RISK SCORECARD

team that contributed to the effort.

Making it sustainable Ultimately, this team secured $80M+ in revenue through this account review and monitoring process, and 75% of red accounts were de-escalated via renewed agreements, service additions, or repaired relationships.

This was an overwhelming success, but it would only make a long-term

18

Ve l o c i t y ®

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

EMPOWERING STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Four practical ways that generative AI can drive client engagement, boost business success, and improve your quality of life.

By Shakeel Bharmal Senior Vice President The Summit Group

Upon completing my business school journey, I entered the fast-paced world of management consulting as a fresh associate. I was part of a small cohort, seven strong, assigned the unglamorous but crucial role of “benchwarmers” — waiting to be deployed on client engagements. Our immediate duty was to assist senior partners in their function as strategic account managers (SAMs) in cultivating business relationships.

One of our key responsibilities was producing what we called “fact packs.” These were short PowerPoint presentations, typically three to five slides, prepared in advance of client meetings. The senior partner would issue a request to a designated senior associate who oversaw us, detailing the focus areas for these slides — ranging from company information to divisional data to personnel bios. While data collection was a major part of this task, the true essence of a valuable fact pack lay not in the facts, but in the synthesis of those facts. From the nascent internet insights, we were expected to glean hypotheses and compelling questions that would enable our senior partners to engage in meaningful, value-added conversations with clients. The timeline was often tight, with some packs requiring completion within just a day.

The benefit of this setup was twofold. Not only did the senior partners have an easier time navigating their high-stakes responsibilities, but they also had at their disposal a group of well-educated associates ready to perform the necessary legwork to ensure they remained effective, efficient, and, most importantly, relevant to both current and prospective clients.

20

Ve l o c i t y ®

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

The new associates ready to support SAMs Fast-forward to today, and the landscape has changed considerably. While some SAMs have the luxury of dedicated support staff, I would wager that the majority do not. Either they have amassed enough experience to forgo such support, or they are juggling so many priorities — both professional and personal — that in-depth preparation often takes a backseat.

Enter generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Bard. These digital associates are at your service around the clock, and they don’t require days to draft a fact pack or any other preparatory material. In my own journey from associate to senior partner in professional services, I find myself without the kind of human associate support that I used to provide to others. However, I have been enriched by my own associate experiences and empowered by the capabilities of ChatGPT. In this article, I aim to present four practical applications of generative AI that can dramatically enhance your relevance and credibility with clients, all while affording you more time to attend to life’s other demands. I will forgo technical jargon and theories about AI — after all, as one of my partners frequently reminds me, theory doesn’t pay the bills. Instead, I will share concrete examples of how AI has proven invaluable for me in my client management and business development efforts.

Meet Liam, an effective SAM at NexaComm Networks To illustrate my points more vividly, I’ll employ storytelling and introduce you to a fictious character based on real expe-

Use Case 1: Preparing for the big meeting — leveraging ChatGPT to understand the COO’s priorities

riences. Meet “Liam,” a strategic account manager (SAM)

After months of groundwork, Liam has secured a meet-

at NexaComm Networks, a national data communications

ing with TransMoto Dynamics’ Chief Operating Officer.

technology and service company. Liam’s primary client is

TransMoto is in the planning stages of building a new pro-

TransMoto Dynamics, a major engine supplier to commercial

duction facility for a fresh line of engines, intended for one of

bus and truck manufacturers.

their major clients, Bluenose Bus Manufacturing. Liam aims

Liam has been a strategic account manager at NexaComm Networks for five years, consistently maintaining stable revenue from his key account, TransMoto Dynamics. He has built strong relationships with TransMoto’s Director of IT

to establish a strong rapport with the COO before TransMoto issues a request for proposal (RFP) for outfitting the new facility. He wants to ensure that he and NexaComm Networks are top-of-mind when decisions around the RFP are made.

and Director of Manufacturing. With the IT Director, Liam

Liam recently used ChatGPT to plan his family vacation

explores how NexaComm’s solutions can enhance TransMoto’s

and thought he might experiment with it to prepare for his

processes, elevating NexaComm to a strategic partner. His

meeting with the COO. He types the following prompt into

interactions with the Director of Manufacturing focus on

ChatGPT:

optimizing network infrastructure within TransMoto’s production plants. Both directors value Liam’s expertise, enabling him to effectively advocate for TransMoto within NexaComm.

This has cultivated a collaborative relationship with potential for future growth.

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Act like the COO for TransMoto Dynamics. As you are making plans to begin construction on a new production facility for a new line of engines for Bluenose Bus Manufacturing, what would be your top three business issues?

Ve l o c i t y ®

21

Within 30 seconds ChatGPT produces the following: 1. P roject Timelines and Budget Constraints: One of my fore-

1. “ What are the most critical success factors you’ve identified for the success of the new production facility?”

most concerns would be ensuring the new production facil-

2. “ As you plan for the new facility, what are your key consid-

ity is completed on time and within the allocated budget.

erations for mitigating risks associated with timelines and

Any delays or cost overruns could have a cascading impact

budgets?”

on other projects and potentially jeopardize our relationship with key customers like Bluenose Bus Manufacturing.

2. Operational Efficiency and Technology Integration: As

3. “ Given the specialized requirements of the new engine production line, how are you approaching talent readiness and workforce development?”

we’re constructing a new facility, it provides an opportu-

Liam plans to let the conversation with the COO unfold

nity to integrate cutting-edge technologies to maximize

naturally. However, he will have these questions at the ready,

operational efficiency. The challenge is to choose the right

not with the aim of steering the COO toward a specific topic,

technology that aligns with our long-term business strat-

but to serve as a resource for meaningful discussion should the

egy, while also considering ease of integration with existing

need arise.

systems.

3. Talent Acquisition and Training: The new production line

Winning a multimillion-dollar contract

would require a skilled workforce capable of managing

Several months later, Liam has deepened his relationships

advanced machinery and upholding the quality standards

within TransMoto’s leadership team and even connected with

we promise to our customers. The immediate issue is not

their strategic account manager for the Bluenose account.

only to attract skilled labor but also to ensure they are adequately trained to meet the specific demands of the new facility.

Liam understands he can’t be certain that these are indeed the COO’s top concerns, but they provide a reasonable starting point for understanding the COO’s perspective. This shift in focus helps Liam move away from his own immediate agenda, which is to position NexaComm as the go-to communications technology provider for the new facility. Liam believes that the best course of action is to center the conversation on the COO’s priorities, confident that there will be opportunities to

Through this connection, Liam meets two employees from Bluenose who are closely involved with TransMoto’s new facility project. These interactions enrich Liam’s understanding of the strategic objectives behind the new Bluenose buses and the importance of meeting the market launch date.

Although TransMoto was obligated to issue a request for proposal due to procurement regulations, Liam and his NexaComm account team successfully leveraged their deep insights into both TransMoto and Bluenose’s priorities. The result was a five-year, multimillion-dollar contract for hardware, software, and connectivity services for the new production facility.

discuss NexaComm’s potential role at a later stage.

Liam starts to think about what questions he might ask the COO to get a better understanding of what is on his mind, but he also wants to demonstrate his business acumen and credibility. So, he types the following into ChatGPT. As the strategic account manager from NexaComm, formulate three questions to ask the COO that will reveal his top priorities for the new production facility. These questions should not only demonstrate your business acumen and credibility, but also convey genuine interest in understanding the COO’s broader challenges, independent of the solutions NexaComm offers.

ChatGPT’s response:

22

Ve l o c i t y ®

Use Case 2: Designing a collaborative kickoff event for multi-organizational alignment and execution One feature that set NexaComm’s proposal apart was the inclusion of a collaborative kickoff event aimed at planning and executing the new contract. This event would bring together key stakeholders from NexaComm, TransMoto, and Bluenose to lay a foundation based on trust, strategic alignment, and open dialogue. The session would have fifteen attendees, with an even distribution across the three organizations, representing various functions such as IT, manufacturing, project management, solution design, installation, and hardware and software teams.

Liam, in collaboration with a seasoned external facilitator,

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

would spearhead the session. His task was to craft an eight-

He made a few edits to this outline and felt prepared to share

hour agenda for the day, which would also include a lunch

this with the external facilitator so they could develop a more

break, followed by a networking reception and a celebratory

detailed design. He would then share this detailed design draft

dinner to conclude the event.

with his counterpart at TransMoto and collaborate on final

As he was preparing for his first meeting with the external

design and logistics with his support team.

facilitator, Liam typed the following prompt into ChatGPT: As a strategic facilitator, please design an eight-hour planning session aimed at fostering collaboration among leaders from

Use Case 3: Crafting a save-the-date email to senior customers and stakeholders

TransMoto Dynamics and Bluenose Bus Manufacturing. The

As the design was solidified over the course of the next few

participant pool should consist of 15 leaders, with representa-

weeks, it was time to send an invite and save-the-date email

tion from IT, manufacturing, project management, solution

to the participants at all three organizations to a session on

design, installation, and hardware and software teams across

February 15, 2024, at NexaComm’s head office in Dearborn,

all three organizations. The session’s objective is to establish

Michigan. More details would come in the weeks leading to

a foundation of trust, strategic alignment, and open communi-

the event.

cation. The end goal is to develop an 18-month execution plan for implementing NexaComm’s technology and connectivity infrastructure in TransMoto’s new engine facility, which will serve Bluenose Bus. Incorporate scheduled breaks and a lunch period, and conclude with a networking reception leading into a dinner. The day should begin with a light breakfast

He turned to his new digital assistant ChatGPT. By this point he has learned that ChatGPT leverages all previous prompts and its own created content to further improve its output. He looked forward to seeing what would come from this prompt:

served at 8:30 a.m., with the formal session commencing at 9:00 a.m. Kindly present the design in table format.

ChatGPT produced the table below:

Please write an invite and save-the-date email to the participants at all three organizations to a session on February 15, 2024, at NexaComm’s head office in Dearborn, Michigan.

More details will come in the weeks leading to the event.

Time Slot

Activity

Purpose

8:30 am - 9:00 am

Light Breakfast

Networking and light conversations before the session starts.

9:00 am - 9:15 am

Welcome & Introductions

To introduce all participants and outline the session’s objectives.

9:15 am - 9:30 am

Setting the Stage: Session Goals & Guidelines

Establish ground rules and clarify what success looks like for the session.

9:30 am - 10:15 am

Business Context Presentation

Overview of TransMoto’s new engine facility project for Bluenose Bus.

10:15 am - 10:30 am Break

Short break for refreshments.

10:30 am - 11:30 am Breakout: Identifying Objectives & Milestones

Discuss and identify key objectives and milestones for the next 18 months.

11:30 am - 12:00 pm Group Share of Breakout Insights

Each breakout group shares insights and action items.

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Lunch

Networking and casual conversations.

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Breakout: Risk Assessment & Mitigation Discuss potential risks and how to mitigate them.

Strategies

2:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Group Share of Risk Strategies

Each breakout group shares their risk mitigation strategies.

2:30 pm - 2:45 pm

Break

Short break for refreshments.

2:45 pm - 3:45 pm

Breakout: Resource Allocation & Timelines

Discuss resource allocation and project timelines.

3:45 pm - 4:15 pm

Group Share of Resource & Timeline Plans

Each group shares their plans for resources and timelines.

4:15 pm - 4:45 pm

Wrap-Up & Next Steps

Summarize key takeaways and discuss next steps.

4:45 pm - 5:00 pm

Closing Remarks

Final thoughts and thanks to the participants.

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Networking Reception

An informal space for discussions and building relationships.

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Ve l o c i t y ®

23

ChatGPT output: Subject: Save the Date: Collaborative Planning Session on February 15, 2024, at NexaComm’s Head Office, Dearborn, MI Dear [Leader’s Name], I hope this message finds you well. As we continue to strengthen our partnership and embark on exciting new projects, we believe that alignment and collaboration among our teams are crucial for our collective success.

With this in mind, we are pleased to invite you to a Collaborative Planning Session, scheduled to take place on February 15, 2024. The event will be hosted at NexaComm’s Head Office in Dearborn, Michigan.

Event Details: Date: February 15, 2024 Time: Light Breakfast at 8:30 a.m., Session starts at 9:00 a.m.

Location: NexaComm’s Head Office, Dearborn, MI This session aims to bring together leaders from TransMoto Dynamics, Bluenose Bus Manufacturing, and NexaComm Networks. Participants will include decision-makers from IT, manufacturing, project management, solution design, installation, and hardware and software teams. Our shared goal is to build a foundation based on trust, strategic alignment, and open dialogue, as we develop an 18-month execution plan for our exciting new initiatives.

long queue for service calls from other customers, he needed a well-crafted email to get the attention of senior operational and technical leaders at NexaComm. Time was not on his side.

He quickly typed up seven bullet points summarizing the situation and went to ChatGPT and typed the following: Please write an email from Liam to the NexaComm COO, SVP of Technology and SVP of Strategic Accounts summarizing the following issue and the urgent need for their support in resolving the matter quickly. Let me know when you are ready for seven bullet points summarizing the issue.

ChatGPT confirmed the instruction, and Liam cut and pasted the bullet points. In 10 seconds he received this: Subject: Urgent: Service Delivery Issue at Manufacturing and Distribution Facility - Immediate Attention Required Dear [COO’s Name], [SVP of Technology’s Name], and [SVP of Strategic Accounts’ Name], I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to bring to your attention a critical issue that has arisen at TransMoto’s largest manufacturing and distribution facility, which requires immediate action.

Please save the date on your calendar. A formal invitation with more detailed information and agenda will follow in the coming weeks.

As you know, we are in the process of planning a major collaborative session with senior leaders at TransMoto and Bluenose Bus. During this sensitive time, we have encountered a significant hiccup in NexaComm’s service delivery at the facility. This setback has already impacted client perception and poses a risk to our upcoming collaboration and, more broadly, to our strategic relationship for a new contract.

Your presence and insights will be invaluable to the success of this session, and we look forward to your participation.

• Unplanned downtime occurred one hour ago, affecting the production line.

Best Regards, [Your Name] [Your Position] NexaComm Networks

• This issue, if not resolved, will result in a 25% decrease in productivity for the day.

Liam used this draft as a starting point and customized it

• The downtime will result in delays in fulfillment, affecting their key clients.

to reflect a few additional thoughts. He then handed it to his assistant to gather email addresses, fill in logistical details, and send it off.

Use Case 4: Drafting a compelling escalation email with time pressure While the planning for the collaborative session was underway, there was a bit of a hiccup in NexaComm’s service delivery at one of the existing manufacturing and distribution facilities. Liam received a notification about the issue on his phone. This could quickly become a high-profile issue and the timing was not good given the save-the-date email had recently gone out.

Liam contacted the on-site technical manager and found out the system had been out for 45 minutes. Production was halted, and the shipment schedule had been affected. Liam needed to escalate this internally to get it resolved quickly.

24

He would make the appropriate phone calls, but given the

Ve l o c i t y ®

• This incident will attract negative attention, jeopardizing our standing with their leadership.

• Initial investigations suggest software glitches in the robotics communication system.

• Trust is waning, as evidenced by calls and emails seeking explanations and reassurances.

• This issue needs to be resolved so that it doesn’t jeopardize the collaborative session in the works.

Your immediate attention and support are crucial for the speedy resolution of this matter. I propose we convene an emergency meeting to discuss a comprehensive action plan.

Please let me know your earliest availability so that we can resolve this pressing issue promptly. Time is of the essence, and your expertise and intervention are vital for a swift resolution.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this critical issue.

Best regards, Liam Director, Strategic Account Management NexaComm

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Utilizing AI should be considered a learning journey, not just for you but also for the AI tool you are engaging with. Adopting a learning mindset will serve you well in this endeavor.

Typically, Liam would need to mend fences with the operations and technical managers for circumventing their authority. However, on this occasion, the senior leaders disseminated his email broadly, garnering him widespread understanding and commendation. This included praise from TransMoto for his prompt response. Subsequent investigations revealed that the problem did not originate with NexaComm; rather, it was an issue with a robotics unit supplied by another vendor.

Nevertheless, it was NexaComm’s rapid intervention that facilitated the quick identification and resolution of the actual problem.

preferences, and competition insights.

• Develop marketing and sales materials, from social media posts to marketing emails.

• Develop responses to routine customer service inquiries, freeing human employees to tackle more complex customer needs.

• Craft internal emails summarizing insights from customer conversations more quickly and easily.

The advent of generative AI is not merely a technological novelty, but a practical tool that promises to significantly augment business capabilities across diverse functions.

Unlocking your potential: how generative AI elevates strategic account management Although artificial intelligence cannot substitute for the human skills involved in relationship building, decision-making, and organizational expertise gained through experience, it has liberated Liam’s schedule and cognitive capacity. This enables him to focus more intently on tasks that are uniquely within his domain of expertise.

Through this story, I hope I have inspired you and sparked your creativity to think of various ways that you might experiment with generative AI at your pace.

These were just a few use cases. I believe the possibilities are endless. Here are a few other examples of uses. Even these are just scratching the surface.

A new feature in ChatGPT enables you to input some background information about yourself, including your industry, preferences, and role. Providing this data helps the AI generate content that is more customized and relevant to you. Additionally, the system can retain your chat history to improve its future responses to you. Despite these benefits, you may have concerns regarding privacy and data access.

It’s essential to familiarize yourself with your organization’s policies on using ChatGPT and refrain from submitting any sensitive information in your inquiries. Privacy settings are available, and when activated, they prevent the system from storing your chat history. Make sure to consult your organization’s guidelines on this matter.

Generative AI tools have shown their value in revolutionizing how SAMs approach their roles, bridging the gap left by

• Aggregate and synthesize market research data, generat-

a lack of dedicated support staff. These tools provide SAMs

ing reports that can pinpoint market trends, consumer

with the means to not only prepare more effectively for client

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Ve l o c i t y ®

25

meetings, but also to stay relevant and credible.

They go beyond mere data collection and synthesis, helping professionals like Liam delve into client priorities, design collaborative sessions, and develop meaningful business relationships.

In my early years of supporting senior partners, I consistently received feedback to refine and personalize my fact packs to better align with each partner’s needs. This feedback was invaluable, and I gradually adapted my approach to cater to the unique preferences of each partner. I encourage you to approach ChatGPT in a similar fashion. Rather than simply copying and pasting AI-generated output, invest the time and critical thinking to scrutinize, question, and add the unique value that only you can provide. Utilizing AI should be considered a learning journey, not just for you but also for the AI tool you are engaging with. Adopting a learning mindset will serve you well in this endeavor.

Regardless of your views on AI and its potential impact on humanity, the reality is it’s here to stay. What we have seen is only the beginning, and exponential advancements are to come in the not-too-distant future. It’s up to each one of us to decide how we can use it for good, and to get better at guiding AI to generate useful output. n

Shakeel Bharmal is Senior Vice President at The Summit Group, where he is the head of the leadership coaching, and strategic alignment practice. Bharmal is an experienced business leader, management consultant facilitator, and leadership coach. He can be reached at sb@summitvalue.com.

26

Ve l o c i t y ®

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

BUILDING A PROTECTIVE MOAT AROUND YOUR BUSINESS How strategic engagement serves as the foundation to protect your most valuable asset — your customers.

By Betsy Westhafer CEO The Congruity Group

Let’s face it. Losing customers to your com-

When we talk with leaders who are respon-

petitors is just the worst. The mere thought

sible for strategic accounts, including members

of seeing the exodus of just one or two of your

of the C-suite, we often find that they fall into

top strategic accounts creates massive anxiety

one of two camps: Camp A — telling us that

for those responsible for making sure it doesn’t happen. The higher the churn rate, the more ground a company loses in terms of market share and revenue, and the impact is exponential. The more your competitors eat into your customer base, the harder and harder it gets to just maintain your position in the market, let alone achieve growth objectives.

Your competitors are constantly waiting for a chance to penetrate your most valued accounts. It’s up to you how you keep those sharks at bay.

they already know everything they need to know about their customers (often citing NPS scores or other lag measures such as annual surveys); and Camp B — acknowledging that they don’t know what they don’t know, and emphasizing how the possibility of losing just a few of their most strategic accounts could bring devastating consequences from which they may not be able to recover.

Camp A suffers from “ostrich syndrome,” paralyzed by putting their heads in the sand and hoping for the best. This is obviously a very dangerous strategy, and frankly, there’s not a lot that can be done to help

DID YOU KNOW . . .

• 1 out of 26 customers will actually tell you when they are not happy. The rest are silently shopping.

• C hurn rates are greater than 5% and trending upward industry-wide.

• 7 1% of B2B companies are ready to switch suppliers.

Sources: Thomasnet, Harvard Business Review, Esteban Kolsky, Churnkey

companies with this mindset. Camp B, on the other hand, has myriad opportunities to proactively build a fortress around the forces that can infiltrate their most valuable asset, their customers.

I recently attended a conference hosted

by Laughlin Associates, a well-respected 50-year-old company providing services that help organizations protect their business assets. Their services include corporate veil protection, compliance, setup of legal structures, and the like, all designed to build a “protective moat”

28

Ve l o c i t y ®

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

around businesses to keep the companies and their leaders from unintended and potentially catastrophic consequences.

And that’s when it hit me: much like the business needs structured solutions to protect the entity itself, it also needs structured solutions to protect its most valuable asset of all, its customers.

Aaron Scott Young is the Chairman of Laughlin Associates and has been on a decades-long mission to help companies grow while simultaneously making sure that the growth they experience is shielded from all the arrows that can devastate the organization.

“So often we see extraordinary business leaders build amazing multimillion-dollar enterprises, only to be unraveled by things that are 100% preventable,” says Young. “It breaks our hearts to see this happen, so that’s why we do what we do.

Frankly, these unfortunate outcomes just don’t have to happen, but it requires three things: 1. A consistent visibility into the potential hazards, 2. A commitment to getting out in front of them, and 3. A willingness to invest in solutions that serve to ensure that the organization will live to fight another day.”

Many of the speakers at the conference talked about building a protective moat around the entity. It’s a concept that most high-level executives and leadership teams can easily grasp and commit resources to. At The Congruity Group, we see strategic customer engagement as yet another tool in the toolshed for building that moat.

Let’s examine the three requirements Young illuminated as they relate to strategic customer engagement.

Point #1: A consistent visibility into the potential hazards It’s no secret that business changes at the speed of light, and it’s no longer an option (if it ever actually was) to sit back and assume that what is true today will remain true in the next five years, in one year, or even in the next month. All one needs to do is remember how it felt in March of 2020 when life as we all knew it came to a screeching halt with absolutely no notice.

It takes diligence to keep an eye on the dynamics that have the potential to upend your business. But here’s the great news. Engaging your customers in a strategic manner, on a consistent basis, and with the intention of listening 80% of the

Visibility into the hazards is an important first step, but it doesn’t stop there, which leads us to point #2:

Point #2: A commitment to getting out in front Oftentimes we talk with leaders who acknowledge that there’s a risk that needs to be mitigated, but for reasons beyond our understanding, they choose to wait until that risk becomes a full-blown, potentially devastating catastrophe to their business before they take action. Sometimes they cite competing priorities and sometimes they point to budget restrictions, but they ALWAYS regret it if they wait too long. As Young noted, so often the unfavorable consequences are completely preventable. We believe that your customers already know the answers to your questions, which is why it is perplexing that some companies don’t incorporate strategic customer engagement into the foundation of how they operate. Proactively seeking out the risks and solutions with the help of your customers is a key component of moat-building, and in and of itself is a competitive advantage.

This leads us to the last point:

Point #3: A willingness to invest in solutions

time and asking clarifying questions for the remaining 20% of

It would be awesome if the insights that companies need to

the time is the most impactful way you can have visibility of

win just magically appeared, but that’s not the way it works.

the potential hazards on the road ahead.

Protecting your company by deploying strategic customer

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Ve l o c i t y ®

29

engagement programs requires not only financial resources, but also the human resources to consistently execute the structured solutions that provide the business intelligence needed.

Just like the business structures that Laughlin Associates provides for organizational, financial, and legal aspects of a business, there are several structures that companies can put into place to protect against competitive forces and loss of revenue. Depending upon the size and maturity, a company can deploy one or more of the following to help shore up the relationships and commitments of their most treasured accounts.

Customer Roundtables Bringing customers together to do a deep dive into a par-

Customer Advisory Boards (CABs) Seen as the pinnacle of structured strategic customer engagement, Customer Advisory Boards, without a doubt, provide the most benefits when it comes to building your moat.

Our clients who have committed to strategic Customer Advisory Boards often report 100% retention of the customers who serve on the board. When done well, CABs evolve to the point where customers truly feel committed to the success of the host company and are invested to the point of becoming outspoken advocates for the brand.

Not only do the host companies receive huge value from the CAB, but the members win big as well. Benefits to customers

ticular challenge you and your peers are trying to solve is a

include:

great way to make sure you are going down the right road.

• Having a new network of peers with whom they share com-

This can be either virtual or in person, and often leads to significant breakthroughs in a very short amount of time. Key insights provided by the customers help focus the solution in a direction that has been pre-validated by the people and organizations most likely to benefit.

Industry Think Tanks When faced with industry disruption, oftentimes organizations try to pivot without the benefit of hearing from the customers. This can lead to going down a path without clear visibility into how that proposed redirection may either positively or negatively impact the customers. In addition, customers come at industry disruption from a different perspective, so having a clear understanding of how they are impacted rather

mon challenges.

• Ability to influence the strategic direction of a key supplier.

• Visibility and input into solutions not yet available to their competitors.

• Access to the senior leadership of an organization that is critical to their success.

• Opportunity for thought leadership and innovation.

Think about each of these structures of strategic customer engagement as one row of a brick wall designed to keep your competition at bay. The stronger your foundation, and the higher you go, the harder it is for your competition to penetrate your accounts.

than just how your organization is impacted is critical for sus-

Building your protective moat is the best way to avoid costly

tainability. Your customers are also trying to pivot, so having a

mistakes that lose accounts to your competitors. And in the

key partner involved in the process is a value-add that can mean

case of strategic customer engagement, it provides a whole host

the difference for you, your customer, and their customers.

of other benefits. Where else can you get this level of return

Ideation Labs One way to protect your customer base is to place a strong emphasis on co-innovation. In the many Customer Engagement

on investment?

You can read more about Customer Advisory Boards in another SAMA Velocity article found here. n

Assessments™ performed by Congruity, one of the most expressed areas of interest that customers request is the opportunity to innovate new solutions together with a key supplier.

Ideation Labs provide a structured approach to co-innovation, leading to solutions that are pre-validated with the market, unlike many solutions that are created in a vacuum within an R&D environment. Not only do Ideation Labs lead to exciting new product and service offerings; they also help create loyalty and advocacy from the customers who helped create them.

30

Ve l o c i t y ®

Betsy Westhafer is the CEO of The Congruity Group, a consultancy focused exclusively on strategic customer engagement and named the BBB International Torch Award for Ethics Winner in 2023. Betsy is the coauthor of the best-selling book “The Rarest Advantage — How to Co-Create Strategic Value to Retain and Expand Your Key Customer Accounts.” She is also the co-host of the award-winning “REALLY Know Your Customer,” named as one of the “Top 15 Customer Retention Podcasts on the Web” by Feedspot. Betsy can be reached at 937-550-1703 or at betsy@thecongruitygroup.com.

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

The High-Performing SAM Series

THE STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGER AS A VALUE-BASED NEGOTIATOR Designing negotiation processes to enhance mutual value in deals with strategic accounts.

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

Strategic account managers (SAMs) spend

customers for whom you are also an impor-

a significant amount of their customer-facing

tant supplier; therefore, a degree of interde-

time seeking agreements, resolving product

pendence and power balance exists. Third,

and service delivery issues, and negotiating

the future value of the strategic customer’s

deals. During negotiation skills development

business is much greater than the value of

programs with strategic account managers, I

the deal at hand. Fourth, certain behaviors

often get asked questions about tips and tac-

enable the surfacing of hidden value drivers

tics to be used during the negotiation, in other

that can supersede the value of the items listed

words, “at the table,” or “in front of the com-

explicitly in the agreement.

puter” if negotiating online. Interestingly, the most effective negotiation approaches focus on activities conducted before and after negotiation rounds.

Thus, this article focuses on tactics not just during the negotiation but also before and after the talks with strategic accounts, addressing the question: How can strategic account managers better design the end-to-end negotiation process with strategic customers? In a previous article, I outlined how SAMs can create value (“The Strategic Account Manager as Value Creator,” volume 25, issue 2, 2023). In this feature, I describe approaches SAMs can adopt to negotiate more effectively — to better distribute and capture value.

Negotiating with strategic customers is

Scoping value-based negotiation Before delving into the description of negotiation tactics to define value-based negotiation, I’d like to define negotiation as the process of reaching a mutually acceptable agreement that satisfies each party’s interests. This process comprises bargaining and exchanging concessions; balancing power, borne costs, and gained value; and enabling the continuation of the relationship in the future. The words in italics denote core concepts that apply to negotiating with strategic customers that may not be relevant in highly distributive deals with non-key customers. Here are ten guidelines to enhance mutual value in deals with strategic accounts.

often characterized by a set of premises I would like to outline up front. First, if you’re negotiating with a strategic customer, the relationship is at least as important, if not more, than the substantive content of the deal. Second, you typically negotiate with

32

Ve l o c i t y ®

Before the negotiation 1. Setting your mindset for “strategic” negotiation I refer to “strategic” negotiation precisely

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

because you’re negotiating with strategic customers. Therefore,

need to embed into their negotiation approaches a carefully

the focus and emphasis are on creating value over the long term.

crafted formula for balancing cost, value, and risk across their

The way you negotiate and the types of deals you shape set the

organization and their customer organizations.

tone for the future relationship with your key customer. Your approach to negotiation also sets a precedent for forthcoming deals. SAMs and complex project managers often tell me that the real negotiation is the one that follows the signature of the contract. The British Airports Authority negotiated a landmark contract for constructing the London Heathrow Terminal 5.

This project’s on-time and almost-on-budget delivery was a major achievement, partly enabled by the approach taken to negotiations with tier-one suppliers, not just before the contract but after the deal(s) were agreed to.¹ 2. Embedding risk-sharing and profit-sharing schemes Breakthrough innovations in industrial, life sciences, defense, and other sectors require significant investments from the supplier and the strategic customer. Naturally, both partners will want to balance risk and benefit. For instance, when Airbus designed the A350 aircraft, it engaged key suppliers such as GKN Aerospace to deliver expert support for metallic and composite wing structures across all A350 XWB programs. This was supported by a long-term partnership known as a “risk-sharing partnership,” creating mechanisms

3. Focusing on compatible interests and converging priorities Effective negotiators give much more time and attention to discussing compatible issues than average negotiators.² They focus on common ground before addressing more difficult topics between the parties. Thus, they build momentum, enabling progress, particularly when the parties seem far apart in reaching an agreement. But they also realize that value can emerge from differences in priorities. For instance, large technology vendors like IBM work with their clients to design and deliver complex transformational projects. Key negotiation variables in these deals may include functionality, implementation time, scalability, and, of course, price.

Detailed analysis of these projects may reveal that a shorter implementation period can facilitate speedier time to market, allowing a company to capture market share and secure a prominent position in the market. This can be much more valuable than a discount on the price of a contract.

4. Balancing different manifestations of value in the negotiation

for the collaborative design and construction of these com-

In the article “The Strategic Account Manager as Value

plex aircraft subsystems. The uncertain nature of long-term

Creator,” I referred to Bain & Company’s study on business

programs means that both risks and benefits need to be con-

value.³ This work shows how B2B customers care about the

sidered. When negotiating with strategic customers, SAMs

functional elements of your offering and the ease of doing

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Ve l o c i t y ®

33

of the supplier, what I call upstream, and the customer’s customer, in other words, downstream.

In their book “3D Negotiation,”⁴ Lax and Sebenius refer to the example of Sweetheart Cup Company, a North American company that made paper cups, plastic cups, and related products. One of their major customers, McDonald’s, issued a request for a price reduction of 10%, warning suppliers of lost business if this reduction was not offered. Instead of engaging in a lengthy bargaining process, the Sweetheart Cup Company engaged a major paper supplier, GeorgiaPacific, and several McDonald’s key stakeholders. Equipped with insights into McDonald’s consumers, the company sought ways to optimize overall costs for all parties involved and avoid having to provide the requested discount.

6. Anticipating an effective pattern of concessions Regardless of whether you are negotiating a long-term contract with a major client or bargaining over a one-off deal, negotiation requires exchanging concessions. The funbusiness with your company. These are traditionally negoti-

damental principle you should consider is to offer to the other

ated in service-level agreements, performance clauses, etc.

party concessions that are high value to them and low cost to

However, value also manifests for individuals when their

you and to demand from them the opposite: concessions that

priorities, such as peace of mind, design, and aesthetics, are

are low cost to them but high value to you.

addressed.

When offering concessions, label them as such, emphasiz-

Furthermore, subtle sources of value emerge when your

ing their inherent value to each party. Ensure that you offer

offering tackles the customer’s hopes, deep motivations, and

contingent concessions, stating that you can make a conces-

future vision. These are rarely captured in formal agreements.

sion only if the other party agrees to make a reciprocal one.

However, they can become dealmakers. Therefore, the narra-

The perception of value is typically enhanced when you offer

tive of negotiation processes with strategic accounts needs to

incremental concessions, which are increasingly smaller at

balance the concrete and specific with the holistic and aspira-

each negotiation round.⁵

tional. When SAMs help their customers become more aware and address value drivers across the dimensions outlined, the chances are that the thorniest issues, such as price, become easier to agree on.

During negotiation 5. Involving negotiation parties upstream and downstream

7. Orchestrating different roles in team-based negotiations SAMs’ negotiations with strategic accounts will almost always involve other people. Therefore, the effectiveness of the process and the level of satisfaction with the agreement will depend not just on the SAM’s personal skills but also on the ability of the negotiation team to work in a coordinated fashion. Complex negotiations often require nominating a lead negotiator, who may or may not be the

The pressure to negotiate costs often precludes defin-

most senior executive in the negotiation team. Someone must

ing collaborative work arrangements between suppliers and

take on an analytical role, translating the financial impact

customers. This is well-known for key account managers in

of the requested concessions and the cost of those offered.

consumer goods who sell to large retailers. The purchasing

Furthermore, in negotiation, it is not just what you say but

power of these customers and their demands for discounts

what you don’t say that matters. Someone who can “read the

means that, very often, win-win negotiation seems impos-

room” needs to be encouraged to observe the other party’s

sible to achieve. One approach to address this challenge is

behavior and emotions and to decode what they mean in the

to involve additional parties in the negotiation: the suppliers

context of the ongoing negotiation.

34

Ve l o c i t y ®

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Meredith Belbin’s team roles theory offers valuable per-

with strategic customers. Short-term financial and operational

spectives on how individuals work together.⁶ This established

pressures may mean that both suppliers and customers find it

diagnostic allows for evaluating individuals’ preferences when

difficult to consistently exhibit value-based negotiation behav-

working with others, differentiating among social, action, and

iors. Thus, following a negotiation and in preparation for the

thinking orientations. Individuals with a social orientation can

next one, the following behaviors need to be reinforced:

become ideal negotiation orchestrators and observers. People characterized by strong thinking orientation are likely to be good negotiation analysts. Finally, action-oriented people are often best suited to claim value in challenging deals.

After negotiation 8. Agreeing on a post-agreement agreement

• Creativity: Identifying shared interests, exploring joint ventures, or finding mutually beneficial trade-offs.

• F lexibility: Demonstrating adaptability in their approach.

Value-based negotiators are willing to adjust their strategies based on new information, changing circumstances, or unexpected developments during the negotiation process.

• I nnovative thinking: Approaching challenges with a

Would you consider an agreement that has been signed as

problem-solving mindset, relentlessly exploring alternative

final and, therefore, unmovable, or would you, on the contrary,

solutions, and being open to creative ideas that meet all par-

be open to revisiting it? Well, you could consider asking your

ties’ interests.

key customer, “Is there any way we could make our agreement better for both of us?” This is referred to as post-settlement settlement in negotiation,⁷ and it is a concept that involves revisiting an agreement that has already been made to optimize it further. Vendors and their strategic customers often engage in long-term contracts, and the conditions present when the contracts are signed may no longer be relevant after some time.

Therefore, in such circumstances, a clause could be agreed upon to revisit the deal if the adjusted one leaves both parties

• Transparency: Openly declaring constraints and genuine interests.

As previously mentioned, certain behaviors enable the surfacing of hidden value drivers that can supersede the value of the negotiated items. The ten guidelines described above, when implemented regularly so they become a habit, will help in designing and delivering negotiation processes to enhance mutual value in deals with strategic accounts. n

more satisfied and better off than in the previous agreement.

9. Invoking negotiated contingent agreements Value-based negotiation is built on the assumption that the

¹ Gil, N. (2009). Developing cooperative project client-supplier relationships: How much to expect from relational contracts? California Management Review, 51(2), 144-169.

promised value will be realized. Several circumstances could

² Rackham, N. (1999). The behavior of successful negotiators. In R. J.

combine to prevent the potential value from being accom-

Lewicki, D. M. Saunders, & J. W. Minton (Eds.), Negotiation: Readings,

plished. In these circumstances, contingent agreements can

exercises, and cases (3rd ed.). Irwin.

be established. In other words, contractual arrangements or

³ A lmquist, E., Cleghorn, J., & Sherer, L. (2018). The B2B elements of

provisions may depend on the occurrence or non-occurrence

value. Harvard Business Review, 96(3), 18.

of specific future events. These can be contingent liabili-

⁴ L ax, D. A., & Sebenius, J. K. (2006). 3-D negotiation: Powerful tools to

ties, performance-based bonuses, or insurance agreements.

change the game in your most important deals. Harvard Business Press.

Another common form of contingent agreement is earnouts:

⁵ Malhotra, D., & Bazerman, M. (2007). Negotiation genius: How to

the purchase price of a business is contingent on the future

overcome obstacles and achieve brilliant results at the bargaining table and

performance of the acquired company. For instance, if you

beyond. Bantam.

were negotiating on behalf of an electricity company, you

⁶ Belbin, R. M., & Brown, V. (2022). Team roles at work. Routledge.

could agree with a supplier of wind turbines, such as Siemens Gamesa, on specific commercial terms and conditions based on the performance of the installed turbines.

10. Reinforcing the “signature” qualities of value-based negotiators I have argued that value-based strategies are among the most effective approaches to sustaining negotiation effectiveness

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

⁷ R aiffa, H. (1982). The art and science of negotiation. Harvard University Press.

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 javier.marcos-cuevas@cranfield.ac.uk and https://www.linkedin. com/in/javiermarcoscuevas/.

Ve l o c i t y ®

35

THE CASE FOR STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT Sales Mastery delivers the executive summary for their 2023 Sales Performance Scorecard study.

By Jim Dickie Cofounder Sales Mastery and

We gathered data and created the Sales

this background, we are pleased and excited

Performance Scorecard (SPS) Matrix in 2022

to introduce the 2023 SPS Matrix, related

but were restricted from introducing it before

performance levels (see below), and analysis

its appearance in the November-December

of this data.

’22 issue of the Harvard Business Review. In

Barry Trailer

2007 we introduced a model that displayed

Cofounder Sales Mastery

five levels of relationship against four levels of sales process. The SPS Matrix (see below) is an update and expansion of that earlier model. The update includes relabeling three

The most “anticipated recession” — ever Looking back at the study data from the 2022 SPS study, the initial hope was that

of the five levels of relationship to reflect the

performance would end well for the year.

sea change, some would say “power shift,”

However, the actual results reported for 2022

that has occurred between buyers and sell-

came in at 53% of reps making quota and

ers in the B2B marketplace. The expansion

87% revenue target attainment. Asked how

relabels one level of sales process and intro-

2023 was tracking compared to 2022, only

duces another to reflect the impact of artificial

22% reported an increase in the percentage

intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Given

of salespeople making plan, and 23% said the

2023 SALES PERFORMANCE SCORECARD (SPS) MATRIX Trusted Co-creator Strategic Collaborator

Level 3 - 32% of Firms

Solution Consultant Preferred Supplier

Level 2 - 37% of Firms

Transactional Vendor

Level 1 - 31% of Firms Ad Hoc Process

36

Ve l o c i t y ®

Informal Process

Formal Process

Agile Process

Customized Process

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

same regarding the percentage of overall revenue plan attainment. From the perspective of Q4 2023, we present data on the top 12 challenges heading into 2024.

Getting in the game 1. Percentage of qualified leads converting to initial discussion

The challenges are summarized below with the hope that you will be spurred to request/review the entire report (50 pages) but recognize the need to “cut to the chase.” You may want to assign digging deeper to someone on your team, but we invite you to check out the findings below. Spoiler alert: many of the needles are pointing in the wrong direction. The current economic, political, geopolitical, and environmental

The percentage of qualified leads converting to initial discussion has fallen by more than half in eight years. It’s not surprising that conversion rates soar when the quality of leads improves from unacceptable to excellent. What is surprising is that only 7% of firms reported excellent or better quality leads from marketing.

uncertainty only suggests the need for a clear-eyed strategy to kick off 2024.

The SPS study gathers self-reported data, much of which is probably based on best guesses. However, these guesses normalize over several hundred responses. Still, the SPS Matrix is much more definitively based. The metrics that underpin the performance levels are figures every company tracks:

60%

Percentage of Qualified Leads Converting to Initial Discussion 55%

50% 40%

32%

30%

• Percentage of target attainment

25%

20%

• Percentage of reps meeting quota

10%

• Outcome of forecast deals • Voluntary turnover

0%

• Involuntary turnover

2015

2021

2023

The Sales Performance KPI Comparison table summarizes these figures for the three performance levels and shows sig-

2. Ability to thoroughly research prospect accounts

nificant differences in results.

Reps attaining quota jumped from 46% to 65% when reps’ ability to research prospects

Sales Performance KPI Comparison

% Salespeople Making Quota

Level 1: 2023 Results

Level 2: 2023 Results

Level 3: 2023 Results

improves. There likely are other contrib-

45%

48%

61%

3. Sellers continue to be the main source

uting factors, but truly preparing for each sales call counts. of leads

% Overall Revenue Plan Attainment

76%

85%

94%

% Forecast Deals – Wins

41%

46%

57%

Thirty-nine percent of leads are generated

by BDRs/SDRs/reps. The two lowest contributing sources? Referrals and Customer Success. What can be done to help these

% Forecast Deals – Losses

29%

25%

18%

target-rich areas contribute to lead flow?

% Forecast Deals – No Decisions

30%

29%

25%

Winning the game 4. Effectively identify and gain access to

% Voluntary Turnover

12%

10%

8%

all key stakeholders Is “No Decision” becoming your most

% Involuntary Turnover

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

17%

13%

10%

successful competitor? Step up to this

Ve l o c i t y ®

37

challenge of access and cut no decisions by more than half

programs have only caused buyers to further insulate them-

(32% down to 20%).

selves.

5. Consistently conduct a comprehensive needs analysis Again, twice as many firms reported needing to improve

Advanced sales technology assessment

(43%) versus those excelling (22%) in this category. The impact

This year represents the fifth annual study focused on ana-

on sales performance is a full 10 points (25%) higher in close

lyzing the advanced use of technology, including the emer-

rates.

gence of AI, to optimize sales performance. In recognition of

6. Regularly optimize the size of each deal

the challenges sales teams are still facing and reflecting on new

One key to unlocking all this potential is upskilling your sellers on negotiating win-win deals. Those excelling at this ability scored 12 times higher on maximizing deal size.

Keep winning 7. Ability to further penetrate existing accounts We redefined levels of relationship, and it may be time for you to do so as well. Honestly assess your level of relationships today and what your solution requires of your buyers.

8. Determine your current SPS Matrix location

case studies we have been gathering on AI usage across many aspects of customer lifecycle management, we have expanded this section to provide a more detailed update on the role technology can/will play in changing the way companies sell.

Based on the results that AI is already producing, along with the increasingly significant impact it will have on the world of sales over time, it would be foolhardy for sales organizations not to at least educate themselves on the power of AI as a tool for optimizing sales performance. Yes, there are key challenges with AI that need to be dealt with such as data quality/ availability, issues with integration to other systems, output

In addition to level of relationship, assess your level of process

accuracy, cost, regulatory compliance, and more. But AI will

implementation, understand client outcomes (versus product

transform all aspects of business — sales included. This is not

features), and figure out how to be of service to your customers.

a party you will want to be late for.

9. Ability to upsell/cross-sell As a selected supplier you now have reason to continue the

Sales training assessment

conversation. Do not waste this opportunity with lame queries

You can approach engaging new and existing customers the

such as “How’s it going?” or “What else can we do for you?”

easy way or the hard way. The following are our suggestions for investing in and conducting training to help your sellers

Sales management assessment 10. First-line sales manager (FLSM) development remains a low priority

engage buyers in an easier way — the way they want to be engaged: 1. Interview buyers to understand how they buy.

FLSM development continues to be overlooked and over-

2. Shift from ROI calculators to business acumen.

whelmed. Seventy percent of firms either have no manager

3. Understand that buyers need to see a difference.

coaching program or an informal coaching process. FLSM training runs sixth in priority.

11. Sales managers proactively coach salespeople needing help

In the full report — available upon request — a detailed discussion and additional resources (videos) are linked to each of these recommendations. n

While “coaching” is acknowledged as key to improved performance, developing managers’ coaching abilities continues

Jim Dickie and Barry Trailer are Cofounders of Sales Mastery, a

to fall short and to be underfunded and underappreciated.

research and advisory firm that has been conducting primary research

12. Ability to adapt to marketplace change Buyers have gotten better at buying faster than sellers have gotten better at selling. Tech-fueled demand generation

38

Ve l o c i t y ®

in the B2B sales arena for nearly 30 years, currently focused on the emerging area of AI-for-sales and the timeless subject of sales as a profession. Dickie can be reached at jim@salesmastery.com and Trailer can be reached at barry@salesmastery.com.

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

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 i s i t o u r website for more details:

TWIST.whetstoneinc.ca

THE POWER OF ACCOUNT-BASED MARKETING: A THALES CASE STUDY

By Dominique Côté CEO & Founder Cosawi

Catherine Lapouge & Marine Bray-Bouineau Group Marketing and Sales Performance team Thales

In the work we do, we find it fascinating to see that marketing, as a function, is often missing at the strategic account table. In our more traditional groups, marketing and sales work in locked steps, but it seems that the shift to strategic account management is often missing marketing when the time comes to establish its roadmap. In today’s disrupted and fast-paced economy, marketing is key in this journey to co-orchestrate the customer-led, team-enabled account planning strategy and value proposition creation, to differentiate ourselves in the eye of our most important customers and generate revenue and achieve a mutual objective.

In the ever-evolving landscape of marketing strategies, one approach has emerged as

and

a powerful way to target and engage high-value accounts effectively — Account-Based

Pierre Schaeffer

Marketing (ABM). ABM has gained prominence for its ability to provide personalized,

Chief Marketing Officer Thales

laser-focused marketing to strategic and key accounts. In this article, we delve into the success story of Thales, a complex global organization serving various business segments, as they harnessed the potential of ABM to enhance customer intimacy and relevance during challenging times. Although not a new shift in the marketing role, many organizations still struggle to integrate it and more importantly to leverage it early on in their strategic account management strategy.

When marketing is integrated at the start of the journey, you can see an acceleration of impact as marketing can bring so much when their ways of working traditionally inside out can be turned to an outside-in mindset, starting with the customer pain points and most important preoccupations. With Account-Based Marketing or Account Marketing, it is not a battle of title but a need to create and be part of an integrated team that works together in providing value beyond the product, relevant to the account and customer in an agile and impactful manner.

Marketing is the R&D to sales, and Account Marketers can help the strategic account manager (SAM) develop insights that are impactful and actionable. They do this by digesting all the insight available and by connecting them with what is important to the customer, the pain points, or the area of focus.

Account Marketers can also bring the product and campaigns to the account strategy and business fit in a relevant manner. They are the owners of what we call the closet.

They know our organization and are instrumental in creating the value proposition by knowing the organization’s value enablers and capabilities. It is time to break the silos of role boundaries and bring marketing together with sales again with the objectives

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Ve l o c i t y ®

41

FIGURE 1. MARKETING’S ROLE IN THE SAM INTEGRATED JOURNEY

Partnerships/Alliances

Value Enablers

Capabilities

(customer knowledge)

Insight & Trends

(corporate value and customer buying journey)

Owner of the account relationship

Sweet spot

Advocate

Fit between the customer buying journey, the needs, and * US *

Business cases / Use cases creation, communication, and scaling

WHAT

HOW

Creating the solution

Omnichannel and point of communications

Connection Opportunities Enterprise Campaign

Owner of the closet

KAM / SAM

Services

Marketing

Organization value

Products & Brands

Customer

© Cosawi | All rights reserved

ofBuild providing the most value to our customer for mutual growth a deep and revenue generation (Figure 1). understanding

that the customer feels genuinely valued and understood and connected in the way they want to be engaged.

Customize / Build of the target Account Marketing professionals focus on several key When Thales started their a 1 journey, they 2 also established impactful value audience. aspects: SAM Center of Excellence (CoE) as a critical success factor propositions.

Target Value Propositions

in which ABM is a foundational part. The presence of a CoE &

Insight or program office needs to be strategically positioned at the

executive level, often reporting to the CEO or C-level. This CoE plays a pivotal role in driving the transformation, setting Engagement the roadmap, defining the methodology, and establishing the

Insights and targeting: The first part of their activity involves gaining deep insights into the customer, their industry, and specific challenges. They gather information on trends, competition, and customer priorities. This insight

enables Thales to align their offerings with the unique needs Build the account 3 vision for the strategic account management journey.

In the of each engagement plan andaccount.

best practice we see, having marketing orchestrate integrated in this theCoE touchpoints.

Value proposition customization: Account Marketing is important. For Thales, the importance of executive-level Track the impact. professionals work on tailoring the value proposition to each support was clear, and it served as the cornerstone for their account. This goes beyond the global value proposition and ABM journey. extends to the specific solutions and services offered to each To ensure the success of ABM, having engaged executives customer. The goal is to demonstrate how Thales’s solutions and strong executive sponsorship is paramount. These sponBUSINESS

LINES sors not only provide buy-in but also actively participate in the account strategy, planning, and ABM engagement. Thales recognized that this engagement from the top was essential for aligning the organization with the ABM vision.

not only meet but exceed the customer’s expectations.

ACCOUNTS

Omnichannel engagement: Account Marketing professionals take the lead in developing the engagement plan for each account. This plan encompasses both digital and physical

SEGMENTchannels, creating a cohesive and personalized experience for At Thales, this transformation began with the creation of MARKETING the customer. The omnichannel approach ensures that the

a distinct role — Account Marketing. These dedicated pro- customer receives a consistent message across all touchpoints.

Drive customer needswith & Build impactful integrated value fessionals work closely account managers, focusing on The collaboration Account Marketing and account competitive analysis for propositionsbetween for the segment customizing marketing strategies, communication channels, managers is a defining feature of Thales’s ABM approach. the segment and activities for specific accounts, what is called the&engageintegrated Define strategy marketingAccount managers are responsible forBuild the account plancampaigns and the & sales enablement tools for ment plan. goals at the service of the market account relationship, which includes the overall engagement the segment segment business ambition Thales recognized that the success of their ABM strategy relied strategies. Account Marketing professionals suggest value proheavily on the introduction of Account Marketing as a special-

posals and co-orchestrate the execution of the engagement

ized function. Account Marketing professionals are tasked with

plan, aligning marketing efforts with the broader account

tailoring marketing strategies to individual accounts, ensuring

strategy and customer preference or centricity.

42

Ve l o c i t y ®

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Partnerships/

Value Enabler

Capabilities

Insight & Tre

Enterprise Ca

(customer knowledge)

Services

account relationship

Products & Br

closet

(corporate value and customer buying journey)

WHAT

Creating the solution

FIGURE 2. ACCOUNT MARKETING MISSIONS

A key challenge in ABM is breaking down silos between marketing and account manage-

Build a deep understanding ship of the account by the strategic account of the target manager is important. Strategic account man1 audience. agement is a team sport and requires a village.

Target spot Customer Organization value Sweet ment. Going beyond the perceived sole owner-

The co-orchestration of the strategic account

Partnerships/Alliances

account team define their collaboration and

Value Enablers

knowledge)

Instead of being prescriptive, Thales let the

Capabilities

buying journey)

Services

(customer start and thiscustomer new way of working and scale it.

Enterprise Campaign

Products & Brands

value offering to the accounts. Breaking this Owner the the Owner of thefrom account tension and of sharing how-to closet account teams that arevalue doing this well is a great way to (corporate relationship

Insight & Trends

plan by this tight collaboration of marketing Connection Opportunities Marketing KAM / SAM and the SAM accelerates and enhances the

& Insight

2 Value Propositions

Fit between the customer buying journey, the needs, Engagement and * US *

Customize / Build impactful value propositions.

Advocate

Business cases / Use cases creation, communication, and scaling

Build the account HOW engagement plan and Creating the solution Omnichannel and point of orchestrate the touchpoints. communications Track the impact.

WHAT

3

elevated the success that they were having in this great partnership of marketing and SAM (Figure 2).

BUSINESS Build a deep value proposition tailored to the entire segment. Segment LINES understanding Marketing considers the diverse range of business lines within / Build of to theconnect target Account Marketing to the rest ofCustomize How the Thales to generate tailored messages for the market.

1 2 impactful value audience. marketing group: The role of Segment Marketing Segment Marketing professionals play a crucial role in propositions.

Target Value In addition to account & marketing, Thales created a role understanding the specific needs and SEGMENT challenges of each Propositions MARKETING Insight called Segment Marketing. This function serves as a bridge market segment. They collaborate closely with Product

between products, campaign marketing, and the Account Marketing and Account Marketing to ensure that Thales’s Drive customer needs Build impactful i offerings are& aligned with the unique requirements of the Marketing at the account team table — focusing on specific Engagement competitive analysis for propositions fo segment (Figure 3). market segments, such as airports, and presenting Thales’s the segment Build the account 3 Define strategy & marketing engagement plan and goals at the service of the market orchestrate the touchpoints. segment business ambition

Track the impact.

FIGURE 3. A KEY TRANSFER FUNCTION: SEGMENT MARKETING

BUSINESS LINES

ACCOUNTS

SEGMENT MARKETING Drive customer needs & competitive analysis for the segment

Build impactful integrated value propositions for the segment Define strategy & marketing goals at the service of the market segment business ambition

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Build integrated campaigns & sales enablement tools for the segment

Ve l o c i t y ®

43

FIGURE 4. VALUE-BASED APPROACH TO INNOVATION AND MARKETING Value Quantification

Value Creation

ValueBased Innovation

ValueBased Marketing

Thales’s success in ABM Thales identified over 100 “focus customers”, emphasizing the need for segmentation to target high-value accounts and reduce the number of their strategic accounts that have one

ValueBased Pricing

ValueSelling & Negotiation

Value Capture

marketing and account managers was key to successful value quantification and communication (Figure 4).

Conclusion

Account Marketing role per account. They also implemented

Thales’s journey into Account-Based Marketing serves as

an executive sponsor for each strategic account, ensuring close

a testament to the power of a well-executed ABM strategy.

alignment and support.

By establishing a Center of Excellence, securing executive

For the key accounts, they still have an Account Marketing role at the table, but they cover multiple accounts (four to five) that are part of a same market segment.

The creation of Account Marketing roles was a game changer. These professionals worked closely with account managers, customizing value propositions and engagement strategies, ensuring that each customer felt individually catered to.

sponsorship, and integrating Account Marketing into their approach, they successfully connected with high-value accounts, customized their offerings, and quantified the value they provided.

Thales’s experience exemplifies the effectiveness of ABM when implemented as a holistic approach, emphasizing teamwork, innovation, and customer-centricity. This story is a valuable lesson for organizations seeking to transform their

The key to success in Thales’s ABM journey was collabora-

marketing strategies and build stronger relationships with

tion. Account managers and Account Marketing professionals

their most important clients. The synergy between Account

worked as a team to create and execute the account plans,

Marketing and Segment Marketing exemplifies the holistic

optimizing the engagement strategy. The close interaction

approach required for successful ABM. This approach can be

between the two functions led to quick wins and demonstrated

a game changer for organizations looking to enhance customer

the value of ABM.

engagement and drive business growth. It is time to ensure marketing is at the ignition of our strategic account manage-

Value-based innovation and marketing Thales adopted a value-based approach to innovation and marketing. They focused on the value they delivered to cus-

ment journey and at the table to foster that customer-led and team-enabled account plan for mutual growth and revenue generation. n

tomers beyond their products, emphasizing innovation, value proposition, pricing, and negotiation. Thales quantified and personalized these value propositions, showing customers the tangible benefits of their solutions. With this rigor, Thales has

Dominique Côté is CEO & Founder of Cosawi (www.cosawi.com) and can be contacted at dcote@cosawi.com. Catherine Lapouge & Marine Bray-Bouineau are on the Group Marketing and Sales

been able to scale some of their best practices, creating business

Performance team at Thales and can be contacted via LinkedIn at

cases to be used by their account team with customers.

linkedin.com/in/catherine-lapouge-448415180 and linkedin.com/in/

Thales’s experience in quantifying value showed that marketing’s involvement was critical. This collaboration between

44

Ve l o c i t y ®

marine-bray-bouineau-06a506b1, respectively. Pierre Schaeffer is Chief Marketing Officer at Thales and can be contacted at linkedin. com/in/pierreschaeffer.

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

CALL FORV ELOC I TY SUBMISSIONS FOR 2024 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.

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”

Who We Want To Hear From

✓ Human element

✓ SAMs and sales executives, managers, and account managers at all levels

How To Submit

✓ 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

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.

A CUSTOMER-CENTRIC ORGANIZATION The critical ingredient to enable strategic account management.

“A customer-centric organization isn’t just a business model, it’s a mindset. Putting the customer at the center of everything we do isn’t just good for them, it’s good for the long-term success of our company.”

– John Chambers, CEO, JC2 Ventures

By Gordon Galzerano Cofounder and Managing Partner Timberwilde Consulting Group

Customers are the driving force behind any successful company. Their feedback and influence can shape the direction and success of your business, giving you a strategic advantage in the marketplace. And yet, many companies are left with the need to prioritize, embed, or act upon the feedback and sentiments their customers provide, leaving strategic accounts unsatisfied and, over time, vulnerable to competition.

In today’s competitive business landscape, it’s more important than ever for companies to focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences. A customer-centric organization prioritizes the needs and desires of its customers above all else. This approach has become increasingly vital as customers have more choices than ever before and can easily switch to competitors if unsatisfied.

This article will explore the importance of a customer-centric organization and its benefits to businesses across all industries and geographies. We will also discuss strategies for overcoming common challenges and developing and maintaining a customer-centric approach.

In a customer-centric organization, the customer is at the center of everything the company does. All aspects of the business, from product development to marketing and customer service, are designed to meet the needs and preferences of the customer at the center, which is at the heart of strategic account management (SAM). A best practice for SAM is directly related to how we prioritize relationship-building and understanding each strategic account’s unique needs and challenges. This approach has several key benefits for businesses: • Enhanced customer commitments and lasting relationships: When your customers feel that you and your company truly understand and value them, they are more likely to become long-term, repeat customers. A customer-centric approach can help build strong relationships with strategic customers, increasing loyalty and creating higher lifetime customer value.

46

Ve l o c i t y ®

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

• E levated customer experience: By focusing on your strategic customers’ unique needs and preferences, your company can ensure that its products and services meet or exceed customer expectations. Said another way, by doing so, your company’s value proposition and competitive differentiation can lead to upsell and cross-sell opportunities and higher levels of customer satisfaction, which is crucial for maintaining a positive brand reputation and attracting new customers.

• Enhanced competitive advantage and differentiation: Businesses need every advantage they can get, more than ever. Creating a distinctive edge or advantage can set a company apart from its competitors by providing customers with a more personalized and tailored experience. What does this look like? Many companies treat each strategic customer as

independently and lack a customer focus. Consequentially,

an individual with unique needs and preferences and tailor

they fail to collaborate or share customer-related information.

products, services, and interactions to create a more relevant

This may hinder the ability to create a seamless customer expe-

and engaging experience. This can help businesses stand

rience, which is crucial for business success. In many cases, the

out in the minds of their most strategic customers and gain

outcome of customer-centricity initiatives can be resistance

a competitive edge.

to change among employees. This is because employees may

• E nhanced comprehension of customer needs and requirements: A customer-centric organization constantly seeks to learn more about its customers and their preferences. These insights can improve products and services, enable the development of new offerings, and deliver a better overall customer experience.

• Increased revenue and profitability: Ultimately, a customer-centric approach can lead to higher revenue and profitability for businesses. By focusing on meeting the unique needs of strategic customers, companies can drive increased sales, reduce customer churn, and maximize the lifetime value of each customer.

Becoming a customer-centric organization must be part of the company’s culture and treated as the highest priority of any organization, starting from the top levels of leadership.

Prioritization of resources and support teams are often needed.

Usually, obstacles stand in the way of a company achieving its goal, and it can take time to implement the necessary changes and encourage a customer-focused culture throughout the company. This translates to the need for a customer-centric strategy. With it, an organization can align its business goals with its customer-focused initiatives.

be hesitant to change the way they work or their processes, especially if they have been working that way for a long time.

However, with proper training and development initiatives, employees can gain a better understanding of the importance of customer-centricity and acquire the skills necessary to provide an excellent customer experience. Suppose an organization lacks consistent and reliable customer experience measurement methods. They may need help identifying ways to improve their customer-centric approach.

The key to overcoming these obstacles starts and ends with prioritizing and implementing key actions. Creating a customer-centric organization requires a strategic and holistic approach. Here are some key strategies that businesses can use to develop and maintain a customer-centric approach: • K now and understand your customers: The first step in building a customer-centric organization is truly understanding your customers. Companies can uncover critical customer information by gathering and analyzing data about customer preferences, behaviors, and needs, using methods such as market research, customer surveys, and customer feedback mechanisms. By deeply understanding your customers, you can create products and services tailored to their needs.

Let’s take the example of an organization where the leader-

• Enable and empower employees: Employees play a crucial

ship decides not to prioritize customer-centricity. In such a sce-

role in delivering a customer-centric experience. They are

nario, different departments within the organization may work

often the first point of contact with customers and have the

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Ve l o c i t y ®

47

power to make a lasting impression. It’s essential to empower

various buying centers, and customers who directly impact

employees to make decisions that are in the customer’s best

product and solutions innovation. By implementing VoC pro-

interest, whether it’s resolving a complaint or finding a cre-

grams like Customer Advisory Boards, businesses can ensure

ative solution to a problem. Training, clear communication

they are meeting the needs of their customers and continu-

of the company’s customer-centric values, and a supportive

ously improving their offerings.

work environment are all ways to empower employees.

• Monitor and evaluate customer performance indicators:

• A lign and mobilize the organization around the cus-

Businesses need to measure and track key metrics indicative

tomer: A customer-centric approach should permeate every

of customer-centricity. These include customer satisfac-

aspect of the business, from product development to market-

tion scores, Net Promoter Score (NPS), customer retention

ing, sales, and cus-

rates, and customer

tomer service. This

lifetime value. By

approach

requires

t rack i ng

alignment

across

t hese

metrics, businesses

all departments and

can

functions to ensure

success in deliver-

everyone is work-

ing

ing towards deliv-

customer

ering

ences and identify

exceptional

customer

gauge

their

exceptional experi-

experi-

areas for improve-

ences. Some ways

ment. In addition to

to achieve this are

these quantitative

through clear com-

metrics, customer-

munication of the

centric

company’s custom-

tions may also use

er-centric vision and

qualitative methods

values, as well as

such as customer

performance met-

organiza-

feedback, surveys,

rics and incentives that reward customer-focused behavior.

and customer interviews to gather insights into the impact of

It’s important for businesses to use customer input to

their customer-centric strategies. By analyzing quantitative

drive and facilitate improvement. By collecting and analyzing

and qualitative data, organizations can understand how their

customer feedback regularly, businesses can gain valuable

customer-centric initiatives impact customer satisfaction,

insights that can help them improve their products and ser-

loyalty, and the overall experience.

vices. Surveys, customer reviews, and social media monitoring are all effective ways to accomplish this.

It’s crucial for businesses to act on customer feedback to show that they are listening to their customers and are committed to delivering the best possible experience. To achieve this, investing in Voice of the Customer (VoC) programs is essential. These programs allow businesses to capture, ana-

• Adapt and evolve: Customer preferences and needs constantly change, so businesses must adapt and evolve. A customer-centric organization always seeks to stay ahead of customer trends and deliver innovative solutions that meet changing needs. A willingness to experiment, take risks, and continuously improve the customer experience is needed to stay ahead.

lyze, and interpret customers’ needs, preferences, and feedback. By doing so, businesses can identify trends, patterns, and specific needs important to their customers and tailor their products, services, and overall customer experience to better align with customer expectations.

Case studies of customer-centric organizations There are many examples of companies that have successfully developed a customer-centric approach and reaped the benefits. One example is Amazon, which has built its

One of the most impactful VoC programs is Customer

business around delivering exceptional customer experiences.

Advisory Boards, which typically target C-level executives,

The company relentlessly focuses on customer satisfaction,

48

Ve l o c i t y ®

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

as evidenced by its generous return policy, fast shipping times, and personalized product recommendations. This approach has helped Amazon become one of the world’s most valuable and trusted brands.

Ritz-Carlton is renowned for its legendary customer service

and

personalized

experiences. The company’s customer-centric approach is seen in its “Gold Standards,” which emphasize providing personalized,

anticipatory

service to each guest. RitzCarlton’s unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction and creating memorable experiences has established it as a leading luxury hotel brand,

customers free shipping, and a year to make returns, the com-

earning numerous accolades and industry recognition for its

pany’s customer-centric culture empowers employees to exceed

exceptional customer service.

expectations, resulting in higher satisfaction, loyalty, and posi-

In healthcare, one example of a patient-centric organiza-

tive brand perception.

tion is the Cleveland Clinic. They have implemented various

These examples demonstrate that a customer-centric

initiatives to prioritize and improve patient care, such as offer-

approach can be applied across industries and businesses of all

ing same-day appointments, providing access to their doctors

sizes, leading to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and

through virtual visits, and focusing on preventive care and

business success.

wellness programs. They also use patient feedback and data to continuously improve their services and deliver personalized care to each individual. Additionally, they have vital patient education and support programs to empower patients to take control of their health. Overall, Cleveland Clinic is known for its patient-centered approach and commitment to providing the best possible care for its patients.

In summary, developing a customer-centric organization is essential for businesses, irrespective of industry and geography, given the level of disruption occurring in today’s competitive marketplace. A hyperfocus on meeting customers’ needs can increase customer experience, satisfaction, and profitability. Businesses can create a customer-centric culture that sets them apart from the competition by understanding

Southwest Airlines has built a strong reputation for putting

customers, empowering employees, aligning the organization

customers first. The company’s “Bags Fly Free” policy, no

around the customer, using feedback to drive improvement,

change fees, and friendly, accommodating customer service

and tracking customer-centric metrics, ultimately leading to a

are highlights of its customer-centric approach. Southwest’s

customer-centric approach that benefits customers and leads to

commitment to providing a positive travel experience has led to

lasting business success. n

high customer satisfaction and brand loyalty, establishing the company as a leader in the aviation industry.

Another example is Zappos, an online retailer known for its exceptional customer service.

With incentives such as paying employees to quit, offering

Vol. 26

Issue 1 2024

Gordon Galzerano is the Cofounder and Managing Partner of Timberwilde Consulting Group, a boutique B2B consulting practice that focuses on strategic customer engagement and Voice of the Customer (VoC) programs. Gordon can be reached at 919-208-3416 or at Gordon@timberwildeconsulting.com.

Ve l o c i t y ®

49

LEVEL UP YOUR CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

Trusted advisor Solutions partner Preferred supplier Vendor

Certified Strategic Account Manager CSAM: A learning curriculum to enable strategic account managers and their leaders

THE

CERTIFICATION JOURNEY SAMA’s Certified Strategic Account Manager (CSAM)

program

guides

participants

through a comprehensive certification journey

that

assesses

competencies,

develops skills, enables coaching, and ensures adoption of improved behaviors.

SAMA provides a technology tool that was designed to track the inputs of the journey and enables a standardized coaching and assessment process.

SAMA Competency Assessment & SAM Playbook: Foundational Skills for Driving Superior Customer Results

“ Core Four” workshops

Coaching & assessment of mastery of steps 1-4 of SAM process

SAM electives & ongoing account business case project

SAMA assessment & current account business case for SAM certification

For more information, email certification@strategicaccounts.org.

SAMA engages with the industry’s top providers of training and uses technology designed specifically for the role of the SAM and the entire SAM process.

Strategic Account Management Association Tel: +1-312-251-3131 • www.strategicaccounts.org