2012 will be a great revenue year – 5 ACTIONS that you as the Leader can do to make it happen…NOW!

I suppose Leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people… Indira Gandh

Effectively engage with and obtain feedback from your most critical revenue sources (internal and external) – then integrate this feedback into your account and business action plans! The greater the engagement level the greater the success!

Ensure that all clients understand your economic value proposition – the economic impact that you as a strategic solutions supplier is having on their bottom line; document, validate and converse with client on it.

Align and optimize resources to opportunities – ensure that bottom line management is not causing valuable and hard to replace revenue from leaking out the back door!

Reward results – across the whole team; a thank you culture, compensation for exceeding goals and facilitate the alignment of compensation to critical business objectives!

Timely reviews and communications – keep everyone in the “Performance Loop”; knowledgeable about where they are, what needs to occur now and immediate corrections actions to previous plans

It also remains critical that Leadership shows the way – in every way!

Nov 14 2011

The Profile of a Successful Strategic Account Manager – Best Practice SAM Behaviors, Competencies / Aptitude, Skills, Style and Intangibles (Part 5 of 5)

To see where we are going, you have to first see where we have been…as a refresher; here are the first 4 components of the profile of a successful and effective SAM we have already covered.

Behaviors – The way in which one acts, or conducts oneself (Part 1)

Competencies and Aptitude – Capabilities or abilities; innate or acquired capacity for something (Part 2)

Skills – Proficiency, facility, or dexterity of an art, trade or technique, that is acquired or developed through training or experience (Part 3)

Style – The way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed (Part 4)

The Intangibles

The Intangibles…our final stop in a journey through the profile of a successful and effective strategic account manager (SAM). By definition, intangible means “nonmaterial or hard to define”, which would make a blog post defining the indefinable an oxymoron of sorts. But we know that intangibles exist and that they count for a great deal of “something” when determining success. We can liken the intangibles of a SAM to the characteristics and attributes of an athlete who is often referred to as a “winner” – they just have a way of making situations and the people around them better…or in other words, successful!

Of the all the parts of the SAM profile, intangibles are by far the most subjective component. They are very difficult to test for and to measure. As a result, the measurement of a person’s intangibles usually requires a qualitative assessment of the SAM candidate and the personal and/or business life they currently lead, and have led. This assessment is much less structured, and formal than the previous 4, and will most likely be measured in a simple cliché, “they just have IT”.

As for what “IT” is, here is a list of those intangibles to look for in a SAM:

The Intangibles	Description
Drive and Commitment for Success	The relentless commitment toward tasks and accomplishment. Usually requires minimal leadership to sustain their motivation and drive. Their focus is more on a clear understanding of the mission and what success looks like; this is their goal.
Well read	Values knowledge. Is in constant search of valuable nuggets of wisdom that will help them perform their role. They are constantly researching the web, books, conferences and other sources for knowledge.
Higher education	Has earned at least a college educational degree. It may be from any institution over long periods of time – but the accomplishment is there.
Willingness to do – has done	They really want to perform the role of the SAM. They see it as a good fit for who they are and what their career is headed. They take the initiative to seek out input and come prepared with questions.
Career match	The role is a logical progression in their career. It assimilates many of their previous career roles into one role. The SAM role is the opus of their career.
Integrity with a respect for others	They reflect a world of them versus me. They listen and can adapt to different types of people and environments. They value relationships and demonstrate the art of good manners. They run their life according to a strong value system – that is considerate of others.
Comfortable in senior level environment	They are able to be in the presence of and interact with experienced leadership. They have put themselves in this position many times previously. They seek out this type of interaction. They do know how to utilize others to help them accomplish this task.

A couple of summary points…

Be looking for someone who is better than your best SAM

Know the candidate beyond the interview –solicit input from others

Know the whole book the whole person– not just the cover

This concludes our blog series on identifying and employing a highly effective and successful SAM. I wish you the best on this important endeavor. Keep in mind that the SAM is often the face of your organization.

What face do you want your important clients to work with and depend on? Our profile of an effective and successful SAM has painted what we know is the face of SAM success. Study it and hire to it!

Nov 14 2011

Thoughts on SAMA University

Last week, our President and CEO, Denis Chapman Sr. was at the Gleacher Center at the University of Chicago School of Business facilitating and supporting SAMA University. SAMA is the Strategic Account Management Association, and SAMA University is the platform that the organization uses to educate, train, and certify Strategic Account Managers (SAMs) from all over the world on current and emerging best practices within strategic account management. SAMA University is held throughout the year at various locations including New York, Atlanta and Prague. At this SAMA University in Chicago were well over 100 attendees representing 75 global organizations. In such a tough economy – it was refreshing to see the turnout and investment organizations are making in their strategic account managers and programs.

Upon his return to Maryland Dennis and I had a chance to talk about the high points and the central themes/thoughts from this SAMA University:

It is apparent that Strategic Account Management means different things to different people – but ALL organizations agree they have strategic customers, key to the organization’s success that, need to be managed differently.

To execute a SAM programs requires discipline on best practices and process

There is much to act on when optimizing your SAM program – is wise to break requirements down into bite size chunks

As a business process strategic account management continues to gain momentum and importance

SAMA is a great resource for learning and knowledge share – the new “Credentialing Program” which The Chapman Group has a piece of core curriculum in, is receiving great interest

There is a lot of controversy on how companies and people will be learning in the future; workshops? Conferences? Online?

The economy remains a challenge for everyone – most companies are being very cautious in their forecasting and cash management

For more information on SAMA and the University, Click Here.

Nov 9 2011

The Profile of a Successful Strategic Account Manager – Best Practice SAM Behaviors, Competencies / Aptitude, Skills, Style and Intangibles (Part 4 of 5)

As a refresher here are some of the SAM characteristics and attributes that we have already blogged to previously…

Behaviors – The way in which one acts, or conducts oneself (Part 1)

Competencies and Aptitude – Capabilities or abilities; innate or acquired capacity for something (Part 2)

Skills – Proficiency, facility, or dexterity of an art, trade or technique, that is acquired or developed through training or experience (Part 3)

Style – The way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed

The Intangibles

Style often closely linked to personality, is one of those very challenging characteristics and attributes of a SAM since many elements of style are more who the person is (and may always be) versus who they may need to be – more about assessing a person’s own style and then mastering it appropriately to fit the SAM role.

Style is an important element in the make-up of a SAM. A SAM will be presented with many challenges, in many different situations, from many diverse types of account contacts. This varies the operating environment of the SAM and may present the SAM with significant challenges to their own style preferences.

We do know from many studies and trainings that all people have their own predominant style. The question is not so much is their style right for the role of the SAM – the question may well be if they are able to understand what their style is, control it, align it and modify it based on the many unique operating environment challenges that they will be placed in during their role as a SAM.

What you do not want in the style of a SAM are those people that deliver their messages, in their own communication style (words, tones, non-verbal, etc.) in any way they want or see fit – they choose not to change and/or adapt to the situation – they create an incongruence between them, the account and/or those around d them – they are perceived as just not right for what is required.

One style does not and will not fit all the situational variables in the role of a SAM – so our first learning point when assessing the style of a successful SAM is that the most effective SAM is one that can chameleon between the following list of styles according to situation, context, and personality of individuals involved:

Style	Description
Professional	Represents the consummate professional in all ways, timeliness, appearance, commitments, organizational skills, planning, knowledge, respect for others and passion for their role. Keeps learning and improving.
Deliberate	Not hasty to judgment; prefers to listen, think and then develop an appropriate response.
Collaborative	Knows and respects the value of the input from others. Also appreciates how important it is for others to feel as though they are being heard. Places themselves as an equal Team member in group discussions and does not take a higher position regardless of their knowledge or position level.
Considerate	Always thinking about others – not themselves. Can immediately read a situation and identify the most appropriate actions that will facilitate win/win outcomes.
TEAM Oriented	All about them – not I. Drives collaboration, involvement and across the team contribution. Is always making sure that all members of the team are engaged. Always looking for team wins.
Flexible / Adaptable	Can be comfortable in most any situation and with most any type individuals. Can make their dominate style and behaviors a non-factor in group dynamics. Adapts quickly and effectively based on their surroundings

Coming soon…the end…part 5; the INTANGIBLES of an effective and highly successful SAM.

Oct 27 2011

The Profile of a Successful Strategic Account Manager – Best Practice SAM Behaviors, Competencies / Aptitude, Skills, Style and Intangibles (Part 3 of 5)

As we continue on Part 3 of our journey through the profile of an effective and successful Strategic Account Manager (SAM), we are now ready to explore SKILLS.

Behaviors – The way in which one acts, or conducts oneself (Part 1)

Competencies and Aptitude – Capabilities or abilities; innate or acquired capacity for something (Part 2)

Skills – Proficiency, facility, or dexterity of an art, trade or technique, that is acquired or developed through training or experience

Style – The way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed

The Intangibles

Skills

It is recognized that skills can be taught and learned. They do need to align to a particular task, or role, as well as an individual’s personal learning capacity . Often these are best characterized by the individual’s behavior profile and a job match pattern.

Once it is determined that an individual is the right person for the role of SAM the following is the recommended skill set they will need to effectively execute their job on a daily basis. We recognize that you may have identified additional skills required of a SAM specific to your organization; however, in this post we are referring to the top 7 cross industry skills that SAMs need to be proficient in to succeed at their job.

Skills	Description
Effective Communication / Listening	Demonstrates the ability to be an active and involved listener. Able to process concepts as presented regardless of their own background and behavior style. Uses language and concepts that align to their contact and client.
Negotiations	Able to identify all ongoing negotiating situations (almost all situations are negotiating situations) and facilitate WIN/WIN outcomes. Can fairly represent the client as well as their company.
Linking (concepts to actions)	Can create and effectively communicate solutions to challenges or visions that a client may need and/or share. Solutions may not have been clearly defined or executed. Does not need an existing solution template in all cases. Effective at free-form solution development and relationship management.
Planning & Organization	Manages opportunities, time, projects, relationships and account knowledge all in an organized and documented manner. Enables others on internal and/or external team to be informed.
Leadership	Shows the way for their team by representing extraordinary standards of practices relative to behaviors, values, time management and client development. Leads and inspire by example. Earns respect of others. Always thinking Team not I.
Problem / Conflict Resolution	Thinks and acts logically (does not react) to challenges and problems. Has a goal of root cause and resolution – enabling issues to be resolved and not return. Can maintain self composure and calm of situation through complex and emotional situations. Keeps everyone on task and sensitive to needs of all parties
Relationship Building	Adapts to and accommodates many diverse personalities, behaviors and needs of individuals. Able to place their own styles and behaviors in a secondary position to accomplish their task. Relationships are important to them. They are authentic. They focus on the other party; more outward in than inward out approach. Can mesh with diverse people, cultures and interests.

…Up next, part 4; Style of the SAM.

Oct 11 2011

The Profile of a Successful Strategic Account Manager – Best Practice SAM Behaviors, Competencies / Aptitude, Skills, Style and Intangibles (Part 2 of 5)

If you are reading this, than you already buy in to the importance of hiring the correct SAM for the job – so I will not delay the delivery of the value of today’s post. In Part 1 we gave an overview of the profile and covered the Behaviors of a successful and effective SAM in detail. Listed below are the 5 distinct elements of the successful SAM profile.

Behaviors – The way in which one acts, or conducts oneself (Part 1)
Competencies and Aptitude – Capabilities or abilities; innate or acquired capacity for something
Skills – Proficiency, facility, or dexterity of an art, trade or technique, that is acquired or developed through training or experience
Style – The way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed
The Intangibles

Today we are detailing the Competencies and Aptitude part of the SAM profile.

PART 2 – Competencies and Aptitude

For clarification purposes, here are the definitions of competency and aptitude, broken out:

Competency –trained or innate capability the person can effectively execute

Aptitude – degree of learning ability

These are distinctively different profile components, but the actual capability of executing a competency at a high level of effectiveness may be influenced by one’s degree of aptitude to learn the competency; if it is not an innate competency. This highlights the importance of evaluating and understanding proven experience, degree of education and other indicators that validate that the candidate will be able to learn if necessary the required competencies – some are not easy to learn and/or execute.

The chart below lists and describes the competencies of an effective SAM and then also documents the degree to which a high aptitude in that capability can affect the development of the specified competency.

Here is a definition of the levels of aptitude affect:

None – no effect, this competency is either present or not.

Low – a competency that is very hard to develop despite aptitude; in extreme cases, candidates who do not naturally possess the capability but have a high aptitude can be developed, trained and coached.

High – a competency, that given the aptitude can be developed, trained, and coached.

Competencies & Aptitude

COMPETENCIES	Description	APTITUDE Affect
Financial and Business Acumen	An acute level of knowledge and intuition on; business organizations, operating procedures, trends and the key financial metrics / ratios that often predict and measure business success.	High
Problem Solver	Can listen to complex challenges and logically work through the root causes of the challenges and offer several options that may address the challenge.	Low
Creative / Innovative	Can create solutions to challenges or visions that may have otherwise not been defined or executed. Does not need an existing solution template in all cases. Effective at free-form solution development and relationship management.	None
Technology	Is technology literate at a level to effectively utilize the Microsoft Office suite of products including quality development of basic presentations, spreadsheets, communication documents and cell phone applications.	High
Senior Level Interaction	Is comfortable and able to engage and coordinate initiatives with senior leaders in a variety of business situations. Would most likely prefer that these types of relationship engagements were their primary focus.	Low
Thought Leadership	Continuously develops their individual knowledge level around industry or business practices, trends and/or events to substantiate their value to a client.	High
Working knowledge of products / services	Knows well enough to be credible the products and/or services that they represent. As well as their value and effective utilization in the marketplace.	High
Competitive / Results Oriented Practices; Measures Progress	Commonly utilizes tools to track and chart their performance and/or the progress within a project as compared to other people and/or projects.	High
Team Builder	Can assess and engage talent to be a motivated and passionate part of the team.	Low

What is important to note in closing is the necessary support structure a SAM organization needs to develop and/or maintain competencies. Once hired, it is important that an organization continues to develop the list of competencies above – times change, business changes, and so do the requirements of customers…A successful SAM will take the initiative to adjust, and get better, and the organization needs to make the resources available for the SAM to hone their craft, strengthen their competencies, and get better

Coming soon, part 3; the Skill set of the successful SAM

Oct 5 2011

The Profile of a Successful Strategic Account Manager – Best Practice SAM Behaviors, Competencies / Aptitude, Skills, Style and Intangibles

One of the most common questions that I receive in the area of optimizing strategic account relationships is, what is the profile of a successful and effective strategic account manager (SAM)? This is a very important question, especially considering that this person (the SAM) will ultimately be one of the most critical determining factors of success, or failure, within each of your SAM accounts –

What follows, is a 5 part series of blogs that describes and defines the profile of a successful and effective SAM. We are going to break the definition of the SAM profile down into 5 distinct elements with supporting criteria for you to benchmark SAMs against:

Behaviors – The way in which one acts, or conducts oneself

Competencies / Aptitude – Capabilities or abilities; innate or acquired capacity for something

Skills – Proficiency, facility, or dexterity of an art, trade or technique, that is acquired or developed through training or experience

Style – The way in which something is said, done, expressed, or performed

The Intangibles

It is safe to say that you may not be able to find a resource who fits the profile perfectly straight out of the box…I have only met a few in my 30 years of SAM experience. Which leads me to this point – there are additional elements of SAM training, coaching, and development that need to be ongoing to ensure a SAM continues to match the profile…but you cannot develop, train, or coach just ANY resource into a SAM – it does take an extraordinary person – which is why the right SAM will deliver extraordinary results for all parties involved.

PART 1 – Behaviors

The first element of the SAM profile is BEHAVIOR. In my experience, it is best to look for a strategic account manager that naturally conducts his or herself as defined in the chart below. This not something I recommend wavering on – while the listed behaviors can be taught and learned, more often than not, such a resource that does not exhibit these behaviors will not last very long in their SAM role and may well cause long term detrimental effects to the overall business relationship.

Here are the key behaviors to look for in a SAM:

Behavior	Description
FILO; First in Last Out	The SAM role is by definition, time consuming – there are no short cuts – it requires an individual who is able to and willing to execute and commit to the efforts and time necessary for success.
Exemplary role model / Leader	Provides the model for success for the whole team;presentation, quality, communication processes and skills, etc. Reflects being the “best” and/or extraordinary in their role for both the account and the company. Assumes and executes leadership.
Professionalism	In all ways presents self, company and solutions in a manner that any account would find extraordinary. Respects others as a matter of everyday life practices.
Customer-centric	Places the customer at the center of their business universe. Listens to their customer and responds appropriately. Appreciates the importance of the relationship for all parties.
Fiscally responsible	Manages organizational and customer finances as their own.
Measures efforts and progress	Maintains a score card to support their action / reaction that might be necessary to obtain goals and objectives. Always knows where they are against goals and expectations.
Willing to take chances / change	Appropriately offers alternatives as solutions to challenges. Always thinking how to improve and to resolve issues so they never return. Respects inputs / ideas of others (customers and their own organization) when they may differ from their perspective.
Takes Action	Action oriented to get things done and resolved. Works toward timelines, goals and expectations.

While many could add other desired behaviors, it is our intent to help build a base of appropriate SAM behaviors that you can build from for the future. Beginning with a person who demonstrates the above mentioned behavior is a great start to finding an effective SAM – but remember, behaviors only speak to one fifth of the profile of a successful and effective SAM.

Coming later this week in part 2; Competencies and Aptitude!

Jun 15 2011

That “1” Business to Business Metric that stands above all the rest! Remember the movie City Slickers – that one thing!

During a recent meeting with the CEO of one of our clients he said there were those key metrics that really tell the story about his business:

Margin / margin trend
Revenue growth / revenue growth by customer
Product penetration
Margin by customer
Operational performance metrics; delivery, servicing, quality, responsiveness, etc.

When hearing this I challenged back and asked are these your metrics or your customer’s metrics? I received an interesting response back; “well, if these are all positive we as well as our customers are well” – are they?

What if your customer’s gold standard is different (higher or different criteria) than yours – oops!

Another thought from our conversation; there are certainly metrics that tell a “now” story (sometimes referred to as lagging indicators) –and there are those metrics that tell the future story (often referred to as leading or predictive indicators). My experience says that most companies are most concerned about today’s metrics and they should be (Wall Street certainly – not always a good thing) – and there is a reality that tomorrow becomes today very soon. There is a need for forward thinking supported by predictive analytics.

The “1” business metric that stands above the rest, in my humble opinion is the future predicting Loyalty Index (the LI). This index measures B-to-B relationship dependencies; it measures the true integration of supplier performance (internal and external) with the real customer needs, experiences and behavior. It drives and influences business practices and planning as well as customer intimacy, innovation, value creation and operational excellence – it is the “Voice of the Customer / Market”!

Suggestions…

Provide all contacts within a customer a chance to be heard – ongoing feedback process
Learn to filter through to the real nuggets – right analytics
Make measuring the customer experience an ongoing program – not a random act of courage!

May 23 2011

SAMA 2011 Conference; Important Key Learning Points for All!

I have just returned back from the SAMA (Strategic Account Management Association) 2011 Annual Conference – a great learning experience!

I especially appreciated the time that I had with many of our attending Clients and future Clients; it really re-enforced the importance of quality face-time with accounts / clients. The conference provided another excellent opportunity to listen and learn from the “voice of the Client”.

So what were some of my key learning points that I suggest others take home with them as well about Strategic Account Management (SAM)? My list includes a “Top Five”:

Ensure Proper SAM Program Construct. All SAM programs need to have some basic pillars in place to succeed. These include; the right people as SAMs, a SAM program leader, Executive buy-in with appropriate funding, a documented operating plan to get everyone on the same page and measurements and metrics that provide an ongoing evaluation of the SAM program including both internal and external “voice of the account” feedback (lagging and leading performance metrics).
Build your Strategic Account Plan on Metrics (Internal and External). A Strategic Account Plan is a hypothesis for achieving success with a specific account. It should be driven by a set of defined performance metrics that influence strategy and tactics. Don’t forget how important the predictive (leading) “voice of the account” metric is – and that it goes way beyond just satisfied or not satified! See white papers and client interview podcasts on this subject at (www.loyaltypro,com)
SAM programs take time to implement and deliver results. While I appreciate how business leaders need results now – a SAM program delivers greater results over time than traditional sales opportunity management programs – this has been proven year after year in the annual SAMA Trends Survey Report.
Not all accounts are strategic accounts. A logcal methodology for account segmentation is a must!
Think TEAM – Strategic Account Managment is a cross-functional Team sport (global – across SBUs in many situations).

In summary – it is back to enabling Clients to succeed. I keep saying over and over; remember what you experienced at the SAMA Conference – it is knowledge that converts to wisdom; and we all need more wisdom to overachieve!

Dennis

May 3 2011

SAMA Annual Conference 2011; A Time to Think, Strategize and Assess SAM Account Relationships

A given…

We are all involved in a very hectic and competitive business world and time; little time to plan much less execute (both in our business and personal lives). As I ready myself and my team for the annual SAMA (Strategic Account Management Association) Conference (www.strategicaccounts.org) I look forward to:

Collaborating with my own team (often after a day of learning)
Knowledge sharing with other industry experts (SMEs)
Participating on the SAMA Board of Directors – SAMA planning time!
Meeting with many of our attending Clients (validating our relationships and their vision for the future - feedback)
Networking at conference events
Presenting leading solutions to attendees for measuring customer experiences
Leading a panel on utilizing Executive Sponsors on a SAM Team / Account
Quiet time (when able) to re-think our account management and business strategy

As I think through my busy schedule and all of these activities the two most significant and important SAMA conference activities may be first my time to just sit, think and strategize after all of the other activities are completed each day; and secondly (not in importance) collaborating with my attending team members and customers.

I often hear from business leaders that “they are too busy to do all the right things”! (my interpretation of what they are really saying) My SAMA Conference goals are then to:

Learn
Collaborate (with Team and Customers)
Strategize (assess and plan)
Leave with improvements to our account management and business plans

I heard from a wise friend and an outstanding coach many years ago that an “hour of planning with knowledge at hand may create years of success” – I am going to take his advise!