The Best Org Chart Software doesn’t help KAM
If you are wondering what is the connection between what an org chart software does and key account management, I encourage you to read one of our previous blogs. The connection isn’t apparent. But, organizational charting is critical to key account management success. The org chart software market is crowded, fragmented, and under-penetrated. Not all organizations need sophisticated software to draw organizational charts. Excel, PPT, and good old paper still do the work, pretty much. I am sure you don’t want me to write about the reckless org chart printouts that users take. Let us dig a little deeper. A search for “Best Org Chart Software” throws up many options. At one end you have enterprise versions like LucidChart, software to support Visio to many products for small businesses that are also free. Can these aid key account management and its associated complexities? I am afraid, “No”. The following are the reasons why the best org chart software in the market does not help Key Account Management at all. Purpose of the Best Org Chart Software Org Chart Software is not designed for Key Account Management. The software’s purpose is very different. Let me illustrate this with an example. Turn to any of the software listing websites like Capterra, Software Advice, G2Crowd. Did you notice that Org Chart Software is usually a sub-category under Human Resources Software? What does that tell you? The org chart software available in the market caters to HR requirements. The software features, at best, address the operational problems in building business-friendly usable organizational charts. Key Account Management Insights Org Chart Software for Better Key Account Management explained the role of a specific type of org chart that would be a valuable aid for key account managers. Key account managers require an account facing an external organizational chart. Such an org chart builder must highlight the possibility of value creation for the KAM’s account. The existing software in the market cannot serve this purpose and innovations in KAM technology over the years have experienced a dormant growth rate. Because they are inherently passive and do not capture the changing situations under which KAMs operate. An Organizational Chart for key account management has very specific requirements that are often nuanced. Salesforce Integration Businesses with established key account management practices also happen to be Salesforce power users. The best organizational chart software for key account management should sit on top of existing CRM systems like Salesforce. This would give it the necessary prowess to render org charts dynamically, as demanded by business. DemandFarm offers Salesforce Organization chart and MS Dynamics Org chart software in the market integrates well only with ERP systems and other HR software. Key Account Management needs its own Org Chart DemandFarm’s blog has always made a case for a continuous strategic approach to key account management. Understanding the role of stakeholders that comprise an account is a valuable piece of information. As stakeholders increase within an account, insights tend to decay. This adds ambiguity to decision-making. At times, it could also mean compromising revenue goals. Thus, impacting even the business plan. A good organizational chart for key account management is just good business. Isn’t it?
Best Organizational Chart Software for Key Account Management
Org Charts are traditionally created to illustrate graphically the organization’s formal hierarchy. Its main purpose is to show the relationships and job positions of all the employees of the organization. Employee names and titles are depicted in boxes with lines linking them to departments and other employees. By looking at the chart, viewers can understand the structure of the organization, levels of seniority, and where each employee lies in it. Various organizations can use org charts internally to do any of the following: Leaders can effectively manage growth/change Employees can understand how their work impacts the organization Improved communication An employee directory for ready reference Present other types of information, such as business entity structures and data hierarchies Org Charts can be quite helpful internally, but did you think that they would be even more so externally? We, at DemandFarm, believe that there are better uses for it than just creating a formal hierarchy for internal use. As discussed in this blog the essence of key account management is value creation. But what if a key account manager can create an incredible value proposition, but doesn’t know who to tap into the client organization to ensure that it is given a fighting chance? The best organizational software is one that allows this hapless key account manager to understand how to navigate the murky waters of value addition for clients. I would love to say that this is the perfect business opportunity and you should rush out and make such software. But unfortunately, there is no denying that many have already understood the value of this type of org chart software. There are many options in the market currently. But with so many options of organization chart software how is a key account manager to decide which one is the best? Which is where we come in! We’ve collated a list of the key features that the best of the best organizational chart software should certainly have to effectively help key account managers. Superior UI and UX The way a user interacts with the software and how his experience with it is has to be one of the most important features. It isn’t enough to just give great results, the user shouldn’t struggle to reach those results. Highly Visual An ideal organization chart software shouldn’t be list-oriented, it should be extremely visual. A user should be able to understand in a single glance exactly what relationships the different participants have with one another and the key account manager’s organization. Drag and Drop Functionality Key account managers are a busy lot and physically sifting through large volumes of data and changing properties can be much too time intensive. Having a simple and quick drag and drop functionality that allows users to drag and drop contacts into an org chart is a feature to look out for. Flexibility in Purchase Although an organizational chart software isn’t a big-ticket purchase like a comprehensive key account management software, flexibility in payment terms should be sought out. Try before you Buy Isn’t it very annoying when you download the free version of the software and have to purchase it for additional features? Some Organizational Chart Software allows you the option to try a full version for free for a limited period and then purchase it if you like the functionality. Flexible Payment Options Organizational Chart Software can have multiple payment options. Depending on feasibility you can either opt for a monthly, quarterly, or yearly payment. These tailor-made payment plans can allow your organization to allocate limited resources elsewhere. Key Account Manager Specific Minimal Data Entry Having a standalone Org Chart Software will require key account managers to input large volumes of data which is highly unnecessary in the golden age of Salesforce. A 100% Native to Salesforce app can allow you to use your Salesforce data to create org charts eliminating any additional data entry. Internal Influences A formal hierarchy can only take key account managers so far. In an organization some people may have a considerable influence on the budgetary allocation and some may also be in a position of influence with CXO level officials; despite being lower in the formal structure. An ideal Organizational Chart Software should represent this data visually to ensure a better understanding of which contacts to tap for key account managers. Relationship Strength In large organizations, there may be some contacts who may be ardent supporters of your organization and others may have proven to be detractors. Trying to tap a detractor can lead to a key account manager running around in circles. The ideal organization chart software should clearly define all champions, promoters, and detractors to ensure that key account managers know exactly who to approach. Accessibility across Teams The biggest problem with key account management teams in the presence of “tribal knowledge“. A key account manager handling a particularly prime account may take with him this tribal knowledge if and when he leaves the organization. If the organization chart he created can be accessible to the entire key account management team, the loss of data can be limited to a large extent. These are just some of the features we think that every Organizational Chart Software should have but what do you think? Do let us know in the comments below!
Alleviating Key Account Management pain with Salesforce
Alleviating Key Account Management pain with Salesforce How do you feel this time of the year with Yuletide and the New Year’s around the corner? “Mixed emotions.” If you are a Key Account Manager, I can perhaps understand your answer. It isn’t so much about the pressure of time than the complexity of doing key account management in perfect detail. DemandFarm, in its many posts, has dealt with the issue of complexity in key account management. Here is a short recap. The complexity stems from two broad factors: Strategic – Key account managers confront the tough job of thinking clearly and unambiguously on two business fronts. One, about the client’s business challenges or growth opportunities. Two, understanding one’s product and service offerings, to offer a credible solution to the client. Operational – On top of the strategic ambiguity, there is a long list of operational hassles account managers have to deal with. Account plans siloed across systems – many powerpoints, word documents, meeting minutes and emails. Ineffective activity management thanks to multiple excel sessions which becomes unwieldy quickly. Managing meetings with stakeholders both internal and external. Plus the added trouble of managing CRM applications across many devices. To address the above challenges and the complexity associated with it, businesses the world overturned to CRM applications, particularly Salesforce. For businesses, it was to instill a new way of working on Leads, Contacts, and Accounts. Well, almost !!! Everybody loves Salesforce The world’s favorite CRM should not sound like an exaggeration when it comes to Salesforce. “Salesforce is to businesses what the iPhone is to consumers,” said someone. This statement may sound too casual, but reflects the inherent power of the Salesforce.com CRM system. The latest Salesforce study from Bluewolf – an IBM global Salesforce consulting agency – is a strong testimony to the power of this CRM system. 86% of the surveyed 1800 Salesforce customers believe they can use Salesforce to drive innovation in their business. The survey goes on to highlight that 83% of the IT function believe the same. It is indeed noteworthy that Salesforce has been able to get vehement buy-in from one of the most challenging user segments, in this change management exercise. Such is the power of Salesforce. Salesforce faces challenges, nevertheless. The single biggest risk to a Salesforce implementation remains – Change Management. Because it is a new way of doing sales, business development, customer experience. Yes, it is about changing the culture, capturing data, maintaining activity logs, getting rid of spreadsheets, putting rigor into doing and documenting sales meetings. Yes, it is not easy. Organizations and teams who look beyond the ease, find the rewards. Salesforce Key Account Management Fundamentally, Salesforce isn’t built for Key Account Management. It is built for opportunity management. It keeps sales teams focused on what needs to be achieved. It does by providing them with a ready-to-access dashboard that documents every day how sales teams are going about their planned goals. Given the structural difference in how Salesforce is built, it does not ‘naturally’ address the necessities of key account management. Account management and sales leaders address this gap, through Salesforce customization requests and applications from the Salesforce App Exchange. A good bunch also learns to live with the inherent account management limitations of Salesforce. In most cases, DemandFarm finds that account management is done outside of Salesforce. Dgt27, a Salesforce consultant in NYC, assists businesses in doing account planning. These account plans reside in distributed documents – PowerPoint, Excel, notes, and Word documents. We are yet to fully understand why? If you are an account management professional and see this happen in your organization, I request you to document your perspective in the comments section. So how do strategic account management teams address limitations with Salesforce? 1) Strategic One – View of Key Accounts This is a fundamental issue faced by many strategic account managers. The Salesforce system’s inability to present a single view of the overall account plan. Not all the reasons are directly related to Salesforce. Scattered & Siloed Data – During the planning process, account plans tend to get distributed. Multiple versions of the same file tend to exist, creating confusion and wasting precious key account manager time. Non-standard approach – Many variations exist in account plans thanks to the lack of a standard approach in capturing data and checking its quality. Account Planning outside Salesforce – It is ironical but true. All accounts data and information are within Salesforce, but all the planning actions happen outside of it. In many cases, the carefully drafted plans also remain outside of salesforce, thus unable to impact the accounts to the maximum. KAMs lack a central view of account plans. This compromises insights. Thus, resulting in improper forecasting and inefficient allocation of resources for maximum impact. Account structuring also takes a knock because of this issue causing ineffective account management initiatives. 2) Usability User experience is an important driver to usage and adoption. A lack of ease of use is a deal-killer. It is not an issue that is discussed too often in the context of key account management. It is not difficult to figure out why this is important. Just look around. Every human on the earth is using cutting-edge web and mobile apps on the latest smartphones. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Amazon shopping, LinkedIn and the list is endless. So, how would their expectations be about using digital applications? As good as it gets, right? Usability of Salesforce account planning is not cutting-edge, yet. Salesforce Lightning has been a welcome surprise, but there is more ground to be covered. The platform nature of Salesforce also contributes to ‘wanting’ usability. IT Teams and CIOs love Salesforce since its ‘platform’ nature allows them to make, break, make, break and remake. This customization flexibility comes at the cost of UI and UX, not something that IT teams prioritize during their development stages. The result is usually a compromise for the user. In this case, the key account managers. 3)
Best Sales Enablement Software in 2025
Closing a deal involves more than just having a top-notch sales rep. For your sales rep to be truly effective, they need immediate access to the right information. This is where the right sales enablement tools and ongoing sales training, such as Gong.io, become crucial. These tools, including AI-powered machine learning technology, provide the necessary information and help streamline processes and enhance productivity, leading to greater success for both the sales and customer success teams. With real-time sales coaching and objection handling, AI-powered tools can also assist in identifying areas for improvement and coaching opportunities for customer success, tech support, and other customer experience teams. These tools provide valuable insights and support in real-time, making them essential for increasing close rates and revenue growth and optimizing revenue operations. How do sales enablement tools help improve sales team performance? Sales enablement tools help sales teams by providing resources, content, and training to enhance their sales process. These tools enable better communication, organization, and efficiency, leading to improved productivity, higher conversion rates, and ultimately increased sales performance. What metrics can be tracked using sales enablement tools to measure success? Metrics tracked using sales enablement tools for success include sales conversion rates, sales cycle length, content engagement, lead response time, and sales rep productivity. Monitoring these metrics helps optimize sales processes, improve customer interactions, and drive revenue growth effectively. With the vast array of tools available, it can be daunting to determine which ones best meet your needs. But don’t worry, we’ve done the heavy lifting for you. Now, all you have to do is select the tool that aligns with your organizational goals and objectives. It’s good to have a suite of sales enablement tools that cover various aspects of your operations, from content management to training and analytics to reporting. Such tools ensure your sales team is well-prepared, well-informed, and capable of performing at its best. Here’s all the information you need to choose the right tool for your goals. This selection will empower your team, streamline your processes, and ultimately drive your success. What is a sales enablement software? To close a successful deal, it’s crucial to ensure that every stage of the sales funnel is seamlessly connected. This involves efficient communication of information and insights at various stages of the process. Sales enablement software is designed to achieve just that. These tools offer valuable insights into the entire sales process, allowing you to make adjustments as the sale progresses. With this, you can centralize all sales-related information, providing all stakeholders and the entire sales team with real-time insights into the progress of various aspects of the sale. These tools tag each piece of sales content with details about its target buyer persona, its use case, its position, and other necessary properties, making it an essential part of sales content management and case studies for delivering relevant information and the right content to the right audience in less time. Additionally, Showpad Content’s advanced AI-powered recommendations engine suggests relevant content for sales reps. It helps them find the most effective content for each specific sales situation and minimizes administrative tasks, allowing them to focus on engaging more effectively with buyers and improving their overall sales performance. Sales enablement software, such as Brainshark, facilitates sales by providing video-based coaching, practice, and assessments to certify reps’ readiness. It also provides automated scores and analysis powered by AI, including an AI Voice Generator for creating training content, allowing for better tracking of each sales team member’s progress and readiness. How to choose the best sales enablement software? You wouldn’t want an inefficient sales team do you? So, they need the right tool to do their jobs right. Good sales enablement tools is crucial for aligning with your organization’s goals and objectives. The choice you make is a critical part of your B2B buying process. Here’s a checklist to consider before selecting a tool, including reviewing best practices for sales engagement: Identify Sales Funnel Gaps: Start by pinpointing the areas where your sales funnel is failing. Are there stages where leads frequently drop off, or are certain sales processes taking longer than they should? By clearly identifying these gaps, you can focus on finding software that addresses these specific pain points, ensuring the tool you choose will effectively enhance your sales process. Prioritize User-Friendliness: Any new tool requires training and onboarding. Choose software with a user-friendly interface and a short adoption period. Overly complex tools with limited customization options can frustrate your team and prolong the onboarding process. Instead, opt for intuitive solutions that offer a straightforward learning curve, enabling your sales reps to quickly become proficient and productive. Additionally, check for available training resources and customer support to facilitate a smoother transition. Focus on Relevant Data and Analytics: Too many metrics can be overwhelming. Begin by drafting your sales enablement strategy to identify the key objectives and metrics. Then, select a tool that offers reporting and analytics aligned with these needs. Look for features such as customizable dashboards, real-time data tracking, and insights that directly relate to your sales goals. The right tool should help you make data-driven decisions without drowning you in unnecessary information. Ensure Scalability for Growth: As your company grows, your sales processes will evolve. Choose a tool that can scale with your company’s growth, ensuring it remains effective as your business expands. Assess whether the software can handle an increasing volume of data, users, and sales activities without compromising performance. Also, consider whether it offers advanced features that can support your future needs, such as AI-driven insights, automation capabilities, and enhanced customization. Seamless Integration with Existing Tech Stack: Seamless integration is essential. A good sales enablement tool should integrate smoothly with your existing tech stack, eliminating the need for manual data import or export. Verify compatibility with your CRM, email marketing platforms, and other essential software. Integration should be straightforward, minimizing disruptions and ensuring a unified workflow across all your tools. Additionally, check for API availability and the ability
Why Key Accounts Need More Than Sales Enablement Software
There is no debate on the need for Sales Enablement for any organization that deals with customers. To establish and maintain any kind of systematic process at scale, a sales enablement software is the cornerstone. It helps manage data, it delivers the analytical insights needed for decision making, and it automates a lot of the tasks that would otherwise take up valuable managerial time. However, for B2B companies that earn a significant part of their revenue from large, complex, global Key Accounts, there is a different set of unique characteristics and challenges that need to be addressed. These large ‘bread and butter’ accounts cannot be handled the same way- and with the same tools- that help manage regular customers. There is a need, therefore, for these B2Bs to look beyond sales enablement software for their Key Account management. They need Key Account Management Technology. It is a highly specialized enabling technology, designed specially keeping in mind the complexities and demands of Key Accounts. The objective with Key Accounts is the same as with regular Accounts- to grow them and optimize revenues from them, but how it is done is fundamentally different. The usual price and offer based solutions won’t do. The way to sustainable growth with key Accounts is by transitioning from Vendor status to Strategic Partner status. That is when the potential for ‘farming’ and mining’ the Account- selling up and across all the possible buying units in the global organization – really gets unlocked. Moreover, the only way to successfully transition from vendor to strategic partner is to identify areas of strategic interest to the Client, align with those, and be able to add and create value to those areas of business that help the client grow. So, the difference really, between sales enablement software and Key Account Management software comes down to the difference between a Sales Manager and a Key Account Manager. Both have the same mandate- to grow revenues- but the client base, the methodology, and the practices to achieve that are fundamentally different. Learn more about how KAM Enablement will help you grow your business in 2017. Download the e-book here.
√ New Year √ New Plan ? New Pain
It is the end of the year, and before we can enjoy the Christmas bonus and stuffed turkey, Key Account Management professionals have the unenviable task of reviewing the past year and creating account plans for 2017. You have probably been doing it every year, so you have a basis or a template, and all you need to do is update that, add projections, etc. But is it that simple? It is not just a sales projection; it is an account plan. We can think of dozens of questions you need to answer while planning for a key account and you can probably add on to the list as well. So where and how do you begin? Before you dig out last year’s account plan formats, the old ppts or excel sheets ask yourself these questions; “How are KAM professionals in competitor organizations and other industries preparing their account plans? Is my old method the best, most efficient way? Is there a way to make account planning easier, or to create a more thorough, robust account plan?” If you have paused to think about these questions, your first step has been in the right direction! Our experience providing KAM technology for IT service industry clients has shown us that they face challenges that are often uniquely different from those faced by other B2B industries. As we examine these challenges, we reflect on how they affect account management and how technology can ease the pain and assist with account planning. Service, an Intangible Product Organizations that have a tangible product can easily demonstrate and communicate the uses and benefits of the product. Therefore they depend primarily on the product quality and back that up or accentuate it with a brand. In contrast, the service industry has an intangible product whose benefits are not as easily demonstrable. Therefore trust or a brand name and depending on relationships and people is what attracts and retains customers. One of the benefits of KAM technology is its ability to calculate the relationships mapping strength of key accounts. Another is the convenience of having a unified view of organizational hierarchy, showing all people related to the key account, in the client’s firm and yours. Making an account plan is easy if you use all the relationship related features offered by technology; use CRM as a base, drag and drop to create a key account’s organizational hierarchy, assign a status to people based on their affinity for your company and services, plan periodic interactions between people from different hierarchical levels and more. The result, #painfreeaccountplanning, and the confidence that it provides metrics on relationship strength and throws up warning indicators as well. This year you can use specialized key account management technology to create a well-articulated account plan, one that converts relationships from hurdles into the backbone and strength of marketing. Interaction between the buyer and seller Research by Rawson, Duncan, and Jones found that customers of service industries judged satisfaction based on cumulative experiences across multiple touchpoints. In other words, each time the customer interacts with you, be it the receptionist at your head office, the automated caller menu and every client service assistant and manager, he or she is judging the experience and consciously or unconsciously rating his or her experience. A product has only one or at best a few touchpoints between the seller and the buyer. On the other hand, providing a service has multiple touchpoints throughout the life cycle of the service contract. Therefore more white space opportunities to delight or disgust the customer! Knowing this, who wouldn’t want to track customer interactions in a systematic and objective way? The solution- use KAM technology to collaborate with internal stakeholders, enumerate mutually agreed expectations and targets, and create a unified action plan. This is your chance to plan systematically and make each touchpoint an opportunity to delight your strategic account management. Make or Buy Conundrum In keeping with the holiday season, imagine you are a manufacturer of chocolates who finds he has the insufficient inventory to meet demand. Would you think of buying a cocoa plantation to increase your raw material supply, or of manufacturing a machine to temper chocolate? Probably not. You are most likely to approach sellers and buy them outright, even if you had to increase production at the cost of lower margins. But what if an IT service provider approached you with software that could better estimate cyclic consumption and enable you to plan production and inventories such that you would not face seasonal crunches? Would you consider it right now, put it off till after the holiday season production rush, wonder if the investment would really pay off or think about whether you could do something similar in-house? If you said yes to either of the last two options, you have just highlighted the challenge of selling services. Services, particularly IT services, are rarely perceived as immediate requirements. Their investment-outcome ratio is endlessly debated and often an in-house, home-grown alternative is chosen. Can you overcome the make or buy conundrum? One way to do this is to sell solutions, not services. KAM technology enables you to systematically catalog client requirements, understand the client’s end goal and align your company’s products and services to offer solutions accordingly. While key account planning this year, you can use technology to create a whitespace analysis and depending on the results, design and offer the right solutions to a key account. Creating new avenues of business from an existing client not only adds to your revenue, but it also makes the client feel valued because you are proactive in helping them meet their end goal. Customized versus Standardized Products tend to have standard specifications. Any variations or customizations are generally made at the request of customers. Hence the cost of customization is relatively easy to calculate and is often passed on to the customer. But when you sell a service as a solution, not a product, you have to customize the service
Where’s the HUMOR in Technology?
In Key Account Management , we have all witnessed the evolution of data management from its manual form to the present day digital avatar. The term ‘digital’ itself encompasses the evolution from spreadsheets and basic sales tracking software to the highly specialized Key Account Management software and solutions we see today. While the power of technology to transform the way we manage and interact with our most valuable customers is well accepted across verticals, choosing the right technology and its scope can still be a challenge for many sales professionals. A good place to start may be to think about the areas of transformation and the potential impact in those areas. Over the years, we have recorded a dizzying array of parameters to consider, and that is not including the unique circumstances of specific industries and organizations. We have distilled the former down to what we call ‘HUMOR’, a starting point to approach the overwhelming challenge of choosing technology that works for you. Harnessing the Hidden Value of Key Accounts Most salespeople would agree that in the twentieth century increasing the top line was synonymous with maximizing the number of customers. Over time new statistics such as customer acquisition costs gained focus and in the twenty-first century, retaining and maximizing the potential of existing customers, particularly of Key Accounts, has become critical to increasing the top line. But we have all faced the drawbacks of departmentalization and specialization that make it difficult for individuals in large companies with multiple products and competing divisions to see the company, or the customer, as a single entity. One way in which key account management tools can help address this lacuna is by creating a comprehensive grid, with the company’s offerings on one axis and customer requirements on the other. Each square in the grid can be analyzed to ascertain whether the company has engaged with the customer for a particular product offering and whether it succeeded in exploiting the customer’s buying potential. Technology can be a great enabler to reveal the untapped potential of Key Accounts. DemandFarm’s Whitespace Analysis tool uses a Key Account’s financial and relationship mapping data to calculate and color code squares in a grid. The colors represent the health of engagements or orders and new business in the pipeline. The analysis reveals white spaces in the grid or unexplored white space opportunities for new business from that account. Targeting white spaces unlocks the hidden value of Key Accounts and maximizes the potential of existing customers. A case in point is a multinational pharmaceutical company whose sales force was grouped into divisions based on therapy. Salespeople from multiple divisions were visiting some of the same hospitals and doctors, yet each division had its own list of Key Accounts. The company implemented KAM technology and white space analysis revealed that several specialist doctors were being targeted by only one or two therapy divisions, although in practice these doctors wrote prescriptions covering a wide range of the company’s products. As a result of the analysis, the company re-engineered its sales focus and was able to achieve significant growth by exploiting the potential of Key Accounts. Unified Vision, Unified Action At some point in our careers, most of us have witnessed or been part of a vision, mission or brand identity exercise and the time, effort and cost associated with it. But often we observe that when it comes to sales, companies are reluctant to invest in KAM technology. When we dig deeper, we find that investments or budget are not the hurdles, it’s the worry that a unified action plan won’t have all the details or will be too rigid that is the hurdle. How does KAM technology work? The software includes all the details by pulling in data from CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems. Technology is used to aggregate the data, identify gaps, prompt users to fill in these gaps, analyze the data and calculate and display financial and relationship metrics for each Key Account. The result is a unified platform for Analysis, Planning, Tracking and Presentation of everything related to Key Accounts. It results in a single system with a macro view that can be drilled down to micro details. As a user, you can fill in details, make changes and view plans and performance depending on your requirements and access permissions. The CEO might be interested in the Grandstand™ view, the Sales Head in the Account Review, the Key Account Manager in his achievement to target and salespeople in the customer’s organizational hierarchy and contact information. Making your Data work for you Companies create and maintain some form of sales data, whether by using software like Salesforce or an in-house methodology. The financial data are usually recorded using accounting software and shared through spreadsheets. This is a classic case of fragmented data in silos that do not have a common interface. As an Account Manager, you have probably waded through this minefield of data, collecting information from various sources to try and get a complete picture of the account. You have experienced first-hand the time and worry associated with this process. Fail to collect all the relevant data or make a mistake in transcribing it and all your plans go awry. And no matter how you interpret the data, someone is sure to disagree. In all likelihood this thought has crossed your mind more than once; “Stop wasting your Account Manager’s time collating information, analyzing it, generating reports and creating presentations.” We would like to add “Let these activities be done in the most efficient way- using technology.” KAM software is designed to avoid re-entry of data, seamlessly interfacing with a CRM or ERP system and pulling in data from multiple sources. The time saved and the improved quality of information and analysis enable the Account Manager to focus on growing Key Accounts instead. Ongoing Engagement Is Strategic Account Management all about relationships? About the salesperson who grew the account, risking his time
This Thanksgiving, Join Me in Celebrating You
Thanksgiving. The perfect time to take a moment and reflect on the things we are grateful for and celebrate them. This year, we are celebrating the fact that we have so much to be grateful for and so much to celebrate! To all the Sales Visionaries who took the idea of selling to Key Accounts – and turned it into the art and the science that Key Account Management is today. We hope you keep setting the bar higher for us. Thank You. To all the technocrats who kept seeking – and finding- better ways to do things…from sales automation to sales enablement, automation, and now, KAM Tech. We look forward to building the future with you. Thank You. To all our supporters – the team at DemandFarm, Our Partners, Our Vendors – we wouldn’t be here without you. There is no greater joy than to grow with you. Thank You. To all the believers – the early adopters – the Sales Leaders, Key Account Managers, Sales Ops teams – who led the change by asking, ‘can technology transform the way we manage and grow our Key Accounts’? We value the opportunity to serve you. For, to serve you is to celebrate you. Thank you. I hope you have a magical Thanksgiving with the ones you love and cherish.
Interview with Olivier Riviere – Consultant & Head of the KAM Practice at Invalio
Olivier tell us about your journey as a Key Account Management Professional and how do you help companies achieve growth through focusing on their strategic partnership with the key account? In the course of my career, from junior team member to Executive in charge of Key Clients, I have always been involved in the relationship with truly strategic customers across various industries: design and manufacturing, semiconductors, Entreprise Software and B2B Marketing & Communication Services. In addition, and I am grateful for this, my job also always included driving a true co-creation process with strategic customers and initiatives aiming at influencing the whole business ecosystem. When I became a consultant, I have quite naturally put these topics at the core of my activities. With my partners, we help companies of all size, analyze their strategic context, customer portfolio, and organizational dynamic in order to design and implement a KAM/GAM approach in line with their strategy, resources, and culture. I insist on working simultaneously on the KAM system AND the people involved in KAM; their skills, their motivation and how they collaborate and with their Customers. When is the right time for businesses to start looking at their client relationships in the more strategic manner? There are many reasons why companies should run a sharp analysis of the true value of each Customer and drive the engagement with selected Accounts more strategically. In theory, you can start at any time and the sooner, the better. As an example, start-ups operating in a B2B environment could take advantage of using KAM techniques upfront, although very few do it. In reality, for medium-size and large companies, the trigger situation for KAM comes from a combination of internal and external factors. The major internal factor is when the Executive Team realizes that KAM is a powerful instrument to accelerate the execution of the company’s strategy, whatever its specifics. The external factors are related to an evolution of the environment: market concentration, competitive threat, new regulation, or the need for more innovation. The trigger situation can also simply be the request of a few Customers to receive special treatment. All in all, it is the job of the Executive Team to assess when to start KAM, and it is an area where some external help can bring very high value. What are the biggest obstacles you see businesses face toward becoming more oriented toward servicing & acquiring a deeper understanding of their strategic accounts? The biggest obstacle is definitely the culture. Exploring the true value of each customer and categorising them accordingly, developing a deep sense of the real Customer Experience and where it matters to improve it, further developing the network of personal relationships with Key customers, all of this requires teamwork, collaboration, and the capacity to drive a sustained collective effort that cuts across disciplines and organisational boundaries. Most companies and not only large ones have difficulties to do this. When you look at why KAM initiatives fail to deliver on their promise, the lack of attention paid to cultural change is always part of the picture. Another frequent challenge is the lack of depth of the analysis of the Key Account organization and the network of relationship. The superficiality of the analysis prevents the vendor’s team from finding new angles to strengthen the ties with strategic customers. Software is eating the world & account management could not escape! Do you feel there is a need of having specialized platforms or software for strategic account management? The answer is definitely yes. CRM systems are currently not adapted for true KAM.and other tools are required. This being said there are different sort of needs that can be covered with an adequate software application. Account Planning and monitoring of execution Definition and management of the Value Proposition Opportunities & Share of Business Management Relationship & Influence Management Communication and Operations (team portal and customer portal) These 5 themes are quite differentiated although they do overlap. I am not sure that a single platform will be able to cover all these needs at the same level of depth and for all type of companies in the near future, but I do not see this as a big problem. Companies need to assess their needs and explore where they should consider adding one or several KAM specific tools to their existing software stack (or replacing old applications by new ones). Will such tech platforms become ‘a must have’ for account managers and their leadership or do you feel it constitutes ‘a nice to have’ capability? We are in a transition era. Commercially available Software tools for KAM are just emerging. I strongly believe that the trend will accelerate rapidly and that the benefits of such platforms will be increasingly recognized by more and more KAM and IT professionals. As the awareness of such tools, and probably the breadth of the offering, improve, KAM practitioners will have to avoid to reproduce the same deadly mistake as in CRM: namely putting the tool before the people. KAM software tools will bring value only if the KAM methodology and toolset used by a company are adequate and if the KAM teams – all people involved in KAM – are sufficiently skilled. Such needs are not covered by any piece of software but by Skills development through training, on-the-job coaching, and experience sharing and by a true focus on teamwork. What is your one mantra for growing strategic client relationships? Act like an entrepreneur. Be able to think and help others think out of the box and secure support for these new ideas. In addition, don’t be rebuffed by resistance and demonstrate patience. Would you like to share an interesting business book you have recently read and what was the key takeaway for you? I recommend “Give and Take, Why Helping Others drives our Success by Adam Grant”. One of my customer, Head of KAM in a German industrial company, has used this book to open the eyes of his colleagues
Answer the ‘Big, Burning Question’ at Dreamforce 2016
Help us answer our ‘big, burning question’ at Dreamforce 2016 Every year we try and bring our big, burning question of the year to Dreamforce, were practicing professionals not only help us find answers but inspire us to ask ourselves even bigger questions…So, if you follow us on social media, you could not have missed our excitement for the upcoming Dreamforce ‘16. Last year, Dreamforce turned out to be a great source of inspiration – the people, products, and technologies from around the world set us thinking about the endless possibilities of technology to transform. Meeting greats like Rick Welts & Bob Myers a bonus. Dreamforce’15 was great, but I missed Key Account Management. Last year, my team and I were honored to present our company DemandFarm at Dreamforce. As a technology that helps B2B Companies manage and grow Key Accounts from within Salesforce, we found tremendous interest and enthusiasm among the community of Sales and Marketing professionals. People were curious and excited by the question – can technology transform the way you manage and grow your most Strategic Customers? Yet, even as the Key Account Management (KAM) tech space grows, I missed seeing more of it in Dreamforce’15. I wish there had been more talks, stalls, and events around Account Management and how technology can transform KAM as we know it. Making Dreamforce’16 count for Key Account Management There is no denying the value of Key Accounts. But how best to navigate these complex, global Accounts, with their dynamic networks and multiple white space opportunities? How can technology bridge the gap between the art and science of Key Account Management and create more value for all stakeholders? This is the question that’s been pushing us to develop technology that can enable people and institutionalize the key account management processes that drive success with Key Accounts. And, I am hoping that Dreamforce’16 will be a great place to take the question to you – the practicing professionals. After all, Dreamforce is all about the biggest ideas, innovations, and interactions. Let’s make it count for KAM this time round! With that in mind, we are setting up a ‘Dreamforce Dialogs’’ calendar so we can meet professionals like you in person and talk about all things KAM tech. We’d also be happy to take more tough questions about how technology can address KAM challenges. Set up a session with us in our Dreamforce Dialogs calendar if you like to organize things in advance. If there is anything you would like to talk about before then, I would love to hear from you at [email protected]. In the meanwhile, join me on Twitter and LinkedIn to get all the exciting updates about all the KAM stuff that matters before and after Dreamforce’16. PS: We are also curating the best Dreamforce Sessions for you! In the weeks leading up to Dreamforce’16, we are writing about all the sessions, people, and parties to watch out for if you are keen on being a part of the Key Account Management conversation. Add us to your address book so you do not miss out on any of the actions.
