The Future of Key Account Management Report – A Global CSO study by DemandFarm
Key Account Management has always been a critical component of every B2B organization, given that in most cases Key Accounts contribute upwards of 60% of their overall revenues. As businesses become more global and complex, the role of strategic account management will evolve further. As companies strive to increase market share and grow their customer base, making a “shift” towards Digital KAM will help them achieve these goals. DemandFarm, with insights from the 2022 CSO Survey conducted across USA, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions gathered 1000+ responses from sales leaders covering the trends, skills, tools, and strategies to understand the future of KAM and its changing landscape. Download the Research Report to uncover the future of KAM and its changing landscape.
The Definitive Guide to Org Charts for Sales and Account Management
Org Charts for Sales and Account Management Are organizational charts (org charts) really important? Will your sales team performance be affected if you do not have a sales organization chart and org charts for key customer accounts? The answer to both questions is a resounding yes. Org charts are not a new invention. The world’s first org chart was created in the 1850s by Daniel McCallum, a railroad engineer in America. Why? To increase operational efficiency in managing what was then the world’s longest rail system. More than 160 years later, org charts continue to play a crucial role in sales and account management. The main reasons behind that are similar to why McCallum created the world’s first org chart: to break silos and complex operational structures; and build cohesive, connected, efficient teams. When it comes to account management, too, org charts play a key role. They are roadmaps that your sales and business development teams can follow, to cut through a whole network of contacts, and reach the person who truly matters — the one signing the cheque. If you are planning to create a sales org chart for your own company or org charts for key accounts, read on! In this definitive guide to org charts, we take you through: What are org charts? Why do you need org charts for your sales teams? Org charts for key account management Key elements of org charts Types of org charts How to build more efficient teams with org charts By the end of this guide, you will gain an understanding of what org charts are, which will then allow you to determine what kind of org structure works best for you, and learn how you can get started on creating your own custom org chart — whether for sales teams or account management. What are Org charts? An org chart is a visual representation of a company’s structure, or chain of command, or hierarchy. Org charts can give you both, a broad look at a company’s structure, or a detailed look at one part of the company. For instance, a company’s sales org chart will show in detail the way its sales team is designed, in detail. Some of the elements a sales org chart could contain are: Company name Names of all members of the department Their location, contact information, tenure, and other details How they function in relation with each other, i.e., who reports to whom Sales channel breakdown (i.e., online, offline, internal, external etc) Relationship between sales teams/departments and other teams Other information that helps demonstrate how the sales team functions Org charts for account management contain similar elements, except it is information regarding another company/client/account. It could include: Company name Names of top, senior, key management, other stakeholders Their location, contact details, roles, responsibilities, departments, tenure, etc Relationship between various stakeholders, teams, or departments Reporting structure of the company Other relevant information Why do you need org charts for your sales teams? As we mentioned earlier in this guide, having an org chart for sales and account management can benefit teams immensely in terms of efficiency. They can: Help a company understand how their teams operate in relation to each other Help an organization identify, clearly define, and demarcate responsibilities and reporting structures Tell a company where there are gaps or voids that need to be filled, where there is overlapping of responsibilities, and where there are siloes. If you are a senior executive in sales, say the sales director, for instance, an org chart can help you make more informed decisions about team structure, roles, and responsibilities. Like McCallum did back in the 1850’s, using org charts can help you break silos between teams and departments. If your sales team is working in silos because of a structural flaw and is not communicating with your marketing team, it can throw your entire revenue target off course. How does that happen? When sales teams do not work in tandem with other teams, it can create an awkward working environment, reduce insight and clarity across all teams, lower efficiency by creating unnecessary complexities and layers, and ultimately circle back to impact a company’s sales and overall performance. But, by using org charts to examine the relationship between the sales and marketing teams, senior management can solve this challenge by breaking down any barriers before they can take firm root. On the other hand, how do you know if there are certain sales roles within your company that have conflicting or overlapped responsibilities? One of the ways to find out is to use an org chart. In this way, you can improve clarity on who ‘owns’ what part of the responsibility. It is important to establish this clarity to avoid clogging up workflows or creating red tape, due to conflicting overlaps in responsibilities. Therefore, an organization chart can ultimately become a tool that can be used to improve revenue and income. Org charts are also critical to the HR/people/culture departments of a company. Using them allows these teams to foster an inclusive culture where information is shared, siloes do not exist, and collaboration comes easy. A conducive working environment and culture, as we know, is also a key factor in determining how a company performs. Org charts for account management There are a few crucial outcomes of org charts for key accounts that make them an invaluable resource. Charting a course: Account org charts help you visualize a path, or a course, to reach your customer. Think of it as a key to solving the maze of reaching the end customer, the one who is actually calling the shots. Along the course, you may also find that there are other teams or departments within a company that you could target. Expanding reach: They can expand your points of entry to the client, or account, beyond the single point of contact you may have on file. Org charts can do this by mapping out relationships between stakeholders, reporting structures of target customers, team structures and hierarchy, etc. Since org charts give you access to
Webinar: The Shifting Landscape of Strategic Account Management
The Shifting Landscape of Strategic Account Management – Webinar by DemandFarm & SAMA As Key Account Management adapts to a fast-paced digital environment, how do you foresee its future? Our panelists discuss shifts in course in the Key Account Management journey including newly emerging tools and technology, growing skill requirements and fresher blueprints for Strategic Account Management to be prepared for the future of the Key Account Management landscape. Agenda: What has changed in Key Account Management (KAM) post-COVID? What are the top contributors to a successful KAM program What are the key skills and tools required for effective KAM in the future? How will digital Key Account Management change the selling experience, going forward? Speakers: Abhijit Gangoli Co-Founder & CEO DemandFarm Andrew Hazard Sr. Director, GTM Enablement Contentful Harvey Dunham Managing Director, Strategy and Marketing Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA) Richard Dunn Senior Director – Global Account Management DHL Supply Chain Watch the webinar on-demand:
Strategic Account Planning Template: How to Create Account Plan Templates for Account Managers
It’s universally accepted that getting new customers in the door is a more expensive exercise than retaining existing ones. When customer retention can directly be linked to profitability, doesn’t it make business sense to increase customer retention? A report from Bain & Company suggests that a 5% increase in customer retention results in a 25% increase in profit for companies in the financial sector. While these statistics may change for different companies and across sectors, what’s important to focus on is the impact of retaining your customers. The statistics here show a direct link between increased revenue and existing customers. Based on the report, existing customers are 50% more likely to try new products and spend 31% more than new customers. But to retain your existing customers, you will need to spend time and effort to get to know them, understanding what measures you need to take and what resources you need to allocate. Both strategic account management and strategic account planning, are important processes geared towards developing better relationships and retaining your customers. Strategic Account Management v/s Strategic Account Planning Though the two are sometimes confused, strategic account planning is the next, and more focused step after strategic account management. Strategic account management is practiced at a macro level. It takes into consideration all key accounts and then focuses on those that should be given more attention and higher priority. It is an important process because it involves the utilization of limited resources available. Strategic account planning, on the other hand, is practiced at a micro level. It examines relationships with specific existing accounts. This process is fluid because the company-client relationship keeps evolving and changing and the plan must accordingly shift to accommodate those changes. This approach takes into account a holistic picture i.e., it analyzes data and information gathered from customers, competitors, partners, collaborators and the industry. It is thus able to address concerns and challenges and offer meaningful solutions to customers. A strategic account plan is as significant to the company as it is to the customer. Benefits of Strategic Account Planning to the Company Among the many benefits of strategic account planning to sales and account management professionals are: 1. More Efficient Closing Closing is, to sales what oxygen is, to breathing. And closing becomes more effective when sales professionals have a better understanding of what the customer needs, what motivates the buying decision or what objections they need to overcome to close the sale. With a strong strategic account planning process in place, sales professionals are better equipped with the information they need to do their jobs effectively. Since this is an evolving process the information available is also updated and current. 2. Prioritize Key Relationships The focus in strategic account planning is on customers already in the system. The strategy is to prioritize important accounts and maintain those relationships. By combining hard data with the knowledge o customers’ goals and priorities, sales professionals are better able to focus on those accounts that will yield profitable results. They are also able to identify gaps with more ease and offer products and solutions at the right time and in the most appealing manner. 3. Research Strategic account planning, especially with the help of a strategic account plan template provides an opportunity to gather and organize information in a structured manner. Through research and a proper study of the various parameters, it encourages better learning of the key accounts. Gaps are easier to identify and can be matched with opportunities. Objections can be identified and successfully addressed. Valuable solutions can be offered – customized to needs. This process helps sales professionals gain a better understanding of customers’ needs, objectives and indicators of success. It also helps them offer relevant solutions at the right time and in the right manner to add value to the customers’ needs. Benefits of Strategic Account Planning to Customers The process of strategic planning wouldn’t be as effective without the customers benefitting from it too. Here are some ways strategic account planning adds value to important customers: 1. Customized Solutions The main objective of strategic account planning is to gain a better understanding of key accounts. This information, if used effectively, can be used to present customized solutions to customers. Sales representatives can proactively offer solutions relevant to the customers’ needs and business objectives. 2. Enhanced Relationships It’s easier to maintain and enhance existing relationships than build new ones. This also works well for customers. For the customer, building and maintaining a relationship means familiarity with the people, products and processes of the company. It could mean that requests are attended to more quickly, orders are processed quicker and transactions are generally smoother. Any issues that may crop up will be addressed and handled efficiently. 3. Increased Satisfaction Prioritizing and developing relationships with customers means that the company is focused on the immediate needs of the customer – which builds customer satisfaction. Identifying gaps and offering the appropriate solution at the right time increases this customer satisfaction. Especially if the solution is customized and tailored for the customer. Now, that the need for a strategic account plan has been established, let’s look at how best this can be implemented in your organization. The best and easiest way to start is to develop an account plan template. Download Now: 9 Steps to Build a Rock-Solid Key Account Management Process Why do Strategic Account Managers need an Account Template? There are several reasons why a strategic account plan template is relevant and important. An account template: 1. Saves Time Account Managers are busy. They are most focused on meeting budgets, closing sales, and achieving revenue goals. Putting together reports on key accounts – no matter how promising they appear – is not something that’s high on their priority lists. Having an account template doesn’t negate the need to actually put some work into filling it. It does, however, help with structured research and organizing the details required. It also makes it easier to input, refer to and update the information as needed. 2. Increases Consistency Through research, it has been estimated that an average adult makes about
Top 8 Key Account Management Tools Every Key Account Manager Needs to Grow Key Accounts
Accounting for all variables, ‘Key’ accounts are the ones that help organizations strive to achieve something exceptional. Organizations try to identify and hold on to such key accounts, with a variety of sales strategies to improve numbers. Most of these organizations would already be using a form of customer relationship management, and using Key Account Management Software can be seen as the logical extension of the same. KAM tools focus on a section of clients to build a bond by providing personalized consultation services. What should you look for in Key Account Management Software? Once the right accounts are earmarked for Key Account Management, associating a dedicated team with them removes obstacles in understanding, approvals, change requests, and many other activities. Other employees can focus on their main responsibilities, instead of handling client management duties. Key account managers can rely on the support of a cross-functional team for proper execution of deliverables. They can use features of CRM tools their organization is using, to keep track of communication with the account stakeholders, give visibility on what’s going on and what can be done, and ensure effort is not wasted across teams. The tools listed below take different approaches to Key Account Management, and any of them can be chosen based on the needs of the team using the tool. While some are CRM tools with enhanced functionalities, few are built with KAM as their focus. List of 8 Key Account Management Tools Every Key Account Manager Needs 1. DemandFarm DemandFarm is the world’s first agentic AI-powered and CRM-agnostic Key Account Management Software tool for account managers and sales leaders to manage and grow the top 20% of key customers. What it does DemandFarm helps thousands of sales leaders and account managers in global enterprises: proactively uncover cross-sell & upsell revenue opportunities methodically manage deal-critical strategic relationships systematize opportunity management. DemandFarm seamlessly integrates with all popular CRMs including Hubspot, Dynamics, Zoho, Pipedrive and Salesforce, ensuring a smooth transition into the existing workflow. The need for it B2B companies use DemandFarm to simplify key account management and make it predictable and scalable. Here are the pain points it addresses: Systemize whitespacing through a visual representation of customers’ buying centers vs your offerings Prevent the risk of losing important account knowledge and thereby the account itself Gain better visibility of your growth/expansion opportunities by pulling in data from multiple apps in one place Eliminate blindspots in key account relationships and let account managers spend 100% of their time on the right contacts Makes account planning dynamic, proactive & real-time, so that you can track growth & course-correct on the fly See DemandFarm in Action 2. LinkedIn Sales Navigator Being the world’s largest professional network, LinkedIn boasts of 700+ million users in more than 200 countries and territories, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator uses this wide reach to keep its users up-to-date with the accounts, while identifying and connecting with important stakeholders and new prospects. What it does Generate and qualify leads, grow networks, cultivate relationships, grow revenue – the basic responsibilities of KAM team members can be easily executed with LinkedIn Sales Navigator. The option to create custom lists of clients is a positive factor, where the tool fetches insights based on the contents of the list – like job switch of a client manager, prospects who have interacted with posts in the last week, etc. The need for it Being the preeminent social network has its advantages – and Sales Navigator provides more contact data than the limited access of the free version. Sales teams can unlock more people in their search results during prospecting. Sales Navigator allows for filtering contacts based on engagement, interactions, and social behaviours and events. 3. Chili Piper Chili Piper is a hands-full add-on for CRMs, and augments their functions with account management related functions (not necessarily key management specific). It simplifies meeting bookings and suggests agreeable times for a connection. What it does ‘No calendar tetris’ is what Chili Piper promises, and delivers handsomely too. Apart from scheduling and reminding participants, it records every interaction in the CRM, with meeting details time stamped and recorded to help sales teams manage their pipeline better. Their mobile apps and browser extensions help sales executives access the tool from anywhere and book meetings at their convenience. The need for it If arranging meetings is a pain for the sales team, Chili Piper works out really well. Features like one-click booking via email, embedding suggested times and smart signatures in emails so that the guests can schedule meetings with one click, automated reminders and rescheduling features etc. seem simple enough, but the mental load of remembering to follow up and reschedule can be quite burdensome on individuals. Sales executives don’t have to refer to their calendars every time they have to arrange meetings, and that is a win all by itself. 4. Outplay Outplay is a multi-channel outreach tool that helps sales teams scale. Sales teams can connect with prospects on multiple platforms such as email, chat, SMS, Phone, LinkedIn and even Twitter. The ability to personalize interactions across channels is its USP. What it does Outplay is an AI-powered sales engagement software designed to automate outreach across email, social media, chat, and phone. It enables personalized campaign creation, integrates with various CRMs for streamlined workflows, and offers robust reporting to track performance. With excellent customer support and competitive pricing, Outplay consolidates multiple sales tools into one platform, helping sales teams engage prospects effectively and drive better results. The need for it It enables personalized engagement at scale, helping teams connect with more leads, nurture relationships, and ultimately close more deals 5. Avoma Learning from the best in the organization or team becomes simple with Avoma, as the tool identifies patterns and aids in building playbooks that match the performance of leading sales executives. What it does Avoma records, transcribes, and analyses sales conversations to help teams adopt the best methods (that are working). The analysis is scalable and AI-powered, and helps in performance cloning of leading
Key Account Management: Best Customer Segmentation Strategies for Customer Success Teams
Customer Segmentation for Key Accounts Engaging with customers and striving for positive outcomes in those interactions play a vital role in helping a business succeed. From enterprises to SMBs in the B2B sphere, almost every organization is focusing on keeping up with the needs of their customers. With the widespread permeation of digital media, personalized communications and solutions have become commonplace. These granular, bespoke communications can be effective if they are delivered to the audience they’re intended to. Customer segmentation helps in identifying the shared characteristics so that these group of customers can receive our solutions & attention more effectively. In SaaS companies, customer segmentation for key accounts is usually done based on the Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) value of the customer organizations. Since ARR segments clients based on the revenue contributed, segmenting becomes easier – but it can be counterproductive when vendors prioritize accounts with high ARRs. The risk-avoidant nature of ARRs means customer success & account management teams have to segment their customers strategically and understand the similarities and differences between the needs of their clients. Learn More: The Role of Key Account Management in Customer Success Management The need for key account segmentation Every customer is different – While some might expect customer success teams to help them understand the issue in detail, others might want minimal communication outside the scheduled interactions. Teams can put these two customers in separate segments, and create an accurate assessment of their needs. This helps teams get a clear understanding of the issues in front of their customers and deploy resources in an effective way. Unlike the old methods where large clients were clubbed together, developments in the area have resulted in methodologies that include companies from various industries, of different sizes and revenue, together. These methods ensure all customers across different segments get the same importance, but with different approaches that are suited to their needs. Read More: What is Customer Centricity and Why it isn’t the destination? Types of Key Account Segmentation There is no dearth of customer success segmentation models, and teams can choose the one that suits their needs most. While traditional methods have lost their allure, certain new frameworks have shown value in customer segmentation. Based on the model that is chosen, teams have to consider the variables specific to the industry or business. The nature of the products and services being proposed also play a part in deciding the segmentation model to be used. Trait-Based Segmentation It relies on demographic information, like the industry, company size, latest developments in the sphere etc. This segmentation technique is easily identifiable, but the underlying assumption that shared traits between industries or companies also share desired outcomes can lead to misleading assumptions. RFM-Based Segmentation It stands for recency, frequency, and monetary aspects of the customer organization. Recency refers to the time elapsed since the last customer interaction, Frequency is about the number of times customers contact the vendor in a specified period of time, and Monetary aspects refer to the total spending of the customer with the vendor. These details help customer success teams to gauge the responsiveness of the customer and plan their proposal accordingly. Value-Based Segmentation Value-Based Segmentation groups customers according to the economic value they provide to the vendor. It focuses on the ARR potential of customer organizations, and groups them by subscription levels, production rates, existing ARRs, and similar metrics. Customer success & Key Account Management teams can locate upsell and cross-sell opportunities with this method, and serve existing customers better. It focuses attention on building relationships with customers, and improves the revenue potential over time. Needs-Based Segmentation It classifies customers based on specific needs. Customer success teams group customers who use products for similar objectives, and achieve targeted service delivery for every one of them. Types of key account segmentation based on revenue The process of segmentation differs from one methodology to another, but the steps involved largely remain the same. Segmentation on the basis of Revenue (MRR or ARR), one of the most prevalent methods, is usually done under the following labels: Revenue Segmentation Revenue Segmentation pays extra attention to customers who contribute more to the bottom line, because high-value customers usually have complex needs. The customer success teams should carefully select meaningful segment boundaries, where customers below and above revenue boundaries have varied needs – otherwise the difference in treatment can be jarring to the customers. Also, the matter of customers who downgrade their subscription or opt for a lower tier contract needs to be handled carefully, as dropping low in the order of importance can cause resentment when not handled diplomatically. Revenue Potential Revenue Potential of a customer might increase multiple times over the future, even if it is relatively low today. Or in case of enterprise clients, the partnership may start with a really small project, but if the team understands the potential of serving other departments/functions and tailor their product accordingly, there could be excellent upsell opportunities. By providing high value of service even at low MRR, the chances of getting bigger projects is increased. Reference Accounts Reference Accounts are customers who may not have a large relationship value, but have great contacts in the business to whom they can refer vendors to. If they are really happy with the limited partnership scope, then too they can serve as reference points for other prospects that customer success teams approach on their own. Lifecycle Stage Lifecycle Stage of customer technology adoption is very important for SaaS sales teams. Customers in the initial stages appreciate vendors taking the time to help them understand the intricacies of the field, and they need more upfront time investment than those who are in advanced stages of technology adoption. Industry Industry level segmentation makes sense if the vendor product is used by multiple industries in different ways (check out systems, for example – which can be used by PoS systems as well as warehouses). Teams can then focus on industry-specific messages while approaching customers.
9 Steps to Build a Successful Key Account Management Process
This ebook contains 9 steps to go over key account planning, setting up, implementing and reviewing a key account management process. They include analysis to make a profit, understanding your customer, assessing your relationship health, drawing up a key account plan blueprint and getting into action with a plan. Find out more about resource planning for your key accounts, improving communication with internal and external stakeholders. Monitor, control and review the Key Account Management process to determine its success.
Key Account Management Scorecard Template to Identify Key Accounts
DemandFarm proposes a 7-factor framework for Key Account Management teams to assess the maturity level of their key account management strategy. Provide a weighted score for yourself & assess areas for improvement. Get to know where you are doing well and where you need to improve as an organization. accounts.
Key account management skills for the new paradigm
Account planning has evolved from the wine and dine times to providing strategic solutions – and shows no signs of stopping. The tribal knowledge present in the teams can become enterprise memory with digital KAM and narrate a story of the client’s needs to the Key Account Management team – allowing them find innovative ways of meeting them. This means key account managers can focus on proactively understanding and trying to solve client’s problem, instead of trying to keep the records straight. The changes to working conditions all over the world provide another reason to relook at skills required to manage key accounts – the old ways are not relevant anymore. The changes to the way we work have been so drastic that in a couple of years, organizations that don’t have any sort of key account management practice that relies on structured data – will not be able to succeed. With structured information about clients and insights derived from AI and ML tools, Account Managers can provide the necessary human touch efficiently. The key customer representatives want to succeed in their positions – and are looking for strategic partners who can empathize and help them achieve business goals. By treating key accounts as strategic partners, organizations can see the real value of the business relationship – where the skills of account managers are enhanced by the tools at their disposal.
Predicting the next move in sales and account management – the AI and machine learning way
It is essential for organizations to understand which accounts are ‘strategic partners’ and the relationships where they act as a tactical vendor. Once the distinction is made, treating the strategic partners as key accounts requires a thorough understanding of the customer’s business, structure, details about individual business units, strategic initiatives, and management changes. While having this data is essential, using it to create solutions that create more value for the customer or answer the customer’s business challenges is what fortifies relationships – and AI and ML help in this regard, by identifying areas of focus and/or concern. The intelligence present in the organization about its key customers can be termed as ‘tribal knowledge’, and it resides in the way clients and key account managers interact, while adding value to the relationship. This seemingly unstructured information can be captured into an enterprise memory which can be seamlessly used by multiple members of a team to manage the same key account. When properly structured, the data can be used by AI and ML tools for Key Account Management – and ease the process of collaborating and building relationships with the customer organization. They provide insights which help in making account plans which lead to revenue goals, specific actions, and timelines. Every key account will have unique situations that necessitate customised solutions or approaches and require a fair amount of cognitive thinking. The insights that AI and ML tools provide help in the process, but the days of tools providing viable courses of action are not that far off.
