Is everyone a strategic account manager? Specifically, should everyone in your sales team be a strategic account manager?
I am a huge fan of the Miller Heiman* Strategic Selling® and Large Account Management Process®. Over my career, both programs have given me the methodology and sales discipline to be successful with my largest clients.
At first, I was eager that everyone in my sales team became expert in strategic account management. Training was arranged, but I could see that only a few of the team were on-board. Strategic account management does require the practitioner to understand some deeper concepts – was my training so poor, or did I need to upgrade most of my sales team?
A great orchestra needs a conductor
Over time I realised I was wrong to simply think of the strategic account manager role as that of a ‘super-salesperson’. The role is more sophisticated than that. Effective strategic selling involves not just the sales team, but other stakeholders, both in and outside your organisation. The strategic account manager is akin to the conductor of the orchestra, whose job is to bring the right people into the process at the appropriate time.
The role requires awareness, not just of the decision-makers and influencers within your customer, but also an awareness of what is going on in your own organisation. Not everyone has those skills. Nor is the role exclusive to the sales department. I have witnessed successful strategic account processes led by individuals who were not directly part of the sales organisation.
So back to the original question, can all your sales team be strategic account managers? More importantly, do they even need to be? The answer is no. In fact, the role extends well beyond the sales team. Yes, sales people should be key members in a strategic account team, but so will others in the company, including leaders, customer services, finance and more.
How do you manage your strategic accounts? If you need assistance establishing a strategic account strategy, reach out to Annan Consulting for a confidential discussion on how we can help you.
(*) In late 2019, Miller Heiman was acquired by Korn Ferry. For more details about the well-recommended Strategic Selling® and Large Account Management Process®, follow this link;