Strategic Account Managers (SAMs) face difficult challenges even in the best of circumstances: grow revenues at our largest customers every year, deepen existing relationships, and continue to expand the network of stakeholders who will buy from our company.
Valkre recently worked with a healthcare company, facing a patent expiration on a critical drug, in a country with a socialized healthcare system. The situation is complicated by the fact that the government is promising to reduce healthcare spend. As a result of this shift, there is going to be a change in the annual process for ensuring a particular drug remained on the approved drug reimbursement list. The Company had long used large teams of account reps to nurture relationships with physicians and pharmacists, but now they needed access to a higher set of executives and stakeholders.
Within this context, the company used Differential Value Proposition to understand (1) if their strategic accounts valued the current bundle of products, services, training, and R&D access today, and (2) if there was a path forward for mutual partnering and engagement. A secondary “stretch” goal was to see if DVP could be a practical tool to help the SAM team engage with a new set of stakeholders and executives.
A Quick Win for SAMs
In three weeks, the project achieved its objectives of articulating and quantifying the Company’s current value proposition, as well as identifying opportunities for improvement. However, the Company achieved a critical “win” during DVP discussions with two Department Directors at the largest hospital. Both Directors asked for a deeper partnership and suggested “top to top” introductions of the two organizations’ CEOs:
“...longer term partnering ideas with our CEO and COO...this is exactly what they are looking for in today’s environment. We value the management, training and research expertise of your company and desire a closer partnership for mutual benefit.”
The Company has already held several follow-up meetings at the Executive level, which was a first for the two parties. Plans are currently underway for much deeper and longer term partnership focused on increased research collaboration and community outreach programs to help reduce “inpatient” days.
The SAM team is now rolling out DVP as a tool to engage new constituents at key accounts. How are you as a Strategic Account Manager getting access to the stakeholders you need to grow?
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