V ELOCITY ® A PUBLICATION OF


THE STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION Publisher: Denise Freier


Editor-in-chief: Nicolas Zimmerman Creative Director: Aimee Waddell


Associate Editor: Gloria Naurocki Advertising: Ashley Lundgren


EDITOR’S CORNER4


Dear Reader, What you hold in your hands is something new for SAMA:


SAMA Staff Executive


President & CEO: Denise Freier Finance/Operations/Meetings Director of Financial Controls, Budget & Meetings: Fran Schwartz


Sr. Manager, Meetings & Events: Rhodonna Espinosa Finance & Operations Manager: Jackie Such IT Manager: Erin Pallesen


Registration, Office Manager & Sponsorship: Ashley Lundgren Business Development


Managing Director, Business Development: Harvey Dunham Director of Business Development: Chris Jensen Sr. Corporate Account Manager: Bobbie Zimny Corporate Account Manager: Michael Johnson Linda Carlson: Business Development Operations


Knowledge, Certification & Training


Director, Knowledge, Certification & Training: Libby Souder Assistant Director of Certification & Training: Frankie Cusimano Assistant Director, Knowledge & Training: David Schweizer CSAM Coordinator: Diana Soriano


Research


Research General Manager: Joel Schaafsma Marketing & Communications


Creative Director: Aimee Waddell Editor-in-chief: Nicolas Zimmerman Associate Editor: Gloria Naurocki


A special, bonus edition of the magazine dedicated to tools that enable the work of the strategic account manager and the entire strategic customer-centric organization. But first, let us tell you what this issue is not: It is not an endorsement of any particular technology provider or technology solution. SAMA is and always has been technology-agnostic.


What we do endorse is the need for technology that enables


strategic account managers to more effectively and efficiently gather insights about their strategic customers, align their resources around creating solutions that resonate with those customers, and quantify and monetize those solutions. As most SAMs have experienced, emails and spreadsheets are no longer adequate for meeting the needs of customers that are moving faster than ever and whose employees expect their suppliers to be as fast and nimble as they are.


In fact, a recent survey of the SAMA community found


that 85 percent of respondents consider it very or extremely important that SAMA develop tools to enable the work of the SAM. SAMA acknowledges these vendors for their SAM enablement solutions and thanks them for their active participation in our community.


Please note that while every article in this issue has been


vetted to ensure it meets SAMA’s editorial standards, the contributors have underwritten the cost of publishing this special edition. The articles in this issue should be considered sponsored content. Please also note that you can expect to receive your Winter 2020 issue of Velocity magazine on schedule in late-January. n


Happy Holidays, The Editors


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